The Acoustic Campaign database segmenting feature divides a database or list into equal segments or a random sampling, based on the specified number of contacts. You can also segment queries.

Equal divisions create multiple smaller segments. Smaller segments allow you to distribute sends over time to specify other factors. For example, to avoid overloading your system with contact responses, you can divide your database into smaller segments, for separate emails over several hours or days.

You can create multiple segments by using multiple segmenting fields so that contacts can be included in many segments without disturbing some segment that you want to preserve for future use. For example, you can divide your database into four divisions for delayed emails, but still divide the database into random samples for test emails. When you use different segmenting fields, you can create divisions as needed without affecting other divisions.

• You can create up to 12 segmenting fields.
• If you use the Send Hour preference, this choice counts as one of the 12 segmenting fields.
• Segments appear as separate lists on the Queries tab.

Segments are a versatile device for marking database divisions. You can create several segmenting fields for the same database. This has the benefit of simplified database maintenance - only one database has to be updated.

Segmenting is a numbers model. Segments are numerical designations in a field in the parent database, not a new database.

Note: Numerical segmenting is not related to the segments in analytics reports that display data from market segments.

Use the Calculate button to see how many segments or segment sizes (number of contacts) will be made. The Calculate button calculates the number of segments or the number/percent of contacts per segment based on quantities that you specify.

You can divide the database into equal segments or you can sample the database.

Equal segments

Equal segments divide the database into two or more divisions of equal size. You might want to do this to divide a large email into smaller sections to be sent at different times. Dividing your emails can help regulate the flow of responses from your email to your web site.

Suppose you send a email to 100,000 contacts offering each a free gift for visiting your web site. If you send the email to all the contacts at once, your web site can be flooded with responses. If you segment the database into 10 equal segments and send the email to one segment per hour for ten hours, the flow of the responses is more manageable.

To divide the database into equal segments, you can divide by the number of segments that you want, or divide by the number of contacts you want in a segment.

Small sampling

Divide a database into small samplings to test responses to offers, subject lines, creative elements, and so on. You can also create samplings by sending to groups within your database.

For example, you might think that contacts are more likely to open an email with a subject line of 'Thanksgiving Sale' than that of 'Autumn Sale' or 'Fall Sale'. Using segmenting, you can send the email to different segments of the database to test the success of the different subject lines.

In this example, you can choose to send the three test emails, one with each of the above subject lines, to only small segments of a large database. You can then review the results of the emails and send the remaining contacts a email using the most successful subject line.

Note: Databases typically have a small remainder (rather than an equal division). This remainder segment, even if 0, is used for new opt-ins.

Set up segmenting

The Segmenting field is a special custom field that Acoustic Campaign uses to create subsets of a list for testing or for split sends. You might want to segment a list to test offers, subject lines, or creative elements of an email. Before you segment a database, you must first have a segmenting field in the database. Because you cannot change the field type of an existing database field, you must create a new segmenting field.

When you choose to segment a list, Acoustic Campaign assigns a numeric value to this list field. For example, if you choose to segment a list into four equal parts, Acoustic Campaign randomly assigns a number, 1, 2, 3, or 4 to the segmenting field for each contact in the list. Different emails can be sent to each segment without changing the list.

After an email, you can review reports to see whether one segment of the list was more successful than another.

Base segmenting value

The value that is placed in the segmenting field of the database. This value increments by one for each additional segment created. For example, if the database is broken into five segments, and you enter a base segment value of 6, then each of the five new segment fields has a value of 6 through 11. The value 6 is inserted into the selected field for all contacts in the first new segment. All contacts in the second new segment have the value 7 in the selected field.

Segment history

To review the segment history, click Segment History. The segment history displays all of the segment fields for the entire database, the name of the segments, and the total number of segments.

Create a segmenting field

1. Go to Data.
2. Select the list.
3. Choose Add list field from the toolbar.
4. Name the field and set the field type to Segmenting.

   Note: Segmenting fields are stored as numeric values.

Creating database segments

You can use segmenting to divide your databases into smaller pieces based on numbering, or to do random sampling. The smaller segments can be used for emails or as a field in a query to help divide it into smaller sections.

1. Select Data and choose a database from the list that already contains a segmenting field.
   1. On the Fields tab, click the Segment icon.
   2. Choose the base segment value.
   3. Select the segmenting fields. You can select more than one field. Selecting more than one segmenting field populates all the segmenting fields in the database with a segmenting number. The segmenting field that you use has new segmenting number. To preserve current segmenting, create another segmenting field to use.
   4. Determine your Segmenting job name. Enter a new unique name for these segments in the field and click Next.

      The form appears for defining segments.

2. Define segments by using equal or random sampling.
   1. Determine whether an equal number of segments is needed, or a sample, and then use the Equal Segments or Sampling area of the form.
   2. Determine the number of segments you want by selecting number or percent of contacts per segment, and then use the Calculate button to determine the number and put it in the other box.

      Note: If splitting by the number of contacts, you can do so by percentage or absolute number per segment, by selecting the Number or Percent option from the drop-down box.

   3. If you want the segments to be available as queries, check the box next to Automatically generate each segment using - and then select the segmenting field that you want to hold the query information.
   4. Select either a Shared or Private folder in which to place the new query databases.
   5. If you want to immediately see query size as part of the segmenting job, select Automatically calculate query size once segmenting is complete.
   6. Click Next.

