Marketing 101: If you’re talking to everyone, you’re talking to no one. Marketing messages are only effective when you’re directing them to the right people. That’s why one of your first priorities should be to know your customer. This is more easily achieved when you use audience segmentation tools.
Here’s how audience segmentation tools can make light work of personalized marketing and the top audience segmentation software to guide your next campaign.
Contents
What is audience segmentation?
The top audience segmentation tools
What to look for in audience segmentation tools
How audience segmentation tools drive results (real world examples)
Getting Started with Meltwater’s Audience Segmentation Tool
FAQs about audience segmentation software
What is audience segmentation?
Segmenting refers to separating your audience by shared characteristics. You can create focused marketing campaigns for each segment by appealing to their unique needs or characteristics.
For example, you might segment your email list into three buckets: New Sign-ups, Leads, and Paying Customers. Each of these segments is somewhere different in their journeys and will respond to different offers, messaging, and triggers.
Or you might segment customers based on interests, buying behaviors, or where they live. A campaign targeting housewives in New York who are interested in hair care and have recently bought a new blow dryer is a more focused campaign than, say, a generic message about hair products.
Finding these common denominators — and executing campaigns based on these shared factors — gives you a clear understanding of a diverse customer base.
The top audience segmentation tools
Now that you know more about the purpose of audience segmentation tools, let’s look at seven top software options to help you personalize your marketing and communications.
1. Meltwater
The all-around best audience segmentation tool, Meltwater’s comprehensive consumer intelligence platform puts consumer intelligence in your hands. While most segmentation tools require you to know how to separate your audience, Meltwater helps you find hidden patterns and connections you have yet to explore.
Key features
- AI-powered audience segmentation – Automatically group audiences based on shared behaviors, interests, and online conversations using large-scale social and media data.
- Audience-centric social listening – Identify and monitor distinct audience segments. Track what each group is discussing, engaging with, and caring about in real time.
- Cross-channel data integration – Combine social, news, and online data sources to build richer audience profiles and uncover deeper insights.
- Segment comparison & benchmarking – Compare different audience segments (or competitors’ audiences) across regions, demographics, or behaviors to uncover strategic opportunities.
- Behavioral and sentiment analysis – Understand how different segments feel, what drives them, and how they interact with brands through sentiment, themes, and engagement patterns.
- Content and messaging optimization – Analyze what resonates with each segment to tailor campaigns, messaging, and content for higher performance.
Real-time, widespread insights and analysis from multiple data sources help you get to know your customers in new ways. Even when you’re not asking the right questions, Meltwater shines a light on customer behaviors and interests, giving you myriad ways to connect with them.
The secret sauce is Meltwater’s combination of proven market research methodologies, AI, and human data scientists. It’s a smarter way to segment audiences and learn the value and meaning of these segments with spelled-out reasoning.
Best for: mid-size to enterprise brands and agencies that need deep, data-driven audience insights to inform global marketing, brand strategy, and competitive positioning.
2. Akita
Akita’s customer service management tool includes segmentation features to create unique views of your customers. Users can organize customers by fine-grained distinctions with the goal of improving customer satisfaction and retention rates.
Key features
- Dynamic customer segmentation – Build real-time segments using customer attributes, behaviors, and KPI changes to keep lists continuously updated.
- Granular filtering & cohort building – Create highly specific segments with powerful filters across account and contact-level data.
- 360° customer data integration – Combine data from 100+ tools to create unified profiles that support richer segmentation.
- Behavior-based segmentation – Segment users based on product usage and activity to identify at-risk or high-value customers.
- Segment monitoring & alerts – Get notified when users enter or leave segments so teams can act in real time.
- Segment visualization & dashboards – Analyze segment performance with charts, metrics, and customizable dashboards.
Within the platform, you can filter your customers by various attributes. It automatically visualizes every metric so you can see changes in performance over time. You can search for specific contacts and accounts within segments for a more granular view.
