User segmentation in Zoho Apptics

User segments

Overview

User segmentation is the process of grouping and categorizing your user base into smaller and distinct segments, based on a set of shared characteristics or traits (a.k.a. common attributes). Segmentation gives you precise, segment-specific insights to better understand user needs. It helps you to move from a "spray and pray" approach and follow a more structured, highly strategic, and user-centric approach towards marketing and product development.

You can segment users based on various characteristics (a.k.a. attributes):
  1. Demographic - Age, gender, income, education, occupation, etc.
  2. Geographic - Country , region, language, etc.
  3. Psychographic - Interests, individual preferences, lifestyle, etc.
  4. Behavioral - User navigation, interactions, exit points, app/product usage, etc.
  5. Transactional - Subscriptions, payments, unfollow, customer service calls, etc.
  6. Firmographic - Organizations, employee count, industry, etc.
In Apptics, you can create your own segment based on screens, sessions, and events available in the console. You need to ensure that the necessary SDK-side configurations are in place to track engagement data. For SDK implementation, refer to our SDK integration guide.

Create user segments in Apptics console

To create a user segment, you need to define the criteria based on which you can proceed with user segmentation. In Apptics, you can define the segment criteria with up to three condition groups, and each condition group can contain up to five conditions. Each condition can be created based on various segment attributes (like events, screens, and sessions) and applied with the AND/OR logic. 

  1. The AND logic requires users to meet all conditions within the segment. For example, you create segment criteria with the below conditions:

    Condition 1 - User has viewed Screen A
    AND
    Condition 2     - User has clicked on button B
    AND
    Condition 3 - User has spent more than 5 minutes in the app

    The user must meet all three conditions to be included in the segment

  2. The OR logic only requires users to meet one of the conditions. For example, you create segment criteria with the below conditions:

    Condition 1 - User has viewed Screen A
