What is behavioral segmentation in email?

Behavioral segmentation divides your audience based on actions they've taken rather than who they are. It's often the most predictive form of segmentation because past behavior indicates future behavior.

Email engagement is the most accessible behavioral data. Opens, clicks, reply patterns, and response timing. Someone who clicks on product content consistently has demonstrated interest in products.

Purchase history reveals what people actually value enough to pay for. Categories purchased, frequency, recency, and average order value all create meaningful segments.

Website activity shows intent. Pages visited, time spent, products browsed, content consumed. Someone who spends 20 minutes on your pricing page is in a different mindset than someone who skimmed a blog post.

App or product usage indicates engagement depth. Active users need different messaging than dormant ones. Power users need different content than beginners.

Support interactions reveal satisfaction and needs. Someone with open tickets requires different treatment than someone who's never needed help.

Behavioral data decays quickly. Someone's behavior last week is more relevant than their behavior last year. Build segments that recalculate regularly based on recent actions, not historical snapshots.