What is the difference between market segmentation and customer segmentation?

Market segmentation targets potential customers or prospects. Its goal is to divide a broad target market into smaller, more manageable groups to inform marketing and sales strategies, essentially answering the question 'who could we sell to?'. Customer segmentation, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on existing customers. Its purpose is to understand, engage, and retain them more effectively, answering the question 'how do we keep and grow the customers we already have?'.

How many customer segments should a B2B SaaS company have?

There is no magic number, but it is best to start small and focused. Aim for three to five core, actionable segments initially. The key is actionability. It is far better to have a few well-defined segments that you actively create tailored programmes for than to have twenty hyper-specific segments that you do nothing with. As your customer marketing function matures, you can add more nuanced segments.

What tools are needed for customer segmentation?

A modern segmentation strategy relies on a few key pieces of technology working together. At a minimum, you need: a CRM (like Salesforce) to act as the central repository for account data; a product analytics tool (like Pendo or Amplitude) to understand user behaviour within your application; and a marketing automation platform (like Marketo or HubSpot) to execute targeted campaigns. For more mature organisations, a dedicated Customer Data Platform (CDP) can be invaluable for unifying data from all these sources into a single customer view.

A Guide to B2B Customer Segmentation for Engagement

Stop batch-and-blasting your customers. Learn how to build meaningful customer segments based on behaviour and value to drive relevant engagement.

Published: 1 June 2026
Topics: customer segmentation, customer engagement, customer marketing, b2b saas, lifecycle marketing

B2B customer segmentation for engagement is the practice of dividing existing customers into distinct groups based on shared characteristics, such as product behaviour, business goals, and company profile. This allows customer marketing and success teams to move beyond generic, one-size-fits-all communication and deliver relevant, timely, and valuable interactions that deepen relationships and drive business outcomes like retention and expansion.

Your last email campaign probably underwhelmed. You sent the same feature announcement to your biggest champion and a customer who has not logged in for six months. Predictably, engagement was poor. It is time to stop batch-and-blasting and start treating different customers differently.

By Francisco Opazo · Reviewed by the Led by Community editorial team

What is B2B Customer Segmentation for Engagement?

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