Segmentation: Key to effective push notification campaigns

Push notification campaigns perform best when personalized—you can’t argue with the 91.9% CTRs and 7% conversion rates that apps achieve. This isn’t a coincidence but the result of consistent efforts in user segmentation, specifically tailored to the goals of each push campaign.

Let’s dive deep into why segmentation is so powerful and how to do it right every single time. 

What is user segmentation and why do you need it in push campaigns?

Segmentation is all about discovering specific user groups based on various criteria like in-app behavior, purchases, location, and personal preferences. When you see what each niche segment of your audience cares about, you can engage them through tailored messages that resonate with them and help you achieve your goals. 

Without segmentation, you risk sending irrelevant messages that can annoy users and lead to opt-outs. We don’t want that, do we? Especially in the era when even Android apps fall victim to decreased push subscriptions.

Quite the opposite: proper segmentation comes with many perks!

Benefits of push notification segmentation

• Higher engagement rates: People are 3x times more likely to open and interact with messages personalized specifically to them.
• Improved user experience: Relevant notifications enhance the user experience, making your app more valuable and enjoyable.
• Increased conversion rates: Targeted messages are more effective in driving users towards desired actions, such as making a purchase or completing a sign-up. Resulting conversion rates can be as high as 7%!
• Direct impact on the revenue: Properly segmented campaigns report even a 5x higher ROI compared to non-tailored messages.
• Fewer opt-outs: Users are less likely to unsubscribe from notifications that are relevant to their interests. Segment your push recipients carefully, and up to 97.9% of them can stay opted in.

The more detailed segments you target, the more of these benefits you may experience at the end of a push campaign.

4 Basic strategies to segment your push contacts!

‘Basic’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘simple’. Yet, these are the core strategies of app user segmentation you can follow before sending your first push:

Now, let’s take a closer look at each. 

Behavior-based segmentation

Behavior-based segmentation targets users based on their actions within your app. For example, you can select users who have viewed a product in your app and send them related offers later via push.

You can set up a similar triggered push notification based on Pushwoosh's default PW_ScreenOpen event.

A lack of action can be a trigger, too! For instance, a gaming app can send a push notification with a special in-game reward to users who haven't logged in for a week, encouraging them to return to the game and continue playing:

To create a similar split, use Pushwoosh's default PW_ApplicationOpen event.

Attribute-based segmentation

Attribute-based segmentation works with user properties and stated preferences to tailor push notifications. Age, gender, loyalty status, and subscription topics can all be used in push notifications to align your business’s interests with those of your target user groups.

Most often, user attributes come in the form of zero-party data obtained firsthand through onboarding surveys and from user profile settings.

As users share new information with your app, update their profiles in real time. When the time comes, use the data to send personalized push notifications.

For example, a travel booking app can segment users based on their usual starting point and send them push notifications promoting the best flights from this departure city.

Multilanguage segmentation

Segmenting users by their preferred language is crucial for apps with a global user base. Localized content increases the chances for your push notification to resonate with users from different regions, even if the campaign’s offer stays the same.

For example, if you’re running a food delivery app, you may have a special 20% discount for the least popular day of the week. The offer can be the same for all European countries, but users in France, Germany, and Italy would surely appreciate receiving a push notification in their native language:

Location-based segmentation

Location-based segmentation targets users based on their geographic location. For some apps, like our client Map Your City, life revolves around location-specific recommendations. For others, it’s another approach to sending personalized offers and information, such as event notifications or weather alerts.

In Pushwoosh, you can leverage locations that users stated in their profiles or picked in your onboarding in-app survey. Save this information as Tags and use it whenever you need it in your campaigns.

Such simple segmentation can significantly boost engagement and even monetary metrics.

🌟 Our client, Bladestorm, reports a 16.62% MAU growth and a 4.58% revenue increase attributed to localized offers in push notifications.

+5 Nuanced strategies for push-driven segmentation

The strategies we’ve covered so far suggest general approaches to segmentation. But we all know the golden rule of marketing: the more niche, the better. So, how narrow can you get in your user segmentation for push campaigns?

