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Segments

Segments are dynamic groups of people that update automatically based on rules you define. Instead of manually organizing your audience or copying and pasting lists of emails, segments do the work for you.

What is a Segment?

A Segment is a saved filter that groups people who match specific criteria. When someone meets the criteria, they're automatically included. When they no longer match, they're automatically removed.

This is instant and does not require any manual flows or automation to run/maintain.

For example, you might create segments for:

  • People who opened an email in the last 30 days
  • Customers who spent more than $500
  • Subscribers who haven't engaged in 90 days
  • Anyone tagged as "VIP" who lives in California

There's no backfill step. Existing people who match the criteria are included from the moment you create the segment.

How Segments Differ from Tags or Fields

Some email marketing tools don't have segments and just have tags or fields. Bento has both.

Tags are manual labels you can apply to people and fields are custom data you can store on people. You can create a segment based on those tags and fields.

We recommend using tags for broad categories like customer status (active, churned, VIP, etc.) and fields for more specific data like language, timezone, or other relevant details.

Building Segments

Go to People > Segments and click the "Create Segment" button. Create a group and then add a few filters to that group. A group is a set of filters combined together, and everyone who matches those filters is part of the group. Add multiple groups to target several different sets of people in one segment.

Save the segment.

Your segment can now be referenced in broadcasts, flows, and other parts of Bento.

Segments are calculated in real-time when you view them, so they always reflect your current data.

Using Segments

Once you've created a segment, you can:

  • Send Broadcasts: Target specific segments with campaigns
  • Split in Flows: Change the path of a flow based on the segment criteria
  • Analyze Performance: Compare engagement across different groups
  • Export Data: Pull segment data for external analysis