# Customer Segmentation Explained: Send the Right Message to the Right People

> Customer segmentation is grouping your contacts by shared traits, such as location, what they buy, how recently they bought or whether they agreed to marketing, so each message goes only to people it suits. For small businesses it means fewer, more relevant WhatsApp, SMS and email messages, better response, lower costs and fewer opt-outs or blocks.

Source: https://chat.or.ke/blog/contact-segmentation-explained
Published: 2026-10-20 | Updated: 2026-10-20 | Publisher: chat.or.ke

Customer segmentation is the practice of dividing your contact list into groups of people who share something that matters to your business, so you can send each group messages that fit. Instead of one offer to everyone, a Mombasa hotel sends its weekend package to Mombasa residents and its conference deal to corporate contacts.

This explainer is for small business owners and marketers who message customers on WhatsApp, SMS or email. It covers the main types of segmentation, a worked Kenyan example, and how to start with the list you already have.

## Key takeaways

- Segmentation groups contacts by shared traits so each message is relevant to the people who receive it.
- The most useful segments for small businesses are location, purchase behaviour, recency, customer type and consent.
- Relevant messages get more replies and fewer blocks, which matters a lot on WhatsApp.
- Start with three to six segments built from tags and a few fields, then refine.
- Consent is a segment too: only people who opted in should get promotions.

## What is the difference between contact and customer segmentation?

The two terms mean almost the same thing. Customer segmentation usually refers to existing buyers, while contact segmentation covers everyone on your list, including leads who have not bought yet and people who only asked a question. For messaging, contact segmentation is the more practical idea, because your list mixes both.

## Why does segmentation matter for WhatsApp and SMS?

Segmentation matters more on chat channels than on email, because every message lands on a personal phone. Irrelevant messages get ignored, muted, blocked or reported.

On WhatsApp, blocks and reports can lower your number's quality rating, which may limit how many people you can message. Every WhatsApp promotional message and SMS also has a cost. On chat.or.ke, a promotional WhatsApp message costs KES 4.50 and an SMS KES 0.55 per part, so sending an offer to 500 interested people instead of 5,000 uninterested ones saves money as well as goodwill.

## What are the main types of customer segmentation?

There are five types that small businesses use most. You rarely need more.

| Type | Based on | Kenyan example |
|---|---|---|
| Geographic | Where the customer lives or shops | Nakuru customers for a new branch opening |
| Behavioural | What they buy or ask about | Contacts who asked about school uniforms |
| Recency and value | When they last bought and how much | Customers who spent the most last year |
| Customer type | Who they are to you | Retail, wholesale, corporate, member, patient |
| Consent and channel | What they agreed to and where they read | Opted in on WhatsApp; SMS only; email only |

### Geographic segmentation

Location is the easiest segment to start with and often the most useful. Delivery offers, branch events and weather-related products all depend on place. Record a town or estate for each contact, and you can tell Kisumu customers about a Kisumu event without bothering Nairobi.

### Behavioural segmentation

What people buy or enquire about predicts what they will buy next. A pharmacy can message customers who bought baby formula about a new brand, and an electronics shop can tell phone buyers about screen protectors.

### Recency, frequency and value

Marketers call this RFM: how recently someone bought, how often, and how much they spent. Even a simple version helps. Separate "bought in the last 90 days", "bought before but not recently" and "never bought" and you have three groups that need very different messages.

### Customer type

Wholesale and retail customers want different prices and different tones. A SACCO messages members differently from prospective members, and a clinic messages patients differently from corporate clients.

### Consent and channel

This segment is not optional. Under Kenya's Data Protection Act, 2019, promotional messages need consent and an easy opt-out. Keep separate groups for people who agreed to marketing, people you may only send service updates, and people who opted out. Our article on [opt-in and opt-out rules in Kenya](https://chat.or.ke/blog/opt-in-and-opt-out-rules-kenya) explains the rules.

## What does segmentation look like in practice?

Here is a worked example. Pwani Fresh is an imagined grocery delivery business in Mombasa with 3,000 contacts collected from WhatsApp orders over two years.

Without segmentation, it sends every promotion to all 3,000 people. Replies are low, some customers block the number, and costs add up.

With segmentation, it tags contacts by area (Nyali, Bamburi, Likoni, town), by what they order (fruit and vegetables, meat, household goods) and by status (ordered in the last month, lapsed). Consent is recorded for each contact.

When a fresh fish supplier offers a Friday discount, Pwani Fresh sends it only to opted-in contacts tagged "meat and fish" in Nyali and Bamburi, the two areas it can deliver to that day: about 400 people. Lapsed customers get a separate "we miss you" message a week later. Fewer messages go out, more of them are relevant, and the list stays healthy.

## How do you start segmenting your contacts?

Start with the data you already have, then grow it through everyday conversations. A practical sequence:

1. **Get your list into one place.** Import existing spreadsheets into a CRM. Our guide on [how to import and segment contacts](https://chat.or.ke/blog/how-to-import-and-segment-contacts) covers the clean-up step by step.
2. **Choose three to six segments** you will actually message: perhaps location, top product interest, customer type and consent.
3. **Tag as you chat.** When a customer asks about something, tag them there and then. In the [chat.or.ke CRM](https://chat.or.ke/features/crm), contacts are created automatically from WhatsApp, email and SMS conversations, and you can add tags and custom fields such as location or interest.
4. **Send to one segment at a time.** With [WhatsApp broadcasts](https://chat.or.ke/features/broadcasts), choose contacts by tag or segment, and see how many will receive the message before you send. Contacts who opted out or keep failing are filtered automatically.
5. **Use the right channel per segment.** Send [bulk SMS](https://chat.or.ke/features/bulk-sms) to customers without WhatsApp and email newsletters to those who prefer email.
6. **Review quarterly.** Retire segments you never use and add ones you keep wishing you had.

## What mistakes should you avoid?

A few common errors undo the benefits of segmentation:

- **Too many tiny segments.** If a segment has twelve people, it is probably a note, not a segment.
- **Tags nobody applies.** Agree a short tag list with your team and stick to it.
- **Ignoring consent.** A perfectly targeted message to someone who opted out is still a problem.
- **Never updating.** People move and change habits; an untouched segment drifts.
- **Over-messaging your best customers.** Being in many segments should not mean receiving many messages in one week.

Before a large WhatsApp send, read [how to send WhatsApp broadcasts without getting blocked](https://chat.or.ke/blog/how-to-send-whatsapp-broadcasts-without-getting-blocked).

## Frequently asked questions

### What is customer segmentation in simple terms?

Customer segmentation is splitting your customer list into groups of people who have something in common, such as where they live, what they buy or whether they agreed to marketing, so you can send each group messages that suit them instead of the same message to everyone.

### What are the four main types of customer segmentation?

The classic four are demographic, geographic, behavioural and psychographic. For small businesses messaging customers, the most practical are geographic, behavioural, recency of purchase and customer type, plus consent, which decides who may receive promotions at all.

### Why is segmentation important for WhatsApp marketing?

Irrelevant WhatsApp messages get muted, blocked or reported, which can lower your number's quality rating and limit how many people you can message. Segmenting means fewer, more relevant messages, better replies and lower costs per sale.

### How many customer segments should a small business have?

Three to six segments is a good start for most small businesses. Choose groups you will actually message differently, such as location, main product interest, customer type and recent buyers. Add more only when you have a message that needs a narrower audience.

### What data do I need to segment customers?

Start with phone number, name, location, what the customer bought or asked about, when they last bought, and whether they agreed to marketing. Most of this can be captured during normal conversations by tagging contacts as you chat.