Let’s say we segment our prospects based on their job title
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 6:10 am
Now, Associates are not decision makers for us but they are influencers who get involved in the purchase process at their company, so we market to them very differently.
However, one day a Finance Associate will progress to a Finance Manager/Director and we would like our prospect record to update as soon as they submit a form with the updated title. We then need this prospect to exist in the Finance Manager/Director list.
If we are using static lists for this segmentation, we’ll have list phone number in cambodia to manually change the list our prospect exists in. Whereas, if our lists are dynamic, as soon as the prospect record updates, so will their list membership.
2. Segmentation Rules
The first thing to note about using Segmentation Rules in Pardot is that they are one-time automations based on predetermined criteria used to create static lists. Rules are best used if you’re looking to pull a static list for a specific reason at that point in time.
Additionally, Segmentation Rules differ from Automation Rules in that you can add or remove prospects from an existing list in the one go.
However, because Segmentation Rules are for one-time activity only, I recommend that you use Automation Rules for lists that will need to be continually updated.
A good example of this is if you’d like to send an ad-hoc email only to customers who exist at that precise moment in time. You could use Segmentation Rules to pull this list and be confident it’s accurate but the following day, week, month etc. it will no longer be useful.
3. Tags
Tags can be used for more than simply organising your campaigns and assets; they are also highly useful as a way to segment prospects.
When using Tags as part of Pardot segmentation, they can be applied to prospects to identify if they have completed certain actions, such as downloading content or clicking on links in emails.
Once your prospects have been tagged, you can then automatically segment your prospects to create more focused lists based on more than their demographic information. You can also include behaviours to create segments of your audience who are most engaged with your brand.
4. Scoring and Grading
The fourth way to segment prospects is to identify attributes and actions in their profiles that surface the most engaged and priority prospects in your database, using Grading and Scoring combined with Automation Rules.
It’s particularly useful if you’re looking to target prospects based on how qualified they are as a potential customer, or if they require further nurturing.
Grading and Scoring has a huge role to play in segmentation (you can download an entire handbook to Pardot Lead Grading & Scoring here). In a nutshell, grading tells us how interested we should be in a prospect based on their demographic information, while scoring tells us how interested our prospects are in us.
By setting these features up in Pardot and creating Automation Rules that ensure we can quickly see and use the segments of our prospect audience that are most valuable to us because they are most likely to convert, or those who need an extra nudge.
This level of strategic segmentation is where the powerful insights are really gathered!
Take Pardot segmentation to the next level
As I mentioned earlier, taking the time to first understand how you want to segment your audience will help you identify which route of segmentation is most appropriate.
Of course, you’re not limited to just one method to segment your prospects either - the best way to create audiences that are highly targeted is to use a combination of segmentation strategies!
For example, Grading and Scoring as best practice, combined with dynamic lists for A-grade prospects in the various job functions you target.
Needless to say, Pardot segmentation can become a bit of a rabbithole situation because within Pardot, anything is possible (particularly if your Pardot account is in need of a tidy up!).
If you’re keen to make better use of your prospect database and would like some expert assistance in planning or setting up any of the methods described here, contact us.
However, one day a Finance Associate will progress to a Finance Manager/Director and we would like our prospect record to update as soon as they submit a form with the updated title. We then need this prospect to exist in the Finance Manager/Director list.
If we are using static lists for this segmentation, we’ll have list phone number in cambodia to manually change the list our prospect exists in. Whereas, if our lists are dynamic, as soon as the prospect record updates, so will their list membership.
2. Segmentation Rules
The first thing to note about using Segmentation Rules in Pardot is that they are one-time automations based on predetermined criteria used to create static lists. Rules are best used if you’re looking to pull a static list for a specific reason at that point in time.
Additionally, Segmentation Rules differ from Automation Rules in that you can add or remove prospects from an existing list in the one go.
However, because Segmentation Rules are for one-time activity only, I recommend that you use Automation Rules for lists that will need to be continually updated.
A good example of this is if you’d like to send an ad-hoc email only to customers who exist at that precise moment in time. You could use Segmentation Rules to pull this list and be confident it’s accurate but the following day, week, month etc. it will no longer be useful.
3. Tags
Tags can be used for more than simply organising your campaigns and assets; they are also highly useful as a way to segment prospects.
When using Tags as part of Pardot segmentation, they can be applied to prospects to identify if they have completed certain actions, such as downloading content or clicking on links in emails.
Once your prospects have been tagged, you can then automatically segment your prospects to create more focused lists based on more than their demographic information. You can also include behaviours to create segments of your audience who are most engaged with your brand.
4. Scoring and Grading
The fourth way to segment prospects is to identify attributes and actions in their profiles that surface the most engaged and priority prospects in your database, using Grading and Scoring combined with Automation Rules.
It’s particularly useful if you’re looking to target prospects based on how qualified they are as a potential customer, or if they require further nurturing.
Grading and Scoring has a huge role to play in segmentation (you can download an entire handbook to Pardot Lead Grading & Scoring here). In a nutshell, grading tells us how interested we should be in a prospect based on their demographic information, while scoring tells us how interested our prospects are in us.
By setting these features up in Pardot and creating Automation Rules that ensure we can quickly see and use the segments of our prospect audience that are most valuable to us because they are most likely to convert, or those who need an extra nudge.
This level of strategic segmentation is where the powerful insights are really gathered!
Take Pardot segmentation to the next level
As I mentioned earlier, taking the time to first understand how you want to segment your audience will help you identify which route of segmentation is most appropriate.
Of course, you’re not limited to just one method to segment your prospects either - the best way to create audiences that are highly targeted is to use a combination of segmentation strategies!
For example, Grading and Scoring as best practice, combined with dynamic lists for A-grade prospects in the various job functions you target.
Needless to say, Pardot segmentation can become a bit of a rabbithole situation because within Pardot, anything is possible (particularly if your Pardot account is in need of a tidy up!).
If you’re keen to make better use of your prospect database and would like some expert assistance in planning or setting up any of the methods described here, contact us.