Segmentation

No company can serve every customer equally well. Successful businesses know which customers they are best placed to win, what those customers need and how to reach them efficiently. Stuart-Houghton Associates helps companies divide their markets into meaningful groups and decide where to concentrate marketing and sales effort.

Beyond simple categories

Segmenting by country, company size or product category is easy but rarely useful. Effective segmentation groups customers by what drives their decisions: needs, priorities, purchasing processes, budgets and attitudes to innovation. In healthcare, for example, that may mean distinguishing university hospitals from regional clinics, early adopters from cautious buyers, or outcome-driven departments from cost-driven ones – each needing a different message and sales approach.

Our process

1. Data gathering – internal sales data, desktop research and interviews.
2. Criteria – the characteristics that best explain differences in behaviour and value.
3. Segments – distinct groups, large enough to matter and specific enough to target.
4. Attractiveness – size, growth, profitability, competition and fit with your strengths.
5. Targeting – which segments to prioritise and which to deprioritise.
6. Tailoring – messaging, pricing, channels and materials for each priority segment.

Practical results

Good segmentation helps you allocate budgets efficiently, give sales teams sharper target lists and arguments, set prices that reflect perceived value and find underserved niches. It also forms the foundation for strategy, positioning, pricing and business development, so we often combine it with those services.

We present results through clear visualisations and concise reports that management and sales can use every day.