What is Mindset Segmentation?
The term “mindset segmentation” was first used by marketer Kellie Cummings. She noted that:
“Mindset segmentation identifies people based on their emotional desires and expectations. Simply put, there’s more to customers than their willingness to purchase products. When employees see the human side of customers, they can develop communications that sustain customers’ trust.”
But mindset segmentation goes far beyond simply reaching out and building relationships with customers. It’s about getting to know your customers as people rather than just purchasers of your products or services.
Mindset segmentation can be broken down into the following attributes:
Beliefs
A customer’s beliefs can be boiled down to one simple question — what are the principles that drive them? Are they more independent or introverted? Do they tend to feel that life is an adventure, or are they happiest when surrounded by a large circle of friends?
Hopes, Dreams, Fears
Much like understanding their beliefs, understanding people’s hopes and dreams can help you more closely align your business and marketing objectives toward helping them meet them. By the same token, knowing their fears can help you avoid disappointing them. If something goes wrong, possibly the worst thing a brand can do is bury their head in the sand and hope the customer firestorm passes.
Expectations
What do customers expect from you and how do you live up to that standard? When understanding a customer’s expectations overall, it’s important to look closer at their beliefs and their hopes, dreams and fears. What will they absolutely NOT stand for? What values does your company represent that they feel comfortable in aligning themselves with?
Emotional Needs
One may not instantly correlate a brand with a customer’s emotional needs not being met – but it affects their decisions more than you might think. Many financial decisions are affected by a customer’s self-esteem and their need for security and love. They have a direct, open need to be admired and liked, or to feel beautiful or be seen as hip or smart.
Brand Perception
How do customers see your brand? Beyond that, how would they describe your company to their family and friends? If you think your brand doesn’t have a perception, then you haven’t been monitoring the conversation. You’ll know if you’re doing mindset segmentation right, because you’ll go from a company that the customer recognizes, to one that they want to integrate with and use to reflect who they are.
Getting Started with Mindset Segmentation
The great thing about mindset segmentation is that it’s easy to work with. But it’s also worth understanding that not every customer will fit into these neatly packaged imaginary boxes or categories you’ve created — and that’s fine. Those are where mindset segmentation ends and persona creation begins.
Start by interviewing your most loyal customers. Touch on all the points mentioned above in a way that isn’t intrusive or annoying. Do more listening than speaking, and you’ll be amazed at what you hear. Take time to collect all the meaningful data you can about these people in a way that’s open and communicative. These people are going to be the linchpins of your mindset segmentation initiative. They’re going to be the people who drive the creation of your marketing personas and help shape your brand.
Put simply, mindset segmentation is another facet of data that you can explore to give your customers a truly customized, personalized and influential experience with your company — and that’s the kind of interaction that every brand strives for.