Akita excels at providing sales teams with a 360-degree view of customers. They can see which attribution channels are performing well, learn more about engagements and behaviors, and get real-time alerts when segments change or when customers achieve special milestones.
Best for: Akita is best for SaaS startups and customer success teams looking to segment users based on product usage and lifecycle data to reduce churn and drive expansion.
3. Pendo
Completing the initial transaction is just the beginning. Once users buy your product, your next goal is to help them get their money’s worth so they’ll remain loyal customers. User adoption platform Pendo helps you segment customers by their usage and adoption stages so you can continue delivering value throughout the relationship.
Key features
- Product usage-based segmentation – Segment users based on in-app behavior, feature usage, and engagement patterns.
- Real-time data segmentation – Combine CRM and product data to create dynamic, up-to-date audience segments.
- Cross-platform data integration – Sync product analytics with tools like HubSpot to enrich segmentation with customer data.
- Behavior-driven targeting – Use behavioral insights to trigger targeted messaging, onboarding, and in-app experiences.
- Pattern and cohort analysis – Identify trends across segments to understand what drives conversions, retention, or churn.
Made for SaaS companies, Pendo shows you what customers are doing once they purchase your software. Maybe there are features they haven’t adopted yet, or maybe they signed up for the service and haven’t logged in since. No matter their customer journey, Pendo helps you create standout digital experiences.
Your engineering team can use this data to build out future features and products your customers actually want. Sales teams can have more informed conversations with customers to reduce churn and spur revenue growth. And marketers and customer service teams can create resources that answer real questions and help users get the most from their investment.
Pendo offers a free, no-strings-attached plan so you can test its basic features.
Best for: Pendo is best for product-led companies and SaaS teams that want to segment users based on in-app behavior to improve product adoption and retention.
4. Twilio Segment
Twilio’s Segment platform gives you a shortcut to personalized marketing. Serving as a single source of truth, Segment finds the intersection of audience, timing, channel, and behavior to meet your customers at the right moments.
Key features
- Unified customer profiles – Collect and unify data from every touchpoint to create a single source of truth for segmentation.
- Advanced audience building – Create highly targeted audiences using real-time, enriched customer data.
- Real-time segmentation & activation – Build and activate segments instantly across channels for personalized experiences.
- Cross-channel data pipelines – Integrate data from 500+ sources to power segmentation across your entire tech stack.
- Journey orchestration – Use segmented audiences to trigger personalized messaging and lifecycle campaigns.
- Customer data enrichment – Enhance audience segments with additional context to improve targeting and engagement.
It updates customer data in real time based on omnichannel touchpoints, such as email, SMS, apps, or website browsing. If conversions are your primary goal, Segment will optimize your offers based on the segment’s likelihood of buying.
Twilio Segment is ideal for creating real-time campaigns without spending weeks planning or collaborating with multiple teams. Launch campaigns and messaging faster while netting better results compared to traditional manual methods.
Best for: data-driven companies and enterprises that need real-time audience segmentation across multiple channels and systems.
5. Cognism
Cognism is a sales prospecting tool, making it a great pick for audience segmentation. With a massive database of companies and contacts, users can build their ideal customer profiles and generate more qualified leads.
Tip: Learn how to do customer profiling.
Key features
- Advanced filtering and segmentation – Build targeted prospect lists using dynamic filters such as industry, company size, job title, and other attributes.
- Granular account segmentation – Identify high-fit accounts with detailed firmographic data like revenue, employee count, and growth trends.
- Integrated lead builder – Create segmented lead lists directly within the platform using search, filtering, and prospecting tools.
- Data enrichment for segmentation – Enhance and update CRM records with verified contact and company data to maintain accurate audience segments.
- Intent data for prioritization – Segment and prioritize accounts based on buying signals and research activity to focus on in-market prospects.
- CRM and workflow integrations – Sync segmented audiences into tools like Salesforce or HubSpot to activate targeting across sales and marketing workflows.
Cognism offers filters not typically found with other audience segmentation tools. For instance, you can search for North American food and beverage companies that have recently received funding. Drill down even deeper with filters related to job titles and seniority to ensure you’re connecting with the right people.
