How to Segment Your Customers for Scale, Personalization, and Impact

Let’s be real: customer success is being stretched thinner than ever. We’re expected to do more with fewer resources, deliver personalized experiences at scale, and still hit that Net Revenue Retention target. But here’s the kicker — most teams are trying to do all of this without a solid segmentation strategy in place.

In this episode of The Customer Success Pro Podcast, I sat down with Kelly Turner, SVP of Global Customer Success at Vitally, to unpack how segmentation is actually the foundation for scalable and human-centric CS. With a background in finance and a career spanning multiple CS orgs, Kelly shares a masterclass in segmentation that every CSM and CS leader needs to hear.

Let’s get into it.

Segmentation is More Than Just ARR Buckets

Most CS teams default to ARR-based segmentation — and sure, it’s a starting point. But as Kelly explains, ARR alone doesn’t tell you who needs the most help, who’s likely to grow, or who’s at risk.

She breaks segmentation down into two layers:

1. Operational segmentation – Understanding cost to serve, team deployment, and resource allocation. This is where you map out support levels based on revenue, maturity, and internal complexity.

2. Engagement segmentation – Understanding how different personas want to engage. Think individual contributors vs. admins vs. economic buyers. Not everyone wants (or needs) a QBR.

This dual approach lets you create experiences that feel personal without requiring a 1:1 manual effort for every account. And the result? More efficient automation and stronger customer relationships.

Segmentation Enables Smart Automation (Without Losing the Human Touch)

One of the biggest fears CS teams have with segmentation is: “Won’t this create more work?”

But Kelly flips that mindset. She argues that great segmentation actually enables better automation. For example:

• Her team uses playbooks that adapt messages based on persona.

• An outreach about a sticky feature will differ if it’s going to a CSM, a leader, or a rev ops user.

• Cohort-based segmentation (like accounts that recently lost a stakeholder and haven’t used a key feature) allows for hyper-relevant outreach at scale.

The magic is in building automation that feels human because it’s been segmented thoughtfully. You’re not just blasting the same email to 500 accounts — you’re delivering the right message to the right person at the right time.

How to Start Segmentation When You Have No Data (Or No Time)

If you’re feeling overwhelmed just hearing this, don’t worry — Kelly’s advice is grounded in practicality.

Start simple:

• Pick one feature that delivers a “lightbulb moment” for customers.

• Create a segment of accounts that haven’t used it yet.

• Tailor your messaging based on persona (e.g., CSM vs. leader vs. admin).

• Send personalized outreach that highlights why that feature will matter to them.

This small win not only boosts product adoption, but builds momentum internally to invest more in segmentation and automation. And you don’t need a team of data scientists or a massive CS ops function to do it.

Key Takeaways

Here’s what stood out most from this episode:

• Segmentation is foundational to scale. It’s not just about slicing up accounts — it’s about enabling automation and personalization at the same time.

• Persona-based messaging outperforms generic outreach. Different stakeholders need different value stories.

• Operational segmentation helps you stay resource-efficient. Know your cost to serve and make smart bets on where to focus.

• Engagement segmentation keeps it human. Tailor your approach to how users want to interact, not just what tier they’re in.

• AI is about to change the game. From sentiment analysis to real-time call insights, AI will soon automate who to engage, when, and how — if your segmentation is strong.

Whether you’re a CS leader at a fast-scaling SaaS company or a solo CSM looking to uplevel your playbooks, this episode is a crash course in modern, scalable Customer Success.

Listen Now & Build Data-Driven CS Strategies

This episode with Kelly Turner is a must-listen for CSMs, CS leaders, and anyone looking to scale customer engagement without sacrificing personalization.

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