The first step in lead generation is to identify your customers and their needs.
Only after you thoroughly understand your customer can you proceed to the second step - positioning your messaging in a way that will reach and resonate with them. 
The second step in creating a successful lead generation machine is to connect intuitively with your customers by crafting and sending a message they understand and believe, and which is relevant and useful to their needs.
The best way to do this is to segment your customers. Segmentation is a marketing exercise that allows you to better target your market with relevant messaging and the proper marketing channel.
There are at least two or three distinct customer types who, while all buying your service, buy for different reasons.
Your job is to identify and define these different customer types.
For example, if you sell sales training your customers are going to be sales reps. But there may be three types of sales people who buy from you, all of whom want coaching for different reasons: 1) those who are new to sales, 2) those who are experienced sales reps but who can’t seem to get to the next level of success, and 3) those who are top performing sales reps but who know they can always get better.
Each of these segments is going to respond to different types of messaging based upon where they are in their career and what they are looking for.
Segmentation allows you to create language, messaging, and offers focused on your customers’ specific needs and wants. And greater relevancy means you are more likely to connect with your audience and get a response.
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Here are 6 ways to segment your customers that result in more qualified leads for your business:
1. Buyer Persona
A buyer persona is a semi-fictional representation of who you are trying to reach with your marketing. There is usually more than one type of person who buys your product and service. Segmenting by buyer persona allows you to create customer focused marketing messaging that speaks directly to the individuals needs and wants.
2. State in Buyers Journey
Just as there is more than one type of person who buys your product or service, each persona goes through several stages in buying process. For example, a customer will first evaluate a service category before she considers the available options and finally enter into the buying process. You can segment your prospects based on where they are in the buying journey, and tailor messages that directly address their mind-set at each step in the process.
3. Industry
The customers for your service may represent different industries. This is an excellent way to segment your contacts and speak directly to the requirements of their industry.
4. Site Activity
Look at how your contacts behave on your website. Are there people who only visit a specific page? Are there some that just read your blogs but don’t spend time on the rest of your site? You can infer intent by what they are or aren’t doing on the site and create messaging that relates to their activity.
5. Demographic
These are your traditional segmentation categories (e.g., gender, age, location). You should consider the unique qualities and attributes of your contacts based on their age, where they live, etc. and create content that promotes your service’s strengths relative to these qualities.
6. Purchasing History
And don’t forget to look at how your customers buy. Do you have intermittent buyers, bulk buyers, sale-only buyers, etc. that you can segment and the target with messaging that speaks directly to their buying preferences.
All of these segments allow you to craft messaging that speaks directly to the unique qualities or characterizes of the person you are targeting. By personalizing the message you are speaking more directly to your customer, which is much more likely to get their attention and elicit a response.
In short, a highly targeted customer results in more successful marketing – marketing that drives more traffic to your site and converts more visitors to leads. Segmenting your prospects allows you to target the right people with the right message at the right time.
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