      The Submitted Data Job form opens.

3. Submit the segmenting data job.
   1. Review your segmenting job.
   2. Optionally, add a notification address for when the job completes.
   3. Submit it as a data job and click Submit.

The new lists are shown on the Query tab with this name, which is appended with Segment 1, Segment 2. When the segment names are displayed on the tab, you can use the segments.

Segment a query

You can segment both queries and classic queries.

If you start with a classic query and you choose to automatically generate each segment as a query, the generated query is a classic query. Likewise, if you start with a query and you choose to automatically generate each segment as a query', the generated query is a query.

1. In Query Summary, on the Fields tab, click the Segment icon.

   The Segment Contact Source form loads.

2. Complete the form and click Next.
3. Define Segments by using Equal or Random Sampling.

   Note: The database can be divided into equal segments or can be sampled. Use the Calculate button to instantly see how many segments or segment sizes (number of contacts) will be made. The Calculate button calculates the number of segments or inversely the number/percent of contacts per segment, by using the quantity entered in either box.

4. Select the options to generate the query as a Query or Classic Query.
5. Click Next.
6. After the query is segmented, the segments can be found under View within Queries in the folder tab that was selected when the segment was created.

   You can query a segment if both queries are created using the new query style. It is not possible to query a segment that was created using classic query.

Segment a contact list

You cannot segment a contact list. However, you can use Include Contact List members in a classic query or new query as a workaround.

1. Go to Create under Queries.
2. Choose the database to query, name your query, and then select Classic Query from the Type drop down.
3. Click OK to begin building query criteria.
4. In Criteria select Contact. Operator will be is in.
5. Select your contact list by clicking the contact list icon next to the ADD button. Click OK when selected.
6. Click Add to insert the criteria into your query.
7. Click Save & Calculate and then click Submit.

Once complete, you can then run a segment job on this query that includes contacts that are in your contact list.

1. Go to Create under Queries.
2. Choose the database to query, name your query, select the database you wish to query, and then select Query from the Type drop down.
3. Click OK to begin building query criteria.
4. In the Add Criteria area, select Contact List from the Profile drop down.
5. Select Contact Is in Contact List and then click Choose.
6. Select Contact List.
7. Click Done.
8. Click Save & Calculate.
9. Click Submit.

Once complete, you can then run a segment job on this query that includes contacts that are in your contact list.

Delete a segment field

If the segment field has not been used yet, it can be deleted. If the segment field has already been used, you need to run a field usage data job to see all the places the field is being used.

When the data job is complete, you can see if the segment job is being used anywhere (most of the time it is shown as being used in a segment query). After you delete all the resources where the segment field is used, you can delete the segment field.

Note: Be cautious in deleting the resources where a segment field is used. Resources such as queries and programs cannot be restored.

Combine segments

You can combine one or more segments and delete unused segments.

Create a query

Create a segmenting field in the database that you are building the query on.

Select from Profile the Segment Data field.

In the Operator, select is equal to one of the following. Enter the values and the results are the contacts that are found in both segments.

Create a classic query

To modify segments, select the segmented query and edit the query.

Leave the segment field as the criteria and change the operator to is in contact list followed by the values of the segment.

So if you have three segments, you can edit segment query 1 to include segment query 2 by adding the values 1 and 2.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my segment now show fewer contacts or no contacts?

When you reuse the same segment field, the data that was used for the previous segment is overwritten.

The old segment will either have a lower number or show 0 contacts. You can check and see if the segment was overwritten by finding the database that the segment was created off and from the field tab, go to Segment.

On the following screen, select the segment field that the segment was created on and then click Segment history.

If you see more than one entry in the segment history, only the segment column name with the latest date will have accurate numbers. The segments created earlier on this column will either have a lower number or will show 0.

What happens to newly added contacts after the segmenting job completes?

All newly added contacts after the segmenting job completes have a zero in the segmenting field. Thus, the newly added contacts are assigned to the remaining segment.

Why is the segmenting field not appearing in query?

Previously, the reason you did not see those segmenting fields was because the needed segmenting fields were not added to the database before the creation of the original query. In order to see a segmenting field on that query, you would need to recreate the original query, then segment it.

However, now the field will be visible once added to the database, and you can segment as needed.

If you segment the query based on behavior, are the query and the segment updated?

If you segment a new query (with behavior criteria), the contacts that match the query at that time are segmented.

If you want newly added contacts that match the query criteria to be segmented, you need to re-segment the query. The query always finds the matches to the query. The query finds matches when it is recalculated or if an email is sent to the query. The segmenting must be redone when new matches could potentially come into the query.

Why is the size of my segments decreasing?

A segment is a reflection of the time the segmenting job was completed. The expectation that the segment should remain consistent in size is not sound.

Segmenting is a process of selecting recipients based on segmenting criteria. For lists, segments can decrease in size for the following reasons.

• Opt-outs
• Undeliverable results from an email
• Records being deleted

Some segments are based on queries, whose size can decrease because the query criteria changed. Other factors such as the reusing the segmenting field that was used to generate this segment can overwrite segment result completely.