When trying to develop a B2B venture, spraying and praying in your marketing communication is a surefire way to fall out of the race. To create a scalable and sustainable business model, you need to know precisely whom you address and why. Nevertheless, even experienced salespeople often get confused by two key approaches to market development: market segmentation and target group segmentation.
Although these approaches might seem to be identical, their confusion will mean using an unnecessary roadmap to close deals. We have prepared a handy guide on how to differentiate between these marketing tools and how to use the concept of market segmentation to your advantage.
Segmentation is the strategy whereby the market is segmented into smaller groups with similar traits. You could say that it gives an overview of the whole market like a bird’s eye view.
In the B2B world, segmentation will be the first step in identifying niche markets. This means that instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all approach, you can now identify white spaces where your expertise can be utilised.
The key difference is in terms of the breadth and narrowness of focus for the data used:
In Market Segmentation, data is obtained on possible customers in the complete market environment to find out new opportunities.
Target Group Segmentation (also called customer segmentation) obtains information on either the current customers or an extremely narrow part of the market.
As Market Segmentation finds out who can buy, Target Group Segmentation knows who is likely to buy and how to retain them.
Now that you have identified the market, the next step is to choose the route to take. Here, target audience analysis and buyer personas come in handy.
Target audience analysis involves a subset of a market segment. You determine who these are based on more in-depth analyses, such as "pain points," motivating factors, and customer lifecycle stages.
Your CRM becomes the “goldmine” of data when you use it for developing your business-to-business network. CRM segmentation can help you automate the relevance of your communication. By using the CRM customer segmentation technique, you are able to create dynamic contact lists depending on prospects’ behaviour.
Key techniques used in advanced CRM strategies include:
By leveraging marketing automation segmentation, you can ensure personalised email targeting reaches the right person at the right time—for example, sending a technical whitepaper to an engineer while offering a ROI calculator to a C-level executive.
De Grijff understands that in order for business development to be successful, it needs to be evidence-based and scalable. While segmentation alone will help you identify many leads, closing these deals may be difficult since your pitch will not be tailored enough. On the other hand, focusing solely on your current target market can mean missing out on emerging niche markets and new technologies.
A combination of both will allow you to:
Identify High-Value Leads: Utilise firmographic filters to uncover industries with the highest CLV.
Increase Sales Efficiencies: Empower your sales team by providing them with complete personas, thus addressing their pain points right off the bat.
Increase ROI: Spend your budget exclusively on segments that have a 5-10% conversion rate.
Understanding the difference between mapping the market and targeting the group is the first step toward commercial excellence. By using data-driven CRM segmentation based on purchase behaviour and deep target audience analysis, you can transform your sales process from a manual struggle into a predictable growth engine.
At De Grijff, we specialise in business development across various niche industries. We help you identify your ideal target accounts and convert them into loyal, long-term partners through a data-driven strategy. Plan a Conversation with Our Experts.
Yes. While precision is good, "over-segmentation" can lead to groups that are too small to justify the cost of a dedicated marketing campaign. You must balance depth with scalability.
Markets are not static. External factors like technological advancements or economic shifts (e.g., the rise of remote work) can change customer behaviour. Reviewing your segments frequently ensures they remain actionable.
No. While it is excellent for how to segment contacts in CRM for email campaigns, these insights also guide product development, pricing strategies, and even which trade shows your team should attend.
It is the B2B equivalent of demographics. It categorises businesses by industry, company size, revenue, and location to help sales teams tailor proposals to the unique needs of a specific sector.