Data Products
May 9, 2025

5 baseline customer segments you should be tracking today.

Must have customer segments for every marketing department

Not all customer segments are created equal.

Some are automated and always-on built into your lifecycle marketing. Others are ad hoc—spun up for a campaign or product launch. But there are a few baseline customer segments every consumer brand should track. These aren’t just tactical—they’re strategic indicators of brand health and essential for long-term growth.

Here are five segments every data-driven business should have in place:

1. Best Customers

What makes someone your “best” customer? It depends on your business goals.

For some, it’s those with the highest lifetime value. For others, it might be customers with the lowest acquisition cost. However you define it, the key is to identify and track them.

Why it matters:
You can use this segment to feed lookalike audiences in channels like Meta and Google to acquire more high-value customers—faster and more efficiently.

To effectively manage and analyze these segments, consider leveraging a Customer 360 approach to unify customer data across all touchpoints.

2. Low Engagement Customers

Your average email open rate might hover around 21%—meaning a large portion of your subscribers aren’t engaging. These dormant users are at risk of unsubscribing if bombarded with standard promotional emails.

Here’s how to handle it:

  • Define inactivity (e.g., no email opens in 30–90 days).
  • Suppress this segment from routine sends.
  • Use them only for high-value campaigns to re-engage without pushing them away.

Utilizing tools like Google Analytics can help in collecting and storing digital events directly into the Data Cloud, enabling real-time segmentation and targeted re-engagement strategies.

3. Most Loyal Customers

Not all loyal customers are your most profitable—and vice versa.

While your best customers might spend more, your most loyal ones might consistently engage, even if they use coupons or discounts. This group is a goldmine for:

  • New product launches
  • Beta programs
  • Exclusive experiences

Treat them as brand advocates. They’re often your first adopters and biggest fans.

For a deeper understanding of customer behavior, exploring behavioral data analysis can provide insights into loyalty patterns and engagement levels.

4. Unhappy Customers

Customer sentiment is always in motion. A satisfied customer today might turn frustrated tomorrow.

By tracking sentiment signals—like negative reviews, support tickets, or canceled orders—you can:

  • Suppress this group from promotional emails and ads.
  • Avoid triggering further dissatisfaction.
  • Reintroduce them only after sentiment improves.

It’s about timing. Engage when they’re ready—not when they’re upset.

Implementing a Customer 360 framework can aid in consolidating these signals, providing a comprehensive view of customer sentiment across various channels.

5. Renewal Customers

Whether you run a subscription model or rely on repeat purchases, this segment is mission-critical.

Start by identifying when customers are due for a transaction. Then build your comms backwards. For example:

  • If renewal decisions take 90 days, start outreach 90 days prior.
  • Build a thoughtful sequence—7 emails, targeted ads, or SMS reminders—to guide them through the journey.

Early, relevant communication = higher conversion rates.

Leveraging a Customer 360 approach ensures timely and personalized communication, enhancing the likelihood of successful renewals.

Bonus: Automated Clusters

Sometimes, patterns emerge that aren’t obvious. Let your models surface them.

Machine learning can identify non-intuitive clusters—like a 40-year-old man with 10 purchases being grouped with a 25-year-old woman who’s made one. If the data says they behave similarly, dig in:

  • What connects them?
  • Is this a meaningful segment?
  • How can you use it?

These hidden segments often uncover untapped marketing opportunities.

Snowflake's Cohort Builder is a versatile solution designed to facilitate the creation, management, and scheduling of customer cohorts, enabling deeper insights into such clusters.

How Data Mavericks Helps You Segment Smarter

At Data Mavericks, we specialize in building a customer data model that powers smarter segmentation. From ingesting demographic, behavioral, and transactional data to resolving identities and activating segments—you get a flexible, scalable Customer 360.

Let’s talk about:

  • Your zero-party, first-party, and third-party data
  • How to unify and activate it across your channels
  • Building a segmentation strategy that’s future-ready

👉 Start the conversation with us

Stay ahead with the latest thinking on data, AI, and innovation in banking.