If you’re running a B2B site, you know that treating all your visitors the same just doesn’t cut it. A SaaS company and a manufacturing business are going to care about very different things—and if your homepage talks to everyone, it’ll connect with no one. This guide is for marketers and web teams who want to use Intellimize to segment website visitors by industry, so you can show more relevant, targeted messages that actually speak to your prospects.
Let’s skip the buzzwords and get into the nuts and bolts: how do you actually pull this off, what works, and where do you run into headaches? Here’s what you need to know.
Why Segment by Industry in the First Place?
Not all personalization is worth the trouble. But industry-based messaging is one of the few tactics that consistently moves the needle for B2B. Here’s why:
- Relevance: Industry-specific pain points and jargon matter. If you’re showing generic content, you’re probably losing people.
- Shorter sales cycles: When visitors see you “get” their world, they’re more likely to stick around and convert.
- Better data: You’ll learn which industries engage most, so you can double down on them.
Of course, it only works if you actually know what industry a visitor is in. That’s the tricky part. Let’s break down how to set this up in Intellimize.
Step 1: Set Realistic Goals (and Know What’s Possible)
Before you start, clarify what you want to achieve. Are you trying to:
- Increase demo requests from your top 3 industries?
- Show different value props to healthcare vs. SaaS?
- Test if industry-specific testimonials move the needle?
Be specific. And here’s the honest part: if your site gets a lot of anonymous traffic (no logged-in users, no form fills), your data is only as good as your visitor identification method. Don’t expect magic.
Step 2: Figure Out How You’ll Identify Industry
This is where most plans fall apart. There are a few ways to guess a visitor’s industry, each with pros and cons:
Option 1: IP-to-Company Data (Reverse IP Lookup)
This is the most common approach. Tools like Clearbit, Demandbase, 6sense, or Leadfeeder can take a visitor’s IP address and map it to a company, then infer the industry.
Pros: - Works for anonymous visitors. - No extra forms or logins needed.
Cons: - Only works for visitors from known company IPs (often misses remote workers, VPN users, or mobile visitors). - Not 100% accurate—expect about 30-40% match rates at best. - Can get pricey depending on your provider.
Pro tip: If you’re not already using a data enrichment tool, get a demo before you buy. Quality varies a lot.
Option 2: Self-Selection
Add a field on a form (“What industry are you in?”) or prompt returning users to select their industry.
Pros: - More accurate, since it’s first-party data. - Useful for logged-in experiences.
Cons: - Only works for known visitors. - Slows down the process—don’t make your forms a pain just for segmentation.
Option 3: CRM or Marketing Automation Data
If you’re using a platform like HubSpot or Salesforce, you might already have industry data tied to known contacts.
Pros: - Good for email-driven or retargeted traffic. - Lets you personalize for leads you already know.
Cons: - Doesn’t help with first-time, anonymous visitors.
What to ignore: Cookie-based “interest” segments or flimsy inferences (“visited our pricing page, must be SaaS!”) rarely hold up. Stick with the methods above.
Step 3: Connect Your Data Source to Intellimize
Once you’ve picked your method, you need to get that industry data into Intellimize so you can use it for targeting.
For IP-to-Company Tools
Most data enrichment tools let you inject company and industry data into the page via JavaScript or a data layer. You’ll typically:
- Add their script to your site.
- When a visitor lands, the tool identifies the company (if possible) and sets a variable, like
window.companyInfo.industry
. - You can then use this variable in Intellimize targeting conditions.
Heads up: There may be a delay (a second or two) while the tool looks up the visitor. Don’t fire your personalization instantly—wait for the data.
For Self-Selected or CRM Data
- If the industry is stored in a cookie, localStorage, or injected into your data layer, you can reference it just like above.
- For logged-in users, surface the industry as a JavaScript variable on page load.
- If you’re using Google Tag Manager, set up a custom variable and map it to Intellimize.
Don’t overcomplicate this. The key is: can you get a single, reliable industry value on the page, as early as possible? If not, revisit your data source.
Step 4: Set Up Segments in Intellimize
Now you’re ready to build your segments in Intellimize.
- Go to your Experience or Campaign.
- Create a New Segment or Audience.
- In the audience builder, add a condition using the variable you set up earlier (e.g.,
window.companyInfo.industry
equals “Healthcare”). - Repeat for each industry you want to target.
- Don’t go wild—pick your top 2-4 industries to start. You can always add more later.
Pro tip: If the data might be missing, always add a fallback (“Industry is unknown”) to avoid blank slates.
Step 5: Build and Test Your Targeted Messaging
Here’s where the real work happens. For each industry segment, create variations of your key pages:
- Headlines that speak to their pain points
- Industry-specific case studies or testimonials
- Relevant value props (“HIPAA compliant” for healthcare, “SOC 2” for SaaS, etc.)
What not to do: Don’t just slap the industry name into your headline and call it a day. Visitors can smell lazy personalization a mile away. Make sure the message actually changes.
Testing tips: - Start with homepage and main conversion pages. - A/B test your industry messaging against your generic version. Sometimes the “personalized” copy underperforms—don’t assume it’ll always win. - Use analytics to check bounce rates and conversion by industry segment.
Step 6: Monitor, Tweak, and Don’t Overthink It
You’ll probably see some segments perform better than others. That’s the point—learn and adjust.
- Check your match rates: If only 10% of your traffic gets an industry, don’t panic. That’s normal. Focus on quality over quantity.
- Iterate, don’t overbuild: Add more industries or deeper personalization only if you see results with your initial segments.
- Don’t chase false precision: If your data is shaky, resist the urge to over-segment. “Other” is a perfectly good bucket.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics like “personalized impressions served” mean nothing if conversions don’t move. Stick to real business outcomes.
Common Pitfalls (And How to Avoid Them)
Let’s be honest—there are a few landmines here:
- Over-personalizing: More isn’t always better. Don’t try to create a unique page for every possible industry off the bat.
- Data delays: Some enrichment tools take a second or two to resolve. Make sure your messaging waits for the data, or you’ll show the wrong message.
- Compliance: If you’re using third-party data, double-check privacy policies. Don’t creep out your visitors.
Final Thoughts: Start Simple, Iterate Fast
Industry segmentation can be powerful, but it’s easy to overcomplicate. Start with your best-guess data source, tackle your top industries, and see what actually works. Don’t obsess over 100% coverage—good enough is usually, well, good enough.
Keep it simple, watch your results, and get ready to adjust. That’s how you make this worth the effort—no hype, just smarter web experiences.