If you’re sending the same email blast to everyone in your database, you’re wasting your time (and theirs). Segmentation isn’t just some “nice to have”—it’s the difference between getting ignored and actually getting replies. This guide is for marketers and sales folks who use Leadsquared and want straight-up, real-world ways to slice their lists so emails actually get opened and acted on.
Let’s skip the buzzwords and get into what actually works.
Why Segmentation Matters (and Where People Go Wrong)
Before you start fiddling with filters, it’s worth asking: why bother? Segmentation means grouping leads by what actually matters—like their interests, where they are in the buying process, or what they’ve done (or haven’t done) on your site.
Where most people mess up: - Getting lost in too many tiny segments (and never emailing anyone). - Relying just on demographics (like job title) and ignoring behavior. - Making segments and then never updating them.
The goal is simple: send the right message to the right people. That’s it.
Step 1: Decide What Actually Matters For Your Business
Don’t start with Leadsquared features. Start with your own process. Ask yourself: - What’s the main action I want a lead to take? (Book a call, sign up, buy, etc.) - What key differences do I see between leads who buy and those who don’t? - What info do I actually have about my leads? (Don’t dream up segments you can’t build.)
Common segmentation categories: - Demographics: Industry, company size, location - Source: Where did they come from? (Ad, organic, event, referral) - Behavior: Visited pricing page, downloaded a guide, attended a webinar, etc. - Lifecycle stage: New lead, qualified, customer, at-risk, etc. - Engagement: Opened last email, clicked a link, never responded
Pro tip: Don’t try to use all of these out of the gate. Pick 2-3 that actually move the needle.
Step 2: Set Up and Clean Your Data in Leadsquared
Leadsquared is only as smart as the data you feed it. If your data’s a mess, your segmentation will be too.
Clean up before you segment:
- Dedupe: Merge duplicates—nothing ruins a campaign like sending two emails to the same person.
- Standardize fields: “VP Marketing” and “Vice President of Marketing” should be the same thing. Pick one naming convention.
- Fill the gaps: If key fields like “industry” or “lead source” are missing for lots of leads, fix that first (even if it’s just asking your sales team to help).
Pro tip: If you’re missing tons of info, consider a short survey or a progressive profiling form. But don’t get greedy—people hate long forms.
Step 3: Use Leadsquared’s Features—But Don’t Overcomplicate It
Leadsquared gives you a lot of options for segmenting leads. Here’s what you actually need:
Smart Views and Lists
- Static lists: Good for one-off campaigns. You build them once; they don’t update.
- Dynamic (Smart) lists: The gold standard. These update automatically as leads match (or stop matching) your criteria.
How to set up a smart segment: 1. Go to “Manage Lists” and choose “Create Smart List.” 2. Pick your criteria. Combine filters like: - Lead stage is “Qualified” - Location is “USA” - Last activity date is in the last 30 days 3. Save and name your list something obvious. (“Hot Prospects – US – Last 30 Days” beats “List 6.”)
Custom Fields and Tags
- Custom fields: Add these for info that matters to you (e.g., “Product Interest”).
- Tags: Quick way to flag special cases (e.g., “VIP,” “Event Lead”).
- Use tags sparingly. Too many and you’ll lose track.
Activities and Engagement
- You can segment by things people do—like opening emails, clicking links, or attending webinars.
- This is where most companies see real results. Someone who just clicked your pricing page? That’s a hot lead.
Don’t bother: Segmenting by tiny, meaningless differences (“Leads who opened two emails in the last 11 days but not 12”). Keep it actionable.
Step 4: Build Segments That Match Your Campaign Goals
Now, match your segments to what you actually want to send.
Some proven segments:
- New leads: Send a welcome or onboarding series.
- Highly engaged leads: Send an exclusive offer or demo invite.
- Dormant leads: Try a re-engagement campaign (“Still interested?”).
- By product or interest: Send targeted content based on what they care about (not what you want to sell).
- By lifecycle stage: Move people from “curious” to “ready to buy” with the right nudges.
Warning: Don’t over-segment. If you have 10 different “highly specific” lists but only 50 people in each, you’ll burn out fast and your messages will get weirdly generic.
Step 5: Test, Measure, and Adjust
Even the smartest segment is just a guess until you hit send.
What to watch:
- Open rates and click rates: Obvious, but useful. If no one’s responding, your segment might be off.
- Replies and conversions: The ultimate test. Are people taking the action you want?
- List health: Are your lists growing, shrinking, or going stale? Prune out inactive leads regularly.
Iteration beats perfection
- Don’t spend weeks perfecting segments. Build, send, learn, tweak.
- If a segment isn’t working, drop it. If you keep seeing a new pattern, create a new segment.
- Document what you’re doing (even if it’s just a Google Doc). Saves you from repeating mistakes or reinventing the wheel when someone new joins the team.
Stuff You Can Ignore (For Now)
- Hyper-granular demographics: Most B2B buyers don’t care if you call them “senior” or “mid-level.” Focus on what they need, not what their LinkedIn says.
- “AI-powered” segmentation tools: Leadsquared has some automation, but don’t expect magic. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Overly complex lead scoring: Simple scores (hot, warm, cold) work fine for most teams. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.
Recap: Keep It Simple, Stay Curious
Segmentation in Leadsquared isn’t about building the fanciest filters—it’s about sending messages people actually care about. Start with what moves the needle for your business, clean your data, set up a few smart lists, and keep improving as you go.
You’ll never get every segment right the first time. That’s fine. The best marketers build, test, learn, and repeat. Don’t get lost in the weeds—start simple, and you’ll already be ahead of most.