Use the criteria in the Market Segmentation Criteria Checklist to describe your customer base or desired customer type. Once you have determined the appropriate characteristics, you can use them as a guide to select target market segments for future marketing efforts. Your descriptions can be general or more specific depending on the number of criteria used. The more specific the criteria, the higher the probability of success of your marketing programs.  The segmentation categories included in the list for business-to-consumer (B2C) markets are demographics, geographics , psychographics, consumer behavioral, and lifestyle; and business demographics for business-to-business (B2B) markets.

* Lifestyle characteristics can be further refined to suit your product/service offer. For example, “outdoor sports and recreation” can be refined to the type of sport the customer/prospect participates in, such as skiing, running, biking.