Yo! Welcome back to Part 2 of this Segmenting Strategy Session. 🧠 In the first episode, we talked about:

1. How segmentation isn’t one big thing. It’s actually “segmented” (see what I did there? 😏) into smaller categories of… segmentation. 🙄 

2. The difference between segmenting for campaigns and segmenting for automations.

3. How the automations are actually the most hyper-focused [while remaining usefully large] segmenting that’s going on automagically 🪄 in your account.

Today, we’re going to dive deeper into that concept and I’ll give you my best advice for how to leverage the insanely profitable behavior-based segmentation of your email account.

Let’s go! 🚀 

Step 4: Why Behavior Is Your Best Segment

Behavioral segmentation is the most actionable and lucrative way to target your audience. Why? Because it’s based on what someone does, not guesses about who they are.

The Power of Behavioral Segmentation

• Action-Driven Targeting: Behavioral segmentation triggers emails based on customer actions like browsing, carting, or purchasing.

• Dynamic Responses: Emails adjust in real-time based on what the customer needs at that moment and what we know about them.

This is super fun from a merchant perspective because knowing strategic insights we can tailor messaging for individuals. Take this as an example:

Smart Discounts, Smarter Segments 👆️ 

In the final stretch of this abandonment flow, we split based on one key question: “Is this person a customer?”

• If they are, we check: “Did they use their Welcome Code?”

  • No? Easy win. We offer it now and look like heroes.

  • Yes? Cool. No need to eat into margin—let’s upsell with a cart-boosting incentive.

• If they’re not a customer, we ask: “Have they been active on the site?”

  • Yes? They’re engaged. We wait a day before offering a deal.

  • No? Time to re-engage—with their unused Welcome Code.

It’s not about handing out discounts. It’s about recognizing where customers are and nudging them at the perfect moment.

Exclude Automation Participants from Campaigns

If someone’s already going through an automation, they don’t need a campaign email in their inbox too.

• Why Exclude Them?

  1. Automations are already nurturing them with tailored messaging.

  2. Campaigns sent on top of automations can overwhelm the recipient and cause confusion.

• When to Break the Rule:

  • If you’re running a major sale or event (e.g., Black Friday), you can include them in campaigns—but sparingly.

How to Manage It: Use custom properties and dynamic exclusion lists to ensure campaign recipients aren’t actively engaged in automations. 🧠 

Behavior Unlocks Revenue Potential

• Automations act as a safety net for behavior-driven opportunities.

• Example: Someone views a $30 product multiple times? Follow up with related items in that price range. Someone spends $100 regularly? Show them premium products to increase their lifetime value (CLTV).

What It All Boils Down To

• Automations Are Your Strategy Workhorses: They’re designed to extract revenue from specific behaviors.

• Campaigns Are Your Broad Engagement Tool: Use them for everything else, focusing on engaged audiences and big opportunities.

Step 5: The Common Pitfalls

Segmentation is powerful, but it’s not foolproof. Many brands fall into one of these three traps, leaving revenue on the table:

Over-Segmenting

• What Happens:
  Breaking your list into tiny, hyper-specific groups might sound great in theory (think of the open rates! 🤣) but in practice, it creates more work than results. You end up with segments so small they lose relevance—or worse, become a real PITA to manage.

• Why It Hurts:

  • Small segments reduce the impact of your campaigns.

  • The juice isn’t worth the squeeze—you’re investing too much time for too little return.

• How to Avoid It:

  • Keep campaign segments broad enough to matter. Examples:

    • All engaged 1-time buyers 30-60 days

    • Prospects who joined list within last 90 days

  • Let automations handle the heavy lifting for deeper personalization based on behavior.

Under-Segmenting

• What Happens:
  Treating everyone the same dilutes your message. Sending the same email to a VIP customer and a first-time browser means you’re missing the chance to make a meaningful connection with either. (I.e. you suck at both. 🤷)

• Why It Hurts:

  • You lose relevance. A generic email is less likely to convert.

  • High-value customers feel undervalued, while prospects feel ignored.

