Local marketing segmentation is helping local service businesses and storefronts get more clients, patients, and customers. When you understand your ideal client’s challenges, desires, and fears you can communicate better and stop feeling frustrated you aren’t hitting your financial goals more quickly.
4 ways local marketing segmentation helps get more clients:
- It attracts ideal clients and repels people who aren’t a good fit.
- It builds brand loyalty.
- It helps you address your ideal customer’s problem setting you up to provide the solution to that problem.
- It helps you identify niche market opportunities which helps you create hyper-targeted marketing campaigns.
You don’t just want more customers. What a business benefits most from is finding its IDEAL customers. If you’re targeting people online, you want only the qualified leads to be funneled to your business. These are the customers just waiting for conversion.
Let’s talk about what all this means with regard to your marketing. We’ll start by segmenting the segmentations… stick with me here.
What is market segmentation?
Market segmentation involves dividing a broad target market into subsets. A local business will focus primarily on:
- local marketing
- niche marketing and
- 1:1 marketing
We will get into what these 3 look like below, but first, let’s take a trip back to economics class. Stop rolling your eyes… We’ll make this as painless as possible.
Why is market segmentation important?
Market segmentation is an important part of any marketing strategy because it helps you identify different groups within your audience so that you can provide more targeted and valuable messages for them.
Market segmentation is important because it helps you focus your marketing efforts and resources on the most valuable audiences and achieve your business goals.
Segmenting your market allows you to get to understand your customers, identify what they need, and then figure out how you can best meet their needs with your product or services. It helps you design and execute effective marketing strategies from top to bottom.
There are four main types of customer segmentation models into which marketers should focus their efforts. It’s the who, why, where, and how of targeted marketing.
Let’s talk about these and how your business can benefit from each.
4 Types Of Market Segmentation:
- Demographic
- Psychographic
- Behavioral
- Geographic
Demographic
Demographic Segmentation is about ‘the WHO’. This is the most well-known among the general public, though they wouldn’t necessarily refer to it as segmentation.
This kind of segmentation focuses on identifiable things such as gender, age, ethnicity, income, education, religious beliefs, and profession.
For example, we all know you wouldn’t try to sell a skateboard to an octogenarian. It just doesn’t make sense. But, you could target grandparents by appealing to that ‘thing’ in them that can’t help but spoil their grandbabies rotten. If you’re a luxury brand you’re not going to advertise in low-income areas. Have you ever seen a Gucci purse ad at your local dive bar? I didn’t think so.
Moving on…
Psychographic
Psychographic segmentation focuses on your customers’ personalities, and interests. Here we might look into our customers and define them by the following characteristics: Personality traits, life goals, hobbies, interests, values, morals/beliefs, and typical lifestyle.
This one is all about ‘the WHAT’.
Compared to demographic segmentation, this can be a more difficult set to identify. Good research is essential and, when done well and psychographic segmentation allows for incredibly effective marketing that people will feel speaks to them personally.
Due to the fact that it is harder to identify the nuances of this particular segmentation, I think it is a prime opportunity to dig deep and figure out the philosophical problem your customers are dealing with.
The philosophical problem is the third part of the ‘with a problem’ step in the 7-element StoryBrand BrandScript. If you’re familiar with the StoryBrand Framework and have used it before to clarify your marketing message, then you know about the philosophical problem. It’s not absolutely necessary to identify this problem but is extremely helpful when you do.
The first two parts are the internal and external problems your customers face.
External Problem – This is what your customer has to do.
Internal Problem – This is how your customer feels about it.
Then comes the PHILOSOPHICAL problem which is basically a statement that addresses the injustice of the problem being a problem in the first place. The ‘why’ behind the ‘it shouldn’t be this way!’
So then, if you can figure out how to get into the mind of your customers and how they think about the problem they face, you’ll likely strike gold.
Read more about the 7 part StoryBrand Framework a bit more in How To Apply The StoryBrand Marketing Strategy In 90 Days.
When you know who you’re talking to, it’s easier to develop strong marketing messages. You can avoid using generic, vague language that appeals to a broad audience. Instead, you can create messages that speak directly to the needs, wants, and unique characteristics of your audience.
Behavioral
This one is about ‘the HOW’, which ultimately manifests in the spending HABITS of consumers.
This segmentation groups customers according to their: spending/purchasing/browsing habits, interactions with particular brands, as well as brand and product loyalty.
Behavioral segmentation is probably the most useful of all marketing techniques for e-commerce businesses. It takes some data to be truly effective, but much of this can already be gathered through your website itself. Check out more about Google Analytics.
These analytics will help you gather intel about many key areas including, but not limited to, how many times a potential customer has visited your website page(s), how long they stayed there, and what URLs they’ve visited. This information will then help you determine your next marketing steps; this could include retargeting ads, targeted email campaigns, etc.
While behavioral segmentation is highly useful and effective for e-commerce businesses, a great example of behavioral segmentation is the positioning of products for the ever-habitual impulse buy.
Target takes the cake with this one! At some seemingly inconsequential meeting one morning at Target headquarters, a marketer said, “I have an idea. Why don’t we create a section at the customer entrance, and add some smaller aisles within that section where all the products are $5 or less?”
I like to think that was a newcomer to marketing and that they have been hailed a champion ever since. Of course, the above ‘account’ is completely fictionalized and I have no idea what really happened. But, what I do know is that this five-dollar or less section pulls in a TON of revenue for Target. If you’re a parent with kids in tow at that store, you likely avoid the toy aisles like the plague. They sure went and fixed that for themselves, didn’t they? Talk about targeting behavior.
