Building your first segment

Segmentation is one of the most valuable things you can do in Flexmail, but it can feel abstract until you see it applied to a real situation. This article walks you through a practical example to show how segments, custom fields, and interests work together to build a complete targeting strategy.

Before you get started

• Segmentation is available on all Flexmail subscription plans.
• Each segment supports up to five conditions. For more complex setups, use nested segments.
• Segments can be nested up to five levels deep.
• Segments only work on confirmed (active) contacts.
• You can also use segments to exclude contacts from a campaign, not just to include them.

A practical example: toy shop The Little Elephant

A fictional toy shop shows how to build a segmentation strategy from scratch. The same approach applies to any business: start with your goals, translate them into a communication strategy, and then work out what data you need to make it happen.

Step 1: Start with your goals

If you use email marketing for your business, you want to get some return from your investment. Let us start with the objects.

The Little Elephant wants to use email marketing to:

• Bring existing customers back to the shop more often
• Guide interested visitors toward their first purchase
• Build a loyal customer database with more personal, relevant communication

Step 2: Translate goals into a communication strategy

Recording objects has an additional consequence. On the basis of your objects, you can start to build a strategy. How will we use communication to realise the objects above?

• To motivate website visitors to subscribe: an opt-in form with an attractive welcome offer, then let them choose what they want to receive
• To re-engage existing customers: segment by purchase history or customer type and send relevant product updates
• To build loyalty: identify life moments such as birthdays, pregnancies, and holidays, and communicate around them

Step 3: Identify the data you need

Here is what The Little Elephant set up:

Segment: website subscribers

Condition: has subscribed via [website opt-in form].

This segment captures everyone who signed up through the website. It is the starting point for the welcome email sequence.

Segment: customers

Condition: custom field "Contact type" equals "Customer."

The shop creates a custom field called "Contact type" with options including "Customer" and "Interested." Customers are imported with this field populated. This makes it easy to send customer-specific campaigns.

Segments based on interests

The shop creates five interests: Newsletter, Promotions, New products, Health tips, Sustainable toys. For each interest, a matching segment is created. Contacts are assigned to interests via the opt-in form settings, by clicking tagged links in emails, or by updating their own profile.

• Segment: Newsletter, condition: subscribed to interest "Newsletter"
• Segment: Promotions, condition: subscribed to interest "Promotions"
• Segment: New products, condition: subscribed to interest "New products"
• Segment: Health tips, condition: subscribed to interest "Health tips"
• Segment: Sustainability, condition: subscribed to interest "Sustainable toys"

Segment based on date of birth

A "Date of birth" custom field is added and included on a data form. Contacts who fill it in receive a birthday email with a promotion, a personal touch that drives loyalty.

Segment based on a life event

Contacts expecting a baby are a valuable audience for a toy shop. An interest "Pregnancy and newborns" is created, and contacts who indicate this on a form or in conversation are assigned to it. This feeds into a dedicated email sequence around preparation for a new baby.

Taking it further

Once you have your base segments in place, you can combine them for more precise targeting. For example: customers in Belgium who are subscribed to the "Promotions" interest and have opened at least one campaign in the last 90 days. That is your most engaged, commercially relevant audience for a seasonal offer.

See "Combining segmentation rules" for how to build multi-condition segments, and "Building a nested segment" for how to create hierarchical segment structures without repeating conditions.

Common mistakes to avoid

Building segments before collecting the data

Segments that rely on custom fields or interests only work if that data has been collected. Creating the segment before the data exists gives you a false sense of readiness. Map out what data you need, collect it first via imports or opt-in forms, and then build your segments.

Starting with too many specific segments

New users often build a large number of narrow segments before they have enough contacts to make them useful. Start with the most important distinctions, such as language and broad interest categories, and add specificity as your database grows. A segment of 20 contacts is rarely worth a dedicated campaign.

Forgetting to set up interests on the opt-in form

If you create interest-based segments but do not add an interest selection to your opt-in form, new contacts will never have those interests assigned. They will be excluded from all your interest-based segments from day one. Connect your interests to your opt-in flow early.

Next steps

• Read "Combining segmentation rules" to learn how to add multiple conditions to a segment
• Read "Building a nested segment" to avoid repeating conditions across related segments
• Read "About interests" to set up the interests referenced in this example
• Read "Create an opt-in form" to learn how to connect interests to your subscription forms