Define segment profiles

Segment names and paths aren't enough. You need usable profiles that drive campaign decisions. What does each segment currently believe? What do they doubt? Where do they research? What proof closes the gap?

This chapter builds a working document: one row per segment with everything you need to plan channels, creative, and landing pages. No personas with job titles and coffee preferences. Just belief states and campaign implications.

For each segment, write down what they already believe. These are the assumptions you don't need to prove because they're already held as true.

Compliance-driven segment (cybersecurity training):

• Current beliefs: Employees are a security risk, regulatory compliance is required, we need documented training
• Don't need to prove: That the problem exists, that they need a solution

Breach-reactive segment:

• Current beliefs: Employees are a risk, training changes behaviour, we need to act now
• Don't need to prove: That training works as a solution category

Paid-skeptic segment (lead gen tools):

• Current beliefs: Paid ads are too expensive for our budget/model, we need alternative lead sources
• Don't need to prove: That they need more leads, that budget is a constraint

This stops you wasting ad spend proving things they already believe. Don't run "employees are a security risk" awareness ads to compliance officers. They know. They're mandated to solve it.

Now document what each segment doubts. This is your campaign focus.

Compliance-driven segment:

• Missing assumption: Training actually changes employee behaviour (they're buying for compliance, not because they believe it works)
• Proof needed: Behaviour change data, audit-passing case studies, certification requirements met

Breach-reactive segment:

• Missing assumption: This vendor implements quickly and covers our specific risks
• Proof needed: Implementation timeline, incident prevention case studies, onboarding process

List-skeptic segment (lead gen tools):

• Missing assumption: Building targeted lists delivers better ROI than buying data
• Proof needed: List quality comparison, time-to-result data, response rate differences

Your entire campaign strategy focuses on closing these gaps. Every ad, every landing page, every piece of content should address the specific doubt this segment has.

Different segments research in different places. Match channels to where each segment is active and receptive.

Compliance-driven segment:

• Channel fit: LinkedIn (professional context), Google search (looking for "compliance training"), industry associations
• Why: Researching solutions in professional settings, comparing vendors for RFP process

Paid-skeptic segment (lead gen tools):

• Channel fit: Content marketing (learning about outbound), comparison sites (evaluating channel options), communities (asking peers)
• Why: Still evaluating whether outbound works at all, needs education before vendor comparison

LinkedIn-first segment:

• Channel fit: LinkedIn ads (where they already spend time), webinars (channel comparison content), case studies
• Why: Already convinced on outbound, researching channel choice

Don't assign every channel to every segment. Be specific. Cold outreach works for problem-aware segments but annoys product-aware segments who are already researching. Remarketing works for tool-choosers but wastes money on paid-skeptics who haven't decided on outbound yet.

Each segment needs different messaging that addresses their specific doubt.

Compliance-driven segment:

• Message focus: Regulatory requirements covered, audit-passing proof, certification delivered
• Avoid: Behaviour change outcomes (they don't care, they need compliance)

Breach-reactive segment:

• Message focus: Fast implementation, incident prevention, reputation protection
• Avoid: Long-term culture building (they need speed, not philosophy)

List-skeptic segment (lead gen tools):

• Message focus: List building ROI, quality vs purchased data, time investment breakdown
• Avoid: Feature comparisons between tools (they're not there yet)

This becomes your creative brief. When you're writing ad copy or landing pages in later playbooks, you come back to this message focus. It tells you exactly what to emphasise and what to skip.

You now have a complete segmentation table with one row per segment showing current beliefs, missing assumptions, channel fit, and message focus.

This table drives everything in the next three playbooks: which campaigns to run on which channels, what creative angles to test, and which landing pages to build.

Save this as your segmentation map. Update it as you learn from campaigns. Segments aren't static, belief gaps shift as your market matures.