Why I Find The “Segment of One” Concept Misleading

A Rant About Terminology

The marketing concept of a “segment of one”; the idea of tailoring marketing efforts to individual customers; has gained traction with advancements in data analytics and personalised marketing strategies.

However, I feel strongly that this concept can be misleading for several reasons… here we go:

The Marketing Made Clear Podcast

This article features content from the Marketing Made Clear podcast. You can listen along to this episode on Spotify:

Operational Limitations

Implementing true one-to-one marketing is usually operationally challenging, if not unfeasible. Crafting unique marketing messages for each individual is impractical, especially in large-scale campaigns. Instead, marketers often rely on segmenting audiences into groups sharing similar characteristics and then applying personalisation within these segments. This approach, while more feasible, doesn’t equate to genuine individual marketing.

Personalisations and variables should really be standard in most campaigns these days – especially in any large scale campaign.

Data Privacy and Ethical Concerns

Personalised marketing requires extensive data collection, raising privacy and ethical issues. Consumers are increasingly wary of how their data is used, and regulations like the GDPR impose strict guidelines on data handling. These factors limit the extent to which marketers can personalise messages, making the “segment of one” concept less attainable.

There’ also a line that shouldn’t be crossed in relation to making communications feel uncomfortable or overfamiliar. If the consumer is asking “how did you know that about me” or, “that’s a bit freaky” – you know you have crossed that line.

Technological Constraints

While technology has advanced, it hasn’t fully bridged the gap between the concept and reality of one-to-one marketing. Many companies face challenges in synchronising and analysing data effectively to deliver truly personalised experiences. Technological limitations can hinder the execution of individualised marketing strategies.

Scalability Issues

Personalising marketing efforts for each individual doesn’t scale well. Businesses often shift to creating personas or customer segments to manage marketing strategies effectively. This segmentation, while useful, contradicts the notion of a “segment of one,” highlighting the concept’s impracticality in real-world applications.

What’s the Point?

You surely have to ask yourself what the point of this level of personalisation is?

Relevance is the key aim here and you want your communications to be highly relevant – but certainly not creepy and overfamiliar. And this is all very time-consuming, I’m sure there are plenty of better ways to spend your time.

That being said – if you are a B2B business – you can probably justify one-to-one campaigns if the size and potential profitability of the customer warrants this level of investment – think ROI!

Conclusion

The “segment of one” concept, though appealing, is more theoretical than practical.

Operational challenges, data privacy concerns, technological constraints, and scalability issues make true individual marketing difficult to achieve. Marketers should focus on creating relevant and engaging content for well-defined segments rather than striving for unattainable individualization.