If you’re here, you probably care about getting the right message to the right accounts—without wasting hours fiddling with software or staring at dashboards. This guide is for sales, marketing, or RevOps folks who want to use Endgame to actually move the needle, not just check a box for “personalization.” Let’s cut through the nonsense and get you set up with practical, no-nonsense segmentation that helps you reach the accounts that matter.
Why Segment Target Accounts in the First Place?
Look, you already know why “personalized engagement” beats spam. But here’s the reality: if you treat every account the same, you’ll get ignored by most of them. Segmentation isn’t magic—it just helps you focus on the companies that actually might care (and have a shot at buying).
Endgame gives you more data and context on your accounts, but you still need to do the hard work of deciding who to talk to, and how. Segmentation is how you stop sending “Hi, $FIRSTNAME” emails to people who will never respond.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your Segmentation Goals
Before you even log into Endgame, ask yourself: What’s the point? Are you trying to find: - Accounts showing intent to buy soon? - Existing customers ready for expansion? - Stuck deals that need a nudge?
Don’t overcomplicate it. Pick one or two segmentation goals you actually care about. If you try to slice things too thin (“accounts in Ohio with 23-45 employees and a dog-friendly office”) you’ll end up with lists you never use.
Pro tip: Start simple. You can always get more granular later.
Step 2: Organize and Enrich Your Account List
Endgame is only as good as the data you feed it. If your CRM is a mess, expect garbage in, garbage out. Here’s what to do:
- Export a clean list of your target accounts—focus on company name, domain, industry, size, lifecycle stage, and owner.
- Deduplicate and standardize (e.g., “IBM Corp” vs “IBM Corporation” counts as one).
- Enrich if you can: Pull in firmographics (size, industry, location), technographics (what tools they use), and intent data (are they researching solutions like yours?).
What to ignore: Don’t get lost chasing super-fancy data sources you can’t easily update. Stick to what’s reliable and actionable.
Step 3: Map Your Data to Endgame
Now, bring your list into Endgame. Usually, you’ll integrate your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, whatever) or upload a CSV. Here’s what actually matters:
- Match company domains: Endgame keys off domains, not just names.
- Map relevant fields: Make sure size, industry, and any custom tags make it in.
- Check for missing data: If 30% of your accounts have no industry info, fix that first or pick a different field for segmentation.
Got custom segments or tags in your CRM? Good—map those too. Just don’t go crazy with 40 tags no one uses.
Step 4: Build Segments That Actually Matter
Here’s where most people overthink it. In Endgame, you can create segments based on just about anything—but don’t. Focus on what’s proven to move deals forward.
Segments that work: - High-intent accounts: Companies visiting your pricing page, requesting demos, or engaging with key content. - ICP (Ideal Customer Profile) match: Accounts that fit your sweet spot—by size, industry, tech stack, whatever matters most to you. - Open opportunities by stage: Deals stuck in “Evaluation” for 60+ days, or new leads in the last 2 weeks. - Expansion-ready customers: Existing accounts with usage spikes or new decision-makers showing up.
Segments that sound good but usually flop: - “All accounts in the Midwest” (unless region really matters for your sales process) - “Accounts with more than 500 employees” (too broad unless you sell only to enterprises) - Anything based purely on generic firmographics, unless you have a reason
How to build a segment in Endgame: 1. Go to the “Segments” or “Filters” section. 2. Choose your base criteria (e.g., company size, industry, engagement level). 3. Layer on behavioral data if you have it (e.g., last activity date, product usage). 4. Name your segment something obvious (“High-Intent SaaS Startups,” not “Q2-2024-A1”).
Pro tip: Limit yourself to 3-5 core segments to start. You’ll actually use them.
Step 5: Validate Your Segments
Don’t trust your shiny new segments just yet. Spot-check them:
- Are there obvious errors? (e.g., tiny startups in your “enterprise” segment)
- Do the accounts make sense for the campaigns you have in mind?
- Is anyone missing? If a top target isn’t showing up, figure out why.
Quick test: Pick 5 accounts from each segment and ask, “Would I actually want to send these people the same message?” If not, tweak your filters.
Step 6: Personalize Engagement (Without Overcomplicating It)
Once you’ve got solid segments, use them—don’t just admire them. Endgame lets you push these segments into outreach tools, marketing platforms, or even Slack alerts.
What’s worth personalizing? - Email messaging: Reference their industry, recent activity, or specific pain point. - Ad campaigns: Target segments with tailored creative. - Sales outreach: Prioritize daily call lists by segment.
Don’t waste time on: Hyper-personalized one-off emails for every single account, unless it’s a truly top target. Use templates, but tweak the opener or key paragraph to match the segment.
Step 7: Measure and Iterate
You won’t get your segments perfect the first time. That’s fine. After a week or two:
- Track engagement: Are certain segments opening emails, booking meetings, or ghosting you?
- Adjust criteria: Maybe your “high-intent” filter is too tight, or your ICP segment is too broad.
- Kill what’s not working: If a segment gets ignored, drop it or combine it with another.
Pro tip: Don’t fall in love with your segments. The goal is outcomes, not perfect segmentation.
Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)
- Too many segments: You’ll never use them all. Start small.
- Data quality issues: Fix missing or bad data before you segment—otherwise, your results will be garbage.
- Over-engineering: No one cares about a 15-layer Boolean filter. Focus on what’s actionable.
- Analysis paralysis: It’s better to send a “pretty good” message to the right 50 accounts than wait weeks for perfect data.
Wrapping Up: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Segmentation in Endgame isn’t about chasing shiny objects or building complicated filters. It’s about getting clear on who matters, gathering good-enough data, and building a handful of segments you’ll actually use. Start simple, check your work, and improve as you go. The best segmentation is the one you’ll use today—not the one you’ll overthink for weeks.
Now, go build your segments—and don’t overthink it.