# Customer Segmentation > Segments customers by behavior, value, and needs with tailored communication strategies per segment for targeted engagement. - Skill: `reaperinvest/customer-segmentation` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add reaperinvest/customer-segmentation` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/reaperinvest/customer-segmentation/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: reaperinvest (https://skillmd.com/u/reaperinvest) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/reaperinvest/customer-segmentation --- # Customer Segmentation ## When to Use This Skill Use this skill when you need to: - Segment your customer base into actionable groups - Tailor communication, offers, and service levels by segment - Identify your most valuable and most at-risk customer groups - Allocate resources based on customer segment value **DO NOT** use this skill for customer personas (use customer-persona), market research, or lead scoring. This is for segmenting your existing customer base. --- ## Core Principle NOT ALL CUSTOMERS ARE EQUAL — SEGMENTATION REVEALS WHO DESERVES MORE ATTENTION, WHO NEEDS DIFFERENT MESSAGING, AND WHO IS COSTING YOU MORE THAN THEY ARE WORTH. --- ## Phase 1: Data Collection Assess what customer data is available for segmentation. ### Required Inputs | Input | What to Ask | Default | |-------|------------|---------| | **Customer count** | "How many active customers do you have?" | No default | | **Data available** | "What do you know about your customers? (purchase history, demographics, usage, engagement)" | Basic — name, purchase history | | **Business model** | "How do you charge? (subscription, per-project, product sales)" | No default | | **Segmentation goal** | "Why are you segmenting? (better marketing, tiered service, identify churn risk)" | Better marketing | | **Current segments** | "Do you currently treat any customer groups differently?" | No — same for all | **GATE: Confirm available data and goal before choosing segmentation method.** --- ## Phase 2: Segment Apply segmentation frameworks to the customer base. ### Segmentation Methods Choose the method that matches the data and goal: **Value-Based Segmentation (RFM):** ``` ## RFM Segmentation Score each customer 1-5 on three dimensions: | Dimension | 1 (Low) | 5 (High) | |-----------|---------|----------| | **Recency** — When did they last buy? | 6+ months ago | This week | | **Frequency** — How often do they buy? | Once | 10+ times | | **Monetary** — How much do they spend? | Bottom 20% | Top 20% | ### Segments from RFM | Segment | RFM Profile | Description | |---------|------------|-------------| | Champions | 5-5-5 to 4-4-4 | Best customers — high value, frequent, recent | | Loyal | 3-4-4 to 2-3-3 | Consistent buyers with good lifetime value | | At Risk | 2-3-3 to 1-2-2 | Were good but engagement declining | | Dormant | 1-1-1 to 1-2-1 | Have not bought recently, low engagement | | New | 5-1-1 | Recent first purchase, potential unknown | ``` **Behavior-Based Segmentation:** ``` ## Behavioral Segments | Segment | Behavior | Indicators | |---------|----------|-----------| | Power Users | Heavy, frequent usage | Daily logins, all features used, high engagement | | Regular Users | Consistent but moderate | Weekly usage, core features only | | Occasional Users | Sporadic engagement | Monthly or less, minimal feature adoption | | Inactive | No recent activity | No login in 30+ days | ``` **Needs-Based Segmentation:** ``` ## Needs Segments | Segment | Primary Need | Characteristics | |---------|-------------|----------------| | [Segment A] | [Need] | [What defines this group] | | [Segment B] | [Need] | [What defines this group] | | [Segment C] | [Need] | [What defines this group] | ``` ### Segment Summary ``` ## Customer Segments Overview | Segment | Count | % of Total | Revenue Share | Avg Value | Trend | |---------|-------|-----------|--------------|-----------|-------| | [Segment 1] | [#] | [%] | [%] | $[X] | Growing / Stable / Declining | | [Segment 2] | [#] | [%] | [%] | $[X] | Growing / Stable / Declining | ``` **GATE: Present segmentation for validation before building strategies.** --- ## Phase 3: Strategy per Segment Define tailored approaches for each segment. ### Segment Strategy Matrix ``` ## Segment Strategies ### [Segment: Champions / High Value] **Goal:** Retain and expand **Communication frequency:** [Weekly / Biweekly] **Communication tone:** Exclusive, appreciative, insider **Offers:** Early access, premium features, loyalty rewards **Service level:** Priority support, dedicated contact **Messaging:** "As one of our top customers, you get..." ### [Segment: Loyal / Regular] **Goal:** Increase value and deepen engagement **Communication frequency:** [Biweekly / Monthly] **Communication tone:** Helpful, educational **Offers:** Upsell relevant features, bundle deals **Service level:** Standard with fast response **Messaging:** "Here is how to get even more value from..." ### [Segment: At Risk / Declining] **Goal:** Re-engage before churn **Communication frequency:** [Weekly outreach for 30 days] **Communication tone:** Personal, caring, non-pushy **Offers:** Incentive to re-engage (discount, free session, exclusive content) **Service level:** Proactive outreach, escalation priority **Messaging:** "We noticed it has been a while — everything OK?" ### [Segment: New] **Goal:** Activate and establish habit **Communication frequency:** [Daily for first week, then weekly] **Communication tone:** Welcoming, guiding **Offers:** Onboarding support, quick-win resources **Service level:** Onboarding-focused **Messaging:** "Welcome! Here is your first step..." ``` --- ## Phase 4: Operationalize Implement and maintain segments over time. ### Segmentation Maintenance ``` ## Segment Review Schedule **Monthly:** Update customer segment assignments based on latest data **Quarterly:** Review segment sizes and trends — are segments growing or shrinking? **Biannually:** Reassess segment definitions — are the segments still relevant? ``` ### Migration Tracking Track how customers move between segments: ``` ## Segment Migration — [Period] | From → To | Count | Action Taken | Result | |-----------|-------|-------------|--------| | Regular → Champion | [#] | [What drove the upgrade] | Positive | | Regular → At Risk | [#] | [Warning sign] | Needs attention | | At Risk → Dormant | [#] | [Re-engagement failed] | Review approach | ``` ### Automation Opportunities - Auto-tag customers in CRM based on RFM scores - Trigger email sequences when customers enter a new segment - Alert the owner when a Champion becomes At Risk --- ## Anti-Patterns - **Too many segments** — more than 5 segments is hard to maintain and act on. Start with 3-4. - **Segments without strategies** — segmenting customers and then treating them all the same wastes the effort. - **Static segmentation** — customers change. Update segments at least monthly. - **Ignoring the "dormant" segment** — deciding they are a lost cause without trying to re-engage wastes existing relationships. - **Segmenting by demographics only** — behavior and value predict outcomes better than age or location. --- ## Recovery - **User has too few customers to segment:** Even with 20 customers, you can split into 3 groups: high value, medium value, needs attention. The principle applies at any scale. - **No data to segment with:** Start with purchase history only (recency + monetary). That is enough for a useful 2-dimension segmentation. - **User does not have a CRM:** Use a spreadsheet with columns for each segmentation dimension. Manual tagging works under 100 customers. - **Segments are too similar:** Reduce to fewer segments or use a different segmentation dimension. If all customers look the same, try behavioral data instead of value data. - **User cannot maintain segment strategies:** Automate what you can (email sequences) and focus manual effort on the top and bottom segments only.