Segmentation - divide and conquer

We will shortly be starting a segmentation project for one our clients.

Locked inside the firm's client records will be a wealth of information about its clients' needs and how to make them more profitable. Tapped strategically, this information should generate enormous value for the firm.
Turning the theory into practice will be a challenge. We agreed the value of the approach with the firm at the end of last year and now need to maintain the momentum through to implementation.
To put the programme into operation, we will need to rank the clients according to existing and potential profitability, group them and then investigate in detail the needs and behaviours of each segment.
Segmenting and analysing the data will be one thing: changing the core skills and behaviours of the staff to make best use of the emerging knowledge about each segment's needs and profitability will be another. Getting the information and the organisation to work together in this way will be the key to the success or failure of this initiative.
We are prepared for a long journey, but hope it will turn into a successful and useful case study. Look out for reports on progress in future posts.