User Segmentation Explained

Published on: Mon, 21 Aug, 2023 at 3:10 AM | Updated on: Tue, 12 Sep, 2023 at 4:09 AM

Segmentation is the process of dividing your program's participants into user segments, or groups, that are based on shared characteristics.

Common segmentation criteria include demographic factors like:

Age
Gender
Location
Job Industry
Place of employment
Income

You might also segment users based on a number of characteristics related to their relationship with your business like:

Membership status
Subscription plan tier
Last purchase date
Signup date
Device

By segmenting your participants you can better understand their interests, follow their activity, and more accurately provide value that matches their needs.

Manage user segments

In the SaaSquatch by impact.com Admin Portal, you can create new user segments, add individual participants to user segments, add participants to user segments in bulk, and remove participants from user segments.

Step 1: Create a user segment

In the top menu bar, select Data → Segments.
Select [Add Segment] in the Segments bar.
Enter a segment in the text box.
Select Add.

Step 2: Add a single participant to a user segment

In the top menu bar, select Participants.
Find the specific participant you want to add to a user segment.
Select their name to load their participant profile.
In the bottom left of the user overview, select Add Segment.
Choose the user segment you would like to include this participant in.

Step 3: Bulk add participants to a user segment

In the top menu bar, select Data → Segments.
Find the name of the segment to which you want to add users.
Select Add Users on the right side of the tow. The Import Data page will open.
Choose the import type Users.
Using the example CSV, create a list of all participants you would like to be included in a specific user segment.
Upload the file by selecting Select & Upload.
Use the dropdown list to select the segment you want to add these participants to.
Select Start Upload.

Step 4: Remove a participant from a user segment

In the top menu bar, select Participants.
Find the specific participant you want to add to a user segment.
Select their name to load their participant profile.
In the bottom left of the user overview, select [Cancel] to the right of the segment that the participant should no longer be in.

SaaSquatch by impact.com API and UTT segmentation

The SaaSquatch by impact.com REST API and UTT Javascript library can also be used to programmatically manage which segments participants are members of.

This functionality can be accessed by including one or more of the following "operations" (a combination of the name of the segment and an operator) in the user object of the API call or UTT method.

The following operators are the basis for the user segmentation Operations, which are used to manage which segments a participant is a member of.

Operator	Description	Example
Add	Providing just the segment key will attempt to add the participant to the segment. If the participant is already part of the segment, then no action will be taken.	`mySegmentKey`
Delete	Including the segment key with a `~` in front of it will inform the SaaSquatch by impact.com system to remove the participant from the segment. If the participant is already not part of the segment, then no action will be taken.	`~mySegmentKey`
Clear	Including a key, with a `~` in front of it, will inform the SaaSquatch by impact.com system to remove the participant from all segments they are currently part of.	`~`

The following Operations, built using the available Operators, enable you to manage which segments a user is a member of.

Operation	Description	Example
Add	Adds a participant to a segment. Any other existing segments will be retained.	`{ "id" : "abc_123", ... "segments" : ["A"] }`
Set	Set the segment(s) for a participant. Any other existing segments will be removed. Important The order matters! To perform a set operation, the clear Operator (~) should be included first.	`{ "id" : "abc_123", ... "segments" : ["~","A" ] }`
Remove	Remove a participant from a segment. Any other existing segments will be retained.	`{ "id" : "abc_123", ... "segments" : ["~A"] }`
Clear	Clear all segments configured for a participant.	`{ "id" : "abc_123", ... "segments" : ["~*"] }`

Note

You can find further details about using these Operations in our UTT Javascript library and SaaSquatch by impact.com API methods in our User API Documentation.

Manage user segments

SaaSquatch by impact.com API and UTT segmentation

Related Articles