I feel manipulated. Do you know who doesn’t care? Target. Cha-ching!!
Geographic
Geographic segmentation is often one the easiest to identify because it groups customers by their physical locations. This one is all about ‘the WHERE’, and it focuses on country, state, city, region, and right on down to postal code.
For example, it’s possible to group customers into a set radius of a specific location such as a concert venue. Knowing where your customers allow for all sorts of consideration when advertising to them.
Customers could be offered options that match with local climate conditions. Geographic identification is an important part of seasonal segmentation, which helps businesses market season-appropriate products.
Some recent examples of effective geographic segmentation came from e-commerce businesses’ responses to the coronavirus outbreak. Many businesses shifted their focus during the COVID-19 pandemic to highlighting how their services could still continue to be accessed online.
As public spaces opened back up, e-commerce brands had no choice but to adapt their marketing plans to maintain the business levels they had seen during the lockdown period.
Okay, now on to the information that will help you master each of the 3 subsets of the broader market for your local business.
What is Local Marketing?
Local marketing refers to promoting products or services within a specific geographic location. In addition to online sources, this includes advertising in newspapers, radio, television, billboards, direct mail, etc. These promotions target the people living in the immediate vicinity of the store.
Local marketing refers to direct communication with residents about products or services offered by a particular company. To attract customers to a specific location, a business may sponsor events, such as sporting events, concerts, festivals, etc. They may also advertise online targeting that particular geographic radius. The standard radius is 10 miles or 10 minutes from the customer’s home to the business door.
Of course, these businesses hope to attract new customers and turn them into repeat customers.
Local marketing is used mainly by small businesses with one location or outlet. Franchisors may also use local marketing to promote their own specific locations, supplementing larger franchises’ regional or national marketing campaigns. If you’re a franchise owner, you may want to consider hiring a local marketer to promote your particular location.
Businesses in different locations will apply local marketing tactics for different consumer segments, as determined by socioeconomic status, demographic composition, and buying values. However, if a business’ location was chosen rather than random, the consumers who reside in the neighborhood are already those types of consumers who are likely to be interested in that business. 
One growing trend within local marketing is close-range marketing, also known as proximity marketing. We are such habitual creatures and therefore like to form ‘mind maps’ of familiar places close to our homes and workplaces. If as a business owner you are able to provide a consistently positive experience for your close-range customers, you’ll likely earn their loyalty thereby capitalizing on your excellent reputation. Repeat business is what it’s all about!
What is Niche Marketing?
When you have a particular specialty, you’re in more of a niche market. This can sometimes make entrepreneurs feel as though they’re purposely excluding a large portion of the population, thereby affecting their bottom line negatively. However, having a niche is a good thing. Let me explain using the example of a naturopathic doctor.
The thing is… there are more naturopathic doctors than one can count. But, if you’re a naturopathic doctor who specializes in autoimmune diseases, then that’s your niche. It then becomes much easier to target your ideal customer using local marketing tactics. I think we can all agree that it’s important for a doctor to see patients in person, right? So, a doctor with this niche will use specific language in their marketing copy designed to attract those who are in need of their particular skills.
All marketing copy means every bit of marketing material you circulate; including door hangers, mailers, postcards, pamphlets, and, of course, the emails you send and your website. There are many ways to reach out to your ideal clients. The point is that all your marketing copy must be consistent across the board.
Sticking with the naturopathic doc, here’s an example. You’ll want to identify who your ideal patient is by identifying the problem they have. You then want to position yourself as the authority and the doctor who has the solution to their problem. Identifying these points will help you brainstorm terms that will be key to appealing to your ideal patient. These key terms will be used throughout all your marketing collateral.
So then… if I’m a potential patient searching Google for the cure to a certain ailment currently torturing me, then the search terms I’m using that are listed on your website will lead me straight to you if you’re in my local area.
The same goes for a lawyer. There is no shortage with regard to the types of law a professional in that field can practice. But, for a client searching for your particular specialty, the copy on your website and in your marketing material will make a difference for your practice by honing in on the specific problem they’re facing. Personal injury attorneys are different than those practicing entertainment, tax, or real estate law.
As a business owner, you don’t want to spend all day in a boat under the scorching sun just to come up empty-netted. You want to be casting the right net to catch the right fish. Essentially, your niche is a guidepost that can inform you about the kind of net and bait that will work for your particular business.
Imagine…. knowing you have the exact copy you need in your marketing in order to appeal to your ideal clients and customers. Knowing you are starting a conversation with a potential client who has already been vetted by the work you did so that you know they’re an ideal fit.
Imagine… already QUALIFIED LEADS coming your way and knowing that you’re not wasting time in that hot blistering sun. This is what learning and applying the StoryBrand Framework can achieve for your business.
Use my special Business Made Simple link to find out how you can do this yourself.
What is 1:1 Relationship Marketing?
We needed a CPA so asked a couple of friends who they use. We got the referral, pay a yearly fee, and feel taken care of by him. We know that anytime during the year we can forward over documents we have questions about. He doesn’t just do our personal and corporate filings, but he goes above and beyond.
He charges a premium but it feels like we are getting a good deal for the peace he provides. We send a few referrals every year. This is what 1:1 Relationship Marketing is all about. Relationships! The ones you’ve formed with people in all kinds of industries while you’ve done business over time.
It won’t hurt to put together a list of your trusted sources across all industries so that you can easily cut and paste or share the entire list with those needing a referral. Make sure you tell your customers to let those people know who sent them. You’ll likely experience some reciprocal business from that.
Think about it… when you need an expert in a particular field isn’t it always so much nicer to get a referral from someone you trust?