Kundensegmente

A newsletter can go to everyone, or to everyone who has used one of your services. That is enough for an announcement and not much else. The messages that actually bring people back are narrower: the twenty customers who used to come every six weeks and have not been in since March, the groomer customers who have never tried the walking service, the handful who have spent over five hundred pounds.

A segment is a name and a few rules. Everything a rule can ask about — visits, spend, services used, pets, whether they are already booked in — comes from records you already keep, so there is no list to maintain and a segment cannot go out of date.

A segment is a question, not a list

It is worked out fresh at the moment you send. Somebody who books next week drops out of your “not booked in” segment without you touching anything.

Unsubscribes cannot be overridden

Anyone who has opted out, or who has no usable email address, is removed after the rules have run. There is no combination of rules that can put them back, and the list screen shows how many were removed for each reason.

Combining rules: and, or, brackets

Each rule row is numbered 1 to 8. With the Logic box left empty, every rule must be true — “has ever booked grooming” and “last visit was more than 12 weeks ago” means both, not either.

To combine them differently, type how in the Logic box using the rule numbers, and, or and brackets:

• 1 and (2 or 3) and 4 — rules 1 and 4, plus either 2 or 3.
• (1 and 2) or 3 — both 1 and 2, or just 3 on its own.
• 1 or 2 or 3 — any one of them.

It is checked when you save, and a segment that does not pass is not saved — the screen comes back with what you typed and says what is wrong. Three things are always refused: a number with no rule on that row; a filled-in rule that the logic never mentions; and and next to or without brackets. 1 and 2 or 3 can be read two ways, so it has to be written as (1 and 2) or 3 or 1 and (2 or 3).

One thing worth knowing: a customer who has never been in is never matched by a “last visit” rule. Otherwise every old enquiry would be swept into a message about how long it has been since we saw them. Use Never booked at all for those.

Days, weeks or months

Every time rule has its own unit. Last visit was within the last 2 days covers today, yesterday and the day before — whole days, so a nine o’clock visit two days ago still counts when you ask at three in the afternoon. The time rules are:

• Last visit — within the last, or more than, so long ago.
• First visit — new customers, or long-standing ones.
• Next booking — within the next, or more than, so long away. Nobody booked in is never matched; use Booked in already: no for them.
• Became a customer — when their record was added, whether or not they have been in yet.
• Visits in the last 12 months — at least or at most a number of visits, for finding your regulars.

Seeing who is in it

The count beside each segment has a See who link underneath that lists every customer in it, with their email, last visit and next booking. Each name opens their record. The same list appears under the editor after you save, so you can check a new rule does what you meant.

Example

A groomer builds “Lapsed regulars”: has ever booked grooming, last visit more than 12 weeks ago, not booked in already. It shows 34 people. A short note with a booking link goes to those 34 instead of to all 600, and the ones who come back were always the ones worth asking.

FAQ

Can a segment email somebody who unsubscribed?
No. Opt-outs are removed after the rules run, so no rule can reach them. The count beside each segment tells you how many were removed that way.

Is the list fixed when I save the segment?
No, and that is the point. It is recalculated every time you send, so it is never out of date.

Does “total paid” mean what I invoiced or what I received?
What you have actually received. Money invoiced and money in the bank are different numbers, and only one of them is a sensible thing to base a mailing on.

Why is my “not been in for a year” segment missing people?
Anyone who has never booked at all is deliberately excluded from “last visit” rules. Add a second segment using “Never booked at all” if you want to write to old enquiries.

Can I match on any rule rather than all of them?
Yes. Type the combination in the Logic box using the rule numbers — for example 1 or 2, or 1 and (2 or 3) and 4. Leave it empty and every rule has to be true.

Why was my logic refused?
The message says exactly why. The usual one is and and or side by side without brackets — add brackets to say which comes first. The others are a number with no rule on that row, or a rule you filled in but did not use.

If I leave a row blank, do the numbers shift?
No. A rule keeps the number of the row it is on, so leaving row 2 empty and using 1 and 3 works as you would expect.

Can I find everyone who came in over the last couple of days?
Yes: Last visit was within the last, 2, days. Time rules take days, weeks or months.

It says 8 customers — who are they?
Click See who under the number. Each name links to that customer’s record.

Do cancelled bookings count?
No. A cancelled appointment is not a visit, so it does not count towards the number of bookings, the last visit date, or which services somebody has used.