Segmentation splits clients into groups with similar needs and wants to make best use of your finite resources through targeted marketing.
Main bases of segmentation are:
- Geographic (eg., customer location, region, urban/rural, etc)
- Demographic (eg., age, gender, occupation, socio-economic group, etc)
- Behavioural (eg., rate of usage, benefits sought, loyalty status, readiness to purchase)
- Psychological (eg., personality, lifestyles, attitudes, class, etc)
You need to match your marketing message with the needs of your clients. General home loan messages won’t cut it. When you send information about first home buyer grants to a property investor, the message they get is that you aren’t relevant to them and they are more likely to switch off or unsubscribe. If they are also getting messages from the ‘Property Investors Mortgage Company’ which is always discussing issues around property investment, you can bet who they will trust for their next loan.
“If markets are to be segmented and cultivated, they must meet certain requirements. Segments must be Measurable, Substantial, Accessible, Differentiable, and Actionable.” – Philip Kotler
If a Broker is organised they might have a list of prospects who get messages educating them about what a Broker does and why the prospects should choose them. The Broker might also have a list of clients they have done loans with reminding them of who they are and what they do so they stay top of mind with those clients.
This is a good start, but Brokers really need to segment their prospects into categories and define marketing messages directly relevant to prospects of that category. Just as with potential future clients, Brokers also need to segment their past clients into categories and send messages directly relevant to the likely next borrowing needs of people in that category.