• How to Avoid It:

  • Use broad, meaningful segments for campaigns (e.g., customers vs. non-customers).

  • Leverage behavioral triggers in automations to segment dynamically and deliver context-specific messages.

Set-and-Forget Automations (The Biggest Pitfall)

• What Happens:
  Many brands treat automations as one-and-done setups. They create basic flows—like an abandoned cart sequence with one or two emails—and never revisit them. That’s leaving revenue on the table.

• Why It Hurts:

  • Automations are where segmentation shines. If you’re not optimizing these flows, you’re missing out on the highest-converting opportunities.

  • Without constant tweaking, your automations become stale and irrelevant.

• How to Avoid It:

  • Dive Deep Into Your Automations: Focus on the top-performing flows—welcome, browse abandonment, cart abandonment, post-purchase, and checkout flows. These are where segmentation does its best work.

  • Treat Automations Like a Plinko Game: Every behavior is a chance to tweak your strategy. Split-test constantly and adjust conditions to capture as much revenue as possible.

    • Example: Is a customer’s cart under $50? Offer free shipping. Is it over $200? Highlight premium upsells.

• Non-Stop Split-Testing:

  • Keep testing subject lines, timing, dynamic product blocks, and CTAs.

  • The goal is to turn these automations into a well-oiled revenue machine that adapts to your audience’s behavior in real time.

• Why Zee.Media Can Help:

  • Optimizing automations isn’t a one-time task. It’s ongoing work that requires both strategy and execution. That’s where we come in. We specialize in turning under-optimized automations into revenue powerhouses—handling everything from segmentation to split-testing, so you don’t have to.

The Bottom Line:

Your automations [NOT your campaigns] are the heart of your email strategy. If they’re under-optimized, your segmentation is wasted. Dive deep, keep them dynamic, and turn them into the reliable revenue drivers your business deserves.

Step 6: Focus on What Already Works

Most people overthink segmentation.

They think they need to create brand-new segments from scratch or chase some magical personalization formula. But here’s the truth: you already have everything you need.

The top five revenue-generating flows are the same for nearly every eCommerce brand:

1. Welcome Flow

2. Browse Abandonment Flow

3. Abandoned Cart Flow

4. Checkout Abandonment Flow

5. Post-Purchase Flow

(And let’s not forget the underrated Site Abandonment Flow and Replenishment Flow, which pull in solid revenue when done right.)

Where Most Merchants Go Wrong

Here’s the problem: too many merchants set up these flows with only one or two emails and call it a day. That’s like building half a bridge and wondering why traffic isn’t getting to the other side.

These flows aren’t just “set it and forget it.” They need to:

• Address Different Buyer Types: Are they adding a single $20 item to their cart? Or is it a $200 purchase? Use conditional splits to tailor messaging.

• Be Robust Enough to Respond to Behavior: Instead of two emails, build out 6-10 emails that dynamically adapt to the recipient’s actions and situation.

This doesn’t mean you overcomplicate things. You focus on building out these top-performing flows just enough to cover all key buyer behaviors, making them robust but manageable.

Why It Matters: Your Safety Net

Think of your business as a three-legged stool. The legs are:

1. Your Ads: Bringing in traffic.

2. Your Landing Pages: Converting that traffic into customers.

3. Your Automated Emails: Capturing the revenue that would otherwise slip through the cracks.

Emails are the safety net. They catch the revenue your ads and landing pages miss. But if your flows aren’t optimized, you’re leaving money on the table—and the other legs of the stool can’t hold up your business alone.

This is where Email Flow CRO comes in. It’s not just about writing better copy or designing prettier emails. It’s about turning your email flows into revenue machines that:

• Allow you to reinvest in ads confidently.

• Drive predictable income.

• Support your team, your family, and the families of everyone your business employs.

The Final Word

Most businesses fail because they focus too much on trying to fix their ads or landing pages, while their email flows sit underbuilt and underperforming. The truth is, emails are one of the most powerful tools you have—and when you focus on your top five flows, test them relentlessly, and build them out thoughtfully, they can become your biggest revenue channel.

This is your safety net. Build it strong enough, and everything else works better.