Sharpening customer understanding through segmentation

The declaration of intent clarified the need for sharper customer segmentation and clearer positioning. It also confirmed that the cooperative bank, together with its members, should continue to play a central role in the development of Swedish agriculture and forestry.

The business targets

The bank had ambitious growth goals. Existing customers needed to deepen their engagement, new customers needed to be won, and the business needed to grow through both the existing offer and an expanded one.

Why segmentation was needed

Better customer insight was necessary to improve the effectiveness of targeting and commercial work. The segmentation was needed to clarify:

who the brand should address
what the bank should be known for
how it should establish a clearer position in the market
which segments should be prioritized for growth
what should be offered and communicated to different segments

What was built

A prioritization model for customer segments was developed. The model was built around four factors:

growth potential
segment size
attitude toward the bank
homogeneity within the segment

Outcome

The work resulted in customer cards: more detailed descriptions of each segment. These cards brought together:

an overall segment profile
segment priority
size and characteristics
investment behavior
growth potential
attitudes to economy, money and the bank
business income and profitability