Technographic segmentation

Technographic segmentation groups customers and prospects based on their technology ownership and usage. Technographic segmentation focuses on technology-related behaviors and trends.

It helps companies understand what hardware, software, tools, and applications customers use and how that usage affects buying decisions.

Technographic segmentation helps companies understand the competitive landscape and identify new market opportunities and threats. Technographic data is especially useful for technology enterprises, SaaS businesses, consultancies, and professional service providers.

You can use technographic data to divide customers based on the technology adoption lifecycle popularized by Everett Rogers:

• Innovators

• Early Adopters

• Early Majority

• Late Majority

• Laggards

How do industry leaders segment their audience for personalization? Find out in our report on industry segmentation patterns.

The technographic data you use to segment customers will depend on what types of products or services you offer and which technographic factors matter most to your business.

Common segmentation techniques include segmenting customers based on the following:

• Device ownership and usage (e.g., smartphones, tablets, laptops).

• Software usage (e.g., operating systems, productivity suites).

• Cloud services (e.g., storage, backup, collaboration).

• Digital media consumption (e.g., social media, streaming video).

• Ecommerce activity (e.g., online shopping, mobile payments).

Technographic segmentation provides valuable insights into the technology usage of current and potential customers. These insights improve marketing and sales efforts by helping companies:

• Identify new target markets.

• Spot technology trends.

• Tailor marketing messages.

• Understand which potential customers are a good fit.

Technographic can also be combined with firmographic data to feed into account-based marketing (ABM) strategies.

There are some things to consider before using technographic segmentation.

Technology usage isn't the most relevant factor for every industry. Technographic segmentation is a great marketing strategy for technology companies, but technology use might be less relevant in other industries.

Technographic data changes quickly. It can be challenging to keep segments updated as technology moves fast, with companies constantly updating their technology stacks to keep up.

Technographic data provides limited information. It overlooks other factors and leads to a narrow audience view.

Web-based surveys are the most common method of collecting technographic data. You can use surveys to gather data about a company's website usage, social media usage, and other online activities.

Other methods of collecting first-party data include customer interviews, focus groups, and observation.

IP intelligence and intent data providers can also provide data for technographic segmentation.

See how easy it is to set up segments and start delivering personalized experiences with AI-native personalization, or contact us to see how Contentful can help your business scale personalization faster.