Initiative

Segmentation

The Problem
"Segmentation? Everyone understands something different."
Marketing & Media: "The families, the couples, the best agers"
CRM & E-Commerce: "Everyone with revenue over €1,000"
Data Science: "Cluster 7 from K-Means"
Strategy: "The new customers"
Market Research: "The RFM segments"
Everyone is right – but we speak different languages.
The Answer
Not one definition for all – but a shared vocabulary across different levels.

What can help with this?!

🔍 The Segmentation Lens

Creating manageable order from overwhelming variety

🎯
Strategic
The Business Logic
📚
Theoretical-Model-Based
The Scientific Foundation
🔬
Statistical-Analytical
The Data Intelligence
📊
Attribute-Based
The Rule Logic
💬
Intuitive-Linguistic
The Everyday Understanding
"What business logic is behind it?"
New customers, Existing customers, Reactivation
Directly actionable, understood company-wide
Definitions vary depending on context
Strategy defines: "New customer = has only booked with us once"
"Which proven frameworks fit?"
Sinus Milieus, RFM Model
Validated, transferable, well-founded
Generic, adaptation needed
Research shows: These clusters correspond to known travel types from customer lifetime value literature.
"Which groups actually exist in the data?"
K-Means Clustering, Latent Class
Finds hidden patterns
Complex, "black box" risk
The algorithm finds: 7 distinct customer types with similar booking behavior.
"By which criterion do I divide?"
Age > 60, Revenue > €1,000
Clearly defined, reproducible
Simplifying, ignores complexity
In CRM: "Customers with booking value over €5,000 = Premium segment"
"Who do I actually mean?"
"Families", "Couples", "Retirees"
Quick, intuitively understandable
Subjective, not validated
On the ship we see: "Those are the best agers"
The Key Insight
Segmentation is not a method –
it is a spectrum of structuring.
The art is not in choosing one level, but in knowing when which lens delivers the greatest value.
In Practice
Who uses which levels most frequently?
Marketing & Media
Intuitive Attribute
CRM & E-Commerce
Attribute Statistical
Sales
Intuitive Attribute Strategic
Revenue Management
Attribute Statistical
Product
Intuitive Statistical Strategic
Market Research
Statistical Theoretical
Strategy
Intuitive Attribute Statistical Strategic Theoretical
What We Achieve With This
🏢
Internal
A shared language about the HOW of group classification – leverage synergies, avoid poor decisions.
🎯
External
Reach the right people with the right content at the right time.
🚢
The Starting Point
3,999 people want to board your cruise ship. Ask 5 departments who these people are – you'll get 5 answers.
The Key Insight
Segmentation is not a method –
it is a spectrum of structuring.
The art is not in choosing one level, but in knowing when which lens delivers the greatest value.
Segmentation Initiative • Click on the levels for details • Use "Storyline" for the narrative explanation