TutorialsCreating Your First Segment

Creating Your First Segment

Learn how to create customer segments based on purchase behavior, demographics, and engagement patterns to target the right customers with your campaigns.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • ✅ Your WooCommerce store connected to Growffinity
  • ✅ Customer data synced (at least 10-20 customers recommended)
  • ✅ Some order history in your store
  • ✅ Basic understanding of your customer base

Time Required: 10-15 minutes

What Are Segments?

Segments are groups of customers who share common characteristics. By creating segments, you can:

  • Target the right customers with relevant campaigns
  • Personalize messaging based on customer behavior
  • Increase engagement by sending relevant content
  • Boost conversions with targeted offers
  • Reduce unsubscribes by avoiding irrelevant messages

Common Segment Examples:

  • High-value customers (total spent > $500)
  • Recent buyers (purchased in last 30 days)
  • Lapsed customers (haven’t purchased in 90+ days)
  • First-time buyers
  • Cart abandoners
  • Product category enthusiasts
  • Geographic segments

Step 1: Access the Segments Page

  1. Log in to your Growffinity dashboard
  2. Click Segments in the left sidebar
  3. You’ll see a list of any existing segments
  4. Click Create New Segment (top right)

Result: The segment builder opens.

Step 2: Name Your Segment

First, give your segment a clear, descriptive name:

  1. In the Segment Name field, enter a descriptive name
    • Example: “High-Value Customers”
    • Example: “Lapsed Customers - 90 Days”
    • Example: “First-Time Buyers This Month”
  2. (Optional) Add a Description to explain the segment’s purpose
    • Example: “Customers who have spent over $500 total”

Tip: Use clear names that explain who’s in the segment. You’ll thank yourself later!

Step 3: Choose Your Segment Type

Growffinity offers two types of segments:

Option A: Dynamic Segments (Recommended)

  • Automatically updates as customers meet/don’t meet criteria
  • Always current - new customers added automatically
  • Most common choice for ongoing campaigns
  • Example: “Customers who spent $500+” will automatically include new high-value customers

Option B: Static Segments

  • Fixed list of customers at a point in time
  • Doesn’t update automatically
  • Useful for one-time campaigns or historical analysis
  • Example: “Customers who purchased during Black Friday 2024”

For this tutorial: Select Dynamic Segment (recommended for most use cases)

Step 4: Add Conditions

Now define who should be in this segment. Let’s create a “High-Value Customers” segment as an example.

Adding Your First Condition:

  1. Click Add Condition
  2. Select a condition type from the dropdown:
    • Purchase Behavior (most common)
    • Customer Properties
    • Engagement
    • Location
  3. For our example, select Purchase Behavior → Total Spent
  4. Choose the operator: is greater than
  5. Enter the value: 500

Result: The condition reads “Total Spent is greater than $500”

Understanding Condition Types:

Purchase Behavior Conditions:

  • Total Spent: Lifetime customer value
  • Order Count: Number of orders placed
  • Average Order Value: Average spending per order
  • Last Purchase Date: When they last bought
  • First Purchase Date: When they became a customer
  • Days Since Last Purchase: Recency metric
  • Purchased Product: Specific products bought
  • Product Category: Category purchases

Customer Properties:

  • Email Status: Subscribed/unsubscribed
  • Customer Since: Account creation date
  • Tags: Custom tags you’ve applied
  • Customer Type: Wholesale, retail, etc.

Engagement:

  • Email Opens: Opened your emails
  • Email Clicks: Clicked links in emails
  • Campaign Activity: Responded to campaigns

Location:

  • Country: Customer’s country
  • State/Province: Customer’s state
  • City: Customer’s city
  • Postal Code: Customer’s zip/postal code

Step 5: Add Multiple Conditions (Optional)

You can combine multiple conditions to create more specific segments.

