Video Learning
Here's a brief video to get you started.
Overview
Segments are groups of Members that share common characteristics, such as demographics or patterns in interaction history. Segments are used throughout the Loyalty platform, such as for targeting messaging, or for determining eligibility of other assets, such as Offers or Rewards.
The Segmentation Engine evaluates Member data based on any information in the Member Profile, then creates a Segment that selects the desired group of individuals. Because segmentation is dynamic, Members can enter or exit Segments as their Profile data or Activity history changes.
Segment Computation
Loyalty supports two broad categories of Segment computation:
-
For One Member: As soon as a Member performs an Activity, or updates their Profile, they may enter or exit Segments. When a Member’s eligibility needs to be determined, the platform computes that Member's Segment membership on demand. For example, when the Member accesses Offers or Challenges from a client's website or app, their Segment memberships are calculated. This process ensures that a Member’s Segment membership is dynamic and up-to-date.
-
For All Members: While the previous computation keeps a single active Member’s Segments up-to-date, certain use cases (such as email deployments) require Segment evaluation across the entire Member base.
In addition to the two computation modes, the platform also supports the concepts of Dynamic and Static Segments.
A Dynamic Segment will immediately add or remove individuals in real-time, whenever their Attributes or Activity history changes. Every API call will cause the platform to re-evaluate the individual referenced in the API, and determine their inclusion in Dynamic Segments.
A Static Segment is evaluated only when the marketer manually refreshes the Segment, or when the system performs batch processing, such as a message deployment or a Scheduled Job.
Segment Refresh
Segments can be refreshed through any of the following methods:
-
Manual. A user manually refreshes a Segment. See
-
Triggered: If the Triggered feature is enabled for a Segment, the platform refreshes it when any Member Activity of any type is recorded. See
-
Triggered + Filter: If the Triggered feature is enabled for the Segment, and a Filter is defined, the platform refreshes the Segment when the Filter conditions are met. A Filter allows you to refresh the Segment only when a specific Activity type occurs, rather than any Activity type. The best practice recommendation is to use a Filter with Triggered Segments. See
-
Dynamic: The platform refreshes a Dynamic Segment when any API activity is recorded in your loyalty program. This feature is resource-heavy, and having multiple Dynamic Segments could affect the overall performance of your program. Please speak with your Zeta team to discuss possible alternative solutions to using Dynamic Segments.
-
Scheduled: The platform refreshes the Segment based on a schedule. Segment refresh schedules are managed through the use of a Scheduled Job. For more information, see Scheduled Jobs.
Execution Types
When creating a Segment, you must select an Execution Type based on the Segment's intended use case. The available options are as follows:
-
EDP (Engagement Data Platform): The EDP Execution Type is primarily intended for use cases where you need to calculate all the individuals that belong in a particular Segment. A common use case for EDP Segments is an email deployment where you're using a Segment to identify the audience of message recipients. EDP is the default Execution Type when you create a new Segment. This Execution Type uses aggregated data, and does not support Dynamic Segments.
-
Golden Record: This Execution Type uses a "wide row" design, meaning that everything about an individual is available within a single row. This method is primarily intended for use cases where you need to calculate the Segments to which a single individual belongs. The Golden Record Execution Type supports Dynamic Segments.
-
External: This Execution Type is intended for marketers who perform segmentation in another system or platform, and want to import a list of selected Members into Loyalty, in order to populate a Loyalty Segment.
Holdout Groups
A Holdout Group refers to a sub-set of Members in a Segment who are "held back" from a marketing activity (such as receiving an email campaign), while the remainder of Members participate in the activity. The behavior of the two groups can be compared to evaluate how their performance varies based on how the marketing activity did, or did not, impact them. Marketers can specify that a Segment utilize a Holdout Group, and configure the size of the Holdout Group (either as a percentage, or as a static count). The system will randomly assign Members in the Segment to be added to the Holdout Group.
For more information, see
Access
The Segments screen is used to view, create, and manage the Segments in your loyalty program. To access the Segments screen, select Members from the top navigation bar, then select Segments from the side navigation menu.
For more information on the search options available on the Segments screen, see
Exports
Loyalty supports several methods of exporting Segments. It's important to note the difference between exporting Segments (that is, exporting the metadata about Segments, such as their name and configuration properties), and exporting the Members selected by a Segment.
The platform supports only Standard Exports for exporting Segments. See
The platform supports only manual exports for exporting the Members selected by a Segment. See Manually Export the Members in a Segment for more information.
In addition, you can use a Standard Export to export Member Overrides. This feature allows you to export a list of Members that have been explicitly included in the Segment, or explicitly excluded from the Segment. See
Imports
The platform does not support importing Segments. That is, you can't create new Segments in the platform by means of an import.
However, the platform does allow you to import Members into an existing Segment. This Member import is not managed by a Standard Import or an Advanced Import, but is instead managed through a manual import process available only for External type Segments. See
In addition, you can use a Standard Import to import Member Overrides. This feature allows you to import a list of Members that you want to explicitly include in the Segment, or explicitly exclude from the Segment. See
Segment Templates
Loyalty Essentials clients have access to a set of pre-defined Segment templates intended to support common contact strategies. These templates are designed to simplify the creation of Segments; you can simply copy the desired Segment template, optionally adjust the conditions within it to meet your specific marketing strategy, then publish and use.
The pre-defined Segment templates are as follows:
| Name | Description | Execution Type | Logic |
|---|---|---|---|
| At Risk to Churn | Select Members whose purchase frequency has declined in recent months | Golden Record | Purchase Count >= 2 in last year AND Purchase Count < 1 in last 6 months |
| High Value Customer | Select your most valuable Members | Golden Record | Purchase Count >= 1 in last 6 months |
| Recent Buyers | Select Members who recently made a purchase | Golden Record | Purchase Count >=1 in last 7 days |
| Frequent Buyers | Select Members who frequently make purchases | Golden Record | Purchase Count >= 6 in last 90 days |
| New Member | Select Members who recently enrolled | Golden Record | Sign-up is within the last 60 days |
Quick Links
 View a Segment |
 Create a Segment
|
 Refresh a Segment |