Segment by reachability to ensure your message reaches its audience

Before you start sending push notifications to every contact in your database, consider checking whether you are, in fact, able to reach the user by this channel. 

Say you want to share an important update about your app with all the active users. You can send a push notification, an in-app message, or an email to make sure they see it. Your customer journey workflow could look something like this:

After all, spamming the user via all three channels would be counterproductive. That’s why embedding multichannel reachability checks into your workflow should be a standard practice.

Segment by subscription preferences to push the content users want to receive

Allowing users to choose their notification preferences ensures they receive content they are interested in. This approach is highly effective for news and media apps, where users can opt-in to receive updates on specific topics.

One of our clients, Wetter, has completely upped the game by not only making their notifications location-specific but also allowing users to specify what kind of weather conditions in their area they’d like to be warned about:

Other app categories can also benefit from push subscription preferences. For example, fitness and learning apps can suggest users pick the best time to receive motivational reminders.

Segment by tracking push opens to fine-tune your campaigns

Segmenting users based on their interaction with previous push notifications can help refine your targeting strategy and following communications.

Users who frequently open your push notifications may be more receptive to promotional content, while those who rarely engage might convert better if contacted through other channels.

When setting up a push sequence in Pushwoosh Customer Journey Builder, split the flow into opened/ignored.

Plan a dedicated branch for those who don’t interact with your push—for example, try reaching them via email or SMS instead.

Build pre-made segments for high-speed push notifications

During live sports events and on breaking news days, you must send push notifications immediately. To do so, use the secret technique: High-Speed Delivery. It pre-makes required segments a little while before the anticipated event and allows for quick and efficient sending of push notifications.

One of our clients, ONE.co.il a major online sports media, can send up to 500k notifications per second, or 5–25 million notifications a day, reaching 350,000+ MAU. This is all thanks to our High-Speed Push Delivery and Segmentation features.

Segment based on conversions from a received push

Conversion-driven segmentation focuses on users' actions after the push notification is sent. It allows you to analyze the effectiveness of your push campaigns as a whole and distinguish the customers who’ve converted to your target action from those who may use another nudge

One way to do that is by setting Conversion Goals in Pushwoosh Customer Journey Builder and establishing specific conversion periods.

For example, below, we've chosen InAppPurchase_Complete as the goal of our push notification campaign. Additionally, we've specified that we only want to count conversions to purchasing a specific in-game item promoted via push notifications:

Based on the conversion data, you can optimize the flow of your running campaigns and tweak messages for the future.

Tie it all together

Leveraging multiple segmentation strategies simultaneously can significantly enhance the effectiveness of your push notification campaigns. By combining behavior-based, attribute-based, and other forms of segmentation, you can create highly personalized and impactful messages that drive user engagement and conversions.

So, what’s next?

Send targeted push notifications with Pushwoosh!

Whether you're new to push campaigns or an advanced user, Pushwoosh's segmentation tools can help you create highly personalized campaigns in just a few steps. Try now:

1. Sign up to Pushwoosh and navigate to Campaigns → Customer Journey Builder.
2. Create a campaign: click the blue button and select Send a message on one channel: Push notification.
3. One-time campaign is what you click next. A short journey template will appear on your screen; there, it’s on you to set up your desired segmentation. You can build a segment from scratch or import an existing one if you come to Pushwoosh from another platform or a bunch of cohorts from an analytics tool. 
4. Schedule your notification. The key to success is knowing when to reach the audience as much as knowing who you’re trying to reach. So, we suggest you decide on the sending time at the beginning of your journey building. With Pushwoosh, you can:

• Send a push notification immediately;
• Schedule it for one specific date and time;
• Set it to repeat at regular intervals or on multiple dates.

5. Compose and design your message. It’s time to craft your push notification! Write a compelling title and message that will grab your audience’s attention. Add emojis or images to make your notification more engaging. If you feel stuck at this point, you can always use our Push AI Composer. 
6. Launch your campaign.
7. Analyze for future optimization. After sending your notification, use Pushwoosh’s analytics tools to monitor its performance. Track metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversions. Use this data to refine future campaigns and improve your targeting strategy.

Ready to see it in action?