Many of today’s customer-data segmentation tools shed light on who your customers are (demographics), where they live (geographics) and how they interact with your company (behavioral and transactional data). But the most sophisticated tools tell you why customers do what they do (psychographics). Powerful stuff when you consider the implications and applications of such knowledge. Understand the attitude, and you’ll better predict and shape the behavior.

First, it’s important to choose a segmentation tool that zeroes in on individual households. That’s because segmentation systems that stop at ZIP codes (3,600 households on average), block groups (340 households on average) or even ZIP+4 (10-12 households on average) can make overgeneralizations that undermine your targeting efforts.

Just think of your own neighbors and it becomes obvious why the “birds of a feather” philosophy falls short. After all, your well-heeled neighborhood may require healthy household finances, but it does not require that everyone at the block party also share the same age, marital status, interests, needs and wants. By enhancing your database with a household-level segmentation system, you will group your customers into specific segments that more precisely reflect who they truly are.

Next, make sure the segment profiles are rife with attitudinal information that can reveal bits of wisdom such as purchasing motivators (e.g., do they seek advice before purchasing or purchase only brand names?), favorite activities (e.g., are they outdoorsy or home-bound?), and media usage (e.g., are they TV addicts or avid readers?). Individually, such data points won’t tell you much about who your customers are or how to speak to them. Put the data points together, however, and you start to conjure vivid profiles that allow you to not only better decipher customers’ needs and wants, but also pinpoint when and how to speak to them and what to say. This type of detailed segmentation can also help you:

A household-level segmentation solution that is supplemented with attitudinal information is only the first step in the quest for marketing efficiency. Many companies experience huge variations in the usefulness of the segmentation projects they commission. That’s because segmentation data alone, while intellectually interesting, does not deliver actionable guidance for using segments in the real world. In order to successfully leverage the rich segment profiles, you must be able to manage the tactical execution of your segmentation strategy. Creative and messaging for each segment must speak to their individual needs. Timing and frequency of messages must catch or nudge customer segments when they’re most receptive. Products and offers must provide a solution to each segment’s challenges. And the overall strategy must be agile enough to evolve as learnings from segmentation come to light.

In a tight-fisted economy where marketing dollars are closely monitored, doing less with more is fast-becoming everyone’s favorite mantra. But developing a marketing strategy using a household-level, attitudinally enhanced segmentation system means you’ll be able to create more relevant messages delivered via more relevant channels and at more relevant times. And that leads to marketing efficiency that delivers increased customer loyalty and profitability.