Using AND Logic:

Add multiple conditions that ALL must be true:

  1. Click Add Condition again
  2. The default is AND logic (all conditions must match)
  3. Add condition: Last Purchase Date → is within last → 30 days

Result: Segment includes customers where “Total Spent > $500 AND Last Purchase Date within 30 days” (active high-value customers)

Using OR Logic:

Create conditions where ANY can be true:

  1. Click the AND dropdown between conditions
  2. Change to OR
  3. Now customers matching EITHER condition will be included

Example: “Total Spent > $500 OR Order Count > 10” includes big spenders OR frequent buyers

Grouping Conditions:

For complex segments, you can group conditions:

  1. Click Add Group
  2. Create a nested set of conditions
  3. Example: “(Total Spent > $500 OR Order Count > 10) AND Last Purchase within 60 days”

Step 6: Preview Your Segment

Before saving, preview who will be included:

  1. Click Preview Segment (bottom of page)
  2. You’ll see:
    • Customer Count: Number of customers matching criteria
    • Sample Customers: First 10 customers in segment
  3. Review the list to verify it’s correct
  4. Check that the count seems reasonable

Important: If the count is 0, your conditions might be too restrictive. If it’s ALL your customers, conditions might be too broad.

Example Preview:

Segment: High-Value Customers
Matches: 127 customers (8.5% of total)

Sample Customers:
1. Sarah Johnson - $1,245 total spent
2. Michael Chen - $892 total spent
3. Emily Rodriguez - $756 total spent
...

Step 7: Save Your Segment

If the preview looks good:

  1. Click Save Segment
  2. You’ll see a success message
  3. For dynamic segments, you’ll see “This segment will update automatically”

Result: Your segment is created and ready to use in campaigns!

Step 8: Verify and Use Your Segment

  1. Return to the Segments page
  2. Find your new segment in the list
  3. You should see:
    • Segment name
    • Customer count
    • Last updated time
    • “Dynamic” or “Static” badge

Next Actions:

From the segments page, you can:

  • View Details: Click the segment name to see all members
  • Edit: Modify conditions anytime (for dynamic segments)
  • Export: Download customer list as CSV
  • Create Campaign: Use segment in email/SMS campaign
  • Duplicate: Create a similar segment
  • Archive: Remove from active list (doesn’t delete customers)

Common Segment Examples

Here are some pre-built segment ideas you can create:

1. VIP Customers

Use case: Special offers, early access, loyalty rewards

  • Total Spent > $1,000
  • Order Count > 5

2. At-Risk Customers

Use case: Win-back campaigns, special discounts

  • Last Purchase Date > 90 days ago
  • Total Spent > $100 (so they were valuable)

3. First-Time Buyers

Use case: Welcome series, product education

  • Order Count = 1
  • First Purchase Date within last 30 days

4. Cart Abandoners

Use case: Recovery emails with discount

  • Abandoned Cart Date within last 7 days
  • Did Not Complete Purchase

5. Product Category Enthusiasts

Use case: New product announcements, category promotions

  • Purchased from Category = “Electronics”
  • Order Count in Category > 3

6. Geographic Segments

Use case: Local events, regional promotions

  • State = “California”
  • City = “Los Angeles”

7. Engaged Email Subscribers

Use case: Most responsive audience for new campaigns

  • Email Open Rate > 30%
  • Clicked Email in last 60 days
  • Email Status = Subscribed

8. Potential Repeat Buyers

Use case: Incentivize second purchase

  • Order Count = 1
  • First Purchase Date between 14-60 days ago

Best Practices

Naming Conventions:

  • Be specific: “VIP Customers - $1000+” vs “Good Customers”
  • Include criteria: “Lapsed 90+ Days” vs “Inactive”
  • Use dates: “Black Friday 2024 Buyers” for static segments
  • Stay consistent: Choose a naming pattern and stick to it

Segment Size:

  • Too small (under 50): Limited impact, hard to analyze
  • Too large (over 50% of list): Not targeted enough
  • Sweet spot: 5-30% of your customer base for most campaigns
  • Micro-segments: 1-2% can work for very personalized offers

Testing Segments:

  1. Start broad, then narrow down based on performance
  2. Test segment logic by checking a few customers manually
  3. Monitor growth over time (especially for dynamic segments)
  4. Review quarterly to ensure segments still make sense

Privacy Considerations:

  • Segments honor unsubscribe status automatically
  • Never export and share customer lists externally
  • GDPR/privacy laws apply - only use data for intended purposes
  • Customers can request segment exclusion

Verification Checklist

After creating your segment, verify:

  • Segment name is clear and descriptive
  • Customer count seems reasonable (not 0, not everyone)
  • Sample customers actually match your criteria
  • For dynamic segments, “Auto-update” is enabled
  • Segment appears in your segments list
  • You can view the full customer list
  • Segment is available when creating campaigns

What Happens Next?

Once your segment is created:

  1. Automatic Updates: Dynamic segments update every 15 minutes
  2. Ready for Campaigns: Use in email or SMS campaigns
  3. Analytics Available: Track segment growth over time
  4. Exportable: Download customer lists anytime
  5. Workflow Compatible: Use as triggers in automated workflows

Next Steps

Now that you’ve created your first segment:

  1. Build your first campaign using this segment
  2. Set up automated workflows that target segments
  3. Create 3-5 core segments for your business
  4. Review and refine segments monthly

Troubleshooting

Problem: “Segment shows 0 customers”

Possible causes:

  • Conditions are too restrictive (try loosening criteria)
  • No customers actually meet the criteria yet
  • Store data hasn’t finished syncing

Solutions:

  1. Click Preview to see why customers don’t match
  2. Temporarily remove conditions one-by-one to identify the issue
  3. Check that your store data is fully synced (Settings → Stores → Sync Status)

Problem: “Segment includes everyone”

Cause: Conditions are too broad or using OR instead of AND

Solutions:

  1. Add more specific conditions
  2. Check that you’re using AND logic where appropriate
  3. Review operator choices (> vs >=, etc.)

Problem: “Customer I expect isn’t in segment”

Debug steps:

  1. Open that customer’s profile in Growffinity
  2. Check their actual values (Total Spent, Order Count, etc.)
  3. Compare against your segment conditions
  4. Remember: values must match ALL conditions (for AND logic)

Common issues:

  • Customer data hasn’t synced yet (check sync status)
  • Condition uses wrong operator (less than instead of greater than)
  • Date ranges don’t include the customer

Problem: “Segment count keeps changing”

This is normal for dynamic segments! They update as:

  • Customers make purchases (may enter segment)
  • Time passes (may exit time-based segments)
  • Customer data updates
  • New customers are added

Static segments don’t change - create one if you need a fixed list.

Problem: “Can’t use segment in campaign”

Check:

  • Segment is saved (not just previewed)
  • Segment has at least 1 customer
  • You have the correct permissions
  • Segment isn’t archived

Solution: Return to Segments page and verify segment appears in active list

Advanced Tips

Segment Combinations:

Create complementary segments for A/B testing:

  • Segment A: “High Value - Engaged” (Total Spent over $500, Email Open Rate over 30%)
  • Segment B: “High Value - Not Engaged” (Total Spent over $500, Email Open Rate under 30%)

Send different campaign strategies to each!

Lookalike Segments:

After creating a successful segment (like VIP customers), analyze what they have in common:

  • Average order value
  • Favorite product categories
  • Purchase frequency

Then create segments to find customers showing similar early behaviors.

Exclusion Segments:

Create segments of customers to EXCLUDE from campaigns:

  • Recent Purchasers (don’t send “Buy Now” to someone who just bought)
  • Unengaged (haven’t opened 10+ emails in a row)
  • Refund Requesters (need different messaging)

Use these in campaign settings to exclude specific groups.

Need More Help?

If you’re having trouble creating segments:

  1. Check the Getting Started guide
  2. Review customer data requirements
  3. Try our segment templates (click “Use Template” on Segments page)
  4. Contact support through your dashboard

Pro tip: Start with simple segments (like “Last 30 Days Buyers”) before creating complex multi-condition segments!

Adding Your StoreBuilding Your First Campaign