You’ll also find intent-related data to spot leads who are ready to buy, a component of segmentation called lead scoring. Sales teams can optimize their time by focusing on high-scoring leads first to close more deals while giving low-scoring leads more time to warm up.
Best for: B2B sales and marketing teams focused on building highly targeted prospect lists and executing account-based strategies.
6. Mailshake
Another sales prospecting software, Mailshake focuses on meeting leads in the inbox and segmenting them based on email cadence actions. This platform combines lead sourcing and introductory conversations in one place, all backed by advanced filters to find your perfect prospects.
Key features
- List-based audience organization – Build and manage prospect lists and campaigns with unlimited contacts and the ability to add recipients from CRM or other tools.
- Mail merge personalization at scale – Segment audiences and tailor messaging using mail merge fields to send customized emails to large groups.
- Behavior-based targeting and follow-ups – Automatically trigger follow-ups and outreach steps based on recipient actions like opens, clicks, and replies.
- Multi-channel segmentation and sequencing – Organize audiences into sequences that include email, phone, and social touchpoints within a single workflow.
- Campaign performance segmentation – Track opens, clicks, replies, and engagement metrics to understand how different audience groups respond.
- Filtering and lead segmentation (G2-supported) – Segment and filter contacts within campaigns, with capabilities like lead prioritization and list building highlighted in user reviews.
In Mailshake, you can find prospects by role, location, company, or a combination of these filters. Set up email cadences to time your messages based on the person’s responses and actions (or lack of) to make every message feel personal.
Best for: Mailshake is best for sales teams, agencies, and outbound marketers who need simple, scalable list-based segmentation to power cold outreach and multichannel campaigns.
7. Hubspot
HubSpot CRM is a straightforward CRM tool with numerous AI-powered data gathering and segmentation features. With access to HubSpot’s proprietary company database and AI features that enrich lead records with updated information from across the web, HubSpot makes data gathering and prospect research quick and effective.
Key features
- Granular audience segmentation – Segment contacts based on demographics, behavior, lifecycle stage, and interactions.
- Dynamic lists – Automatically update segments in real time as customer data changes.
- Unified CRM data – Centralize customer data from multiple sources to build comprehensive audience profiles.
- Behavioral targeting – Segment users based on website activity, email engagement, and campaign interactions.
- Personalized marketing automation – Deliver tailored campaigns and workflows to each segment.
- Custom segmentation criteria – Define unique properties and rules to create highly specific audience segments.
You can also merge customer data from your sales, marketing, and customer service activities to get a 360-degree overview across the entire buyer journey. You can segment your audience from there, while the platform’s segment analytics tools will help pinpoint which audience groups yield the most engagement, revenue, and so on.
The intuitive interface and automation features make it easy to launch segmented campaigns quickly without losing personalization or relevance.
Best for: HubSpot is best for growing businesses and marketing teams that want an all-in-one CRM with powerful, easy-to-use audience segmentation and automation.
What to look for in audience segmentation tools
The sea of audience segmentation software is vast, but these tools aim to provide the same benefits and outcomes. As you’re exploring your options, look for these must-have features:
- Multiple audience segmentation options. Choose tools that give you flexibility in how you segment your audience, including choosing multiple segments in a single campaign. Examples include:
- Demographic segmentation (age, sex, income, education, etc.)
- Behavioral segmentation (purchase history, interactions, etc.
- Psychographic segmentation (values, interests, lifestyles, etc.)
- Geographic segmentation (location-based data)
- Technographic segmentation (technology usage)
- Custom segmentation (other criteria of your choice)
- Advanced data analytics to accurately segment your audience. Easy-to-understand analytics build confidence in properly segmenting your customers while helping you measure the effectiveness of your segmentation strategies.
- Real-time monitoring of audience behavior and preferences. Continuously and automatically monitor and update audience segments based on changing trends or behaviors.
- Integration with other marketing tools for seamless execution. Integration with email platforms, social media scheduling tools, CRM, and other systems improves data integrity and connects you with audiences via their preferred channels.
This is just a short list of capabilities that the best audience segment software offers. As you explore your options, think about your existing marketing tools and strategies and how segmentation capabilities can enhance them.
How audience segmentation tools drive results (real world examples)
The benefits of audience segmentation software go beyond theoretical advice. Speaking from experience, Meltwater customers have seen tangible results and ROI impact using segmentation strategies.
- Haleon used Meltwater to uncover a new audience segment. Their team found that dental hygienists held a greater online influence than dentists when recommending products, leading its brands to update their partnership strategies and promotional partner pool.
- World Wildlife Fund gained essential Audience Insights to help them find new partners to promote high-level events. The non-profit identified five categories of influencers who could help them deliver relevant key messages, leading to a 12x lift in followers and 1.9 million Twitter impressions.
- The Economist relies on Meltwater’s location-based analytics and real-time updates to drive subscription growth. With the rapidly changing nature of social media and the news, the publication uses its audience insights to spark insightful conversations with the right people at the right times to turn data into more meaningful stories.
These are just a few examples of how real brands are using the power of segmentation to create lasting results. The possibilities are far-reaching and easier to achieve with the help of the right tools.
Getting started with Meltwater’s audience segmentation platform
Meltwater’s AI-powered consumer intelligence platform demystifies audience segmentation with its easy-to-use interface and widespread functionality. With consumer intelligence and social listening tools at your fingertips, you can learn about your audience beyond what they’re telling you and find new ways to connect with them.
FAQs about audience segmentation software
What are audience segmentation tools?
Audience segmentation tools are software platforms that help businesses divide their audience into smaller groups based on shared characteristics like demographics, behavior, interests, or engagement. These segments allow teams to deliver more targeted marketing, messaging, and customer experiences.
Why is audience segmentation important?
Audience segmentation is important because it improves targeting, personalization, and campaign performance. By understanding different audience groups, businesses can deliver more relevant content, increase engagement, and drive higher conversion rates.
How do audience segmentation tools work?
Audience segmentation tools work by collecting and analyzing customer data from sources like social media, websites, CRM systems, and campaigns. They then group users into segments based on criteria such as behavior, location, interests, or purchase history.
What features should you look for in an audience segmentation tool?
Key features to look for include:
- Data integration from multiple sources
- Real-time or dynamic segmentation
- Behavioral and demographic filtering
- Audience insights and analytics
- Personalization and activation capabilities
- Integrations with CRM and marketing platforms
What are the different types of audience segmentation?
The most common types of audience segmentation include:
- Demographic segmentation (age, gender, income)
- Geographic segmentation (location, region)
- Behavioral segmentation (actions, engagement, usage)
- Psychographic segmentation (interests, values, lifestyle)
- Firmographic segmentation (for B2B: company size, industry)
How do audience segmentation tools improve marketing performance?
Audience segmentation tools improve marketing performance by enabling more precise targeting and personalization. This leads to higher engagement rates, better customer experiences, improved ROI, and more efficient use of marketing budgets.
Are audience segmentation tools only for large businesses?
No, audience segmentation tools are available for businesses of all sizes. While enterprise platforms offer advanced capabilities, many tools provide scalable solutions for small and mid-sized businesses.
What’s the difference between audience segmentation and customer segmentation?
Audience segmentation is a broader term that includes all potential and existing audiences (e.g., social audiences, website visitors). Customer segmentation specifically focuses on existing customers and is often used in CRM and lifecycle marketing.
How do you choose the right audience segmentation tool?
To choose the right tool, consider:
- Your data sources (social, CRM, product, etc.)
- Your primary use case (marketing, sales, product, insights)
- Integration needs with your existing tech stack
- Budget and scalability
- Level of analytics and automation required
Can audience segmentation tools be used for real-time marketing?
Yes, many modern audience segmentation tools offer real-time or near real-time segmentation. This allows businesses to react to user behavior and deliver timely, personalized messaging across channels.
