The Meaningful-Actionable Grid is a tool used to identify and evaluate potential market segments based on their meaningfulness of the impact on consumer behaviour and the actionable opportunities each presents for an organisation.
It’s a simple analytical tool that can add verified meaning to your market segmentation and subsequent targeting, rather than sitting in a dark room thinking of who you’d really like to email you and say ‘Hey, I’m that perfect client you’ve been aimlessly writing about and waiting for (i also like chocolate ice cream), can I buy your services?’
Here are the steps to use the Meaningful-Actionable Grid within your market segmentation process:
List variables: Start by listing all possible variables that can be used to segment the marketplace. This can be done through a team exercise that involves brainstorming and researching different variables. Variables may include demographics (e.g., age, gender, income, education), psychographics (e.g., personality traits, values, interests), behaviours (e.g., purchase behaviour, usage behaviour, loyalty), needs (e.g., functional needs, emotional needs, social needs), and other relevant factors.
Rate impact: Once the list of variables is created, rate each variable from 1 to 10 based on its impact on a consumer's behaviour. Variables that have a direct impact on behaviour should receive a higher score, while those that do not have a meaningful impact should receive a lower score.
Meaningful = Consumer Behaviour
Score data availability
Next, score each variable on a scale of 1 to 10 based on its availability (this will be important later on) and actionability. Ask questions like "Do I have this data?" and "Can I identify actual customers according to this variable?" Variables that are easily accessible and have actionable data should receive a higher score, while those that are difficult to obtain or use should receive a lower score.
Actionable = Availability and Actionability
Calculate scores
The scores for each variable are then calculated (meaningful x actionable = score) based on the ratings given in steps 2 and 3. The variables with the highest scores (out of 100) are deemed of higher importance in the segmentation process.
Plot on a Grid
The variables can then be plotted on the grid based on their meaningfulness and actionability scores (2x2 grid making sure the appropriate variables are placed accordingly). Using the insights and data gathered from your previous research, calculations can now be made as to how valuable each segment of the market could be to your organisation (for example, the total number of prospects within a variable x the £ spent on a specific type of variable = Potential value of this segment).
To distinguish each segment, might as well give it a memorable but pretty pointless funky name!
Prioritise segments
It will be the analysis of these calculations that will hold the most relevance as well as importance in determining the most attractive segments to target. Other segments can be evaluated based on their potential for growth, profitability, and/or fit with the company's strategy, but always make sure each calculation is done fairly and without bias to not influence any outcomes.
Develop marketing strategies
Finally, marketing strategies can be developed for each target segment based on the insights gained. These strategies should be tailored to the needs and characteristics of each segment to maximize their effectiveness.
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