Part 3 of 8: Creating Customer Profiles for Strategic Focus

Previously: Part 2 explored identifying growth opportunities and declining trends through detailed product and customer-level analysis.

As you read what follows, think about your own customer landscape. What segments have you found most challenging to define or prioritize? Feel free to share how you’ve approached segmentation in your organization.

Introduction & Practical Framework

Customer segmentation is one of the most important but often overlooked steps in sales planning. It allows for more strategic decisions, better forecasting, and improved alignment of resources.

Organizing customers by segment, type, and value can help sales teams focus on what matters most-not just who is buying the most, but who has the most potential.

Suggested Classifications (use subcategories that apply to your business)

Customer Type: OEM, Distributor, End User, VAR, etc.
Industry Segment: Industrial, Aerospace, Defense, Energy, etc.
Account Type: Strategic, Growth, Target, Harvest, Maintenance, etc.

Analyze Profiles to Understand

Profitability vs. revenue
Risk and churn potential
Alignment with product mix
Level of engagement and support needed

Key Takeaway

By truly understanding your customers and where they fit within your strategy, you improve decision-making, prioritize effort, and align sales activity with the most promising opportunities.

This same thinking is reflected in GENREV!™, which supports more strategic account planning through profile and segmentation tools.

Call to Action

If you’re looking to build or refine customer profiles to bring more structure to your planning, I always welcome the opportunity to connect and share ideas.

Coming Up

In Part 4, we’ll look at how to align your customer strategy with what your organization can realistically support-operationally, financially, and technically.

#CustomerSegmentation #StrategicSales #CustomerInsights #SalesFocus #AccountPlanning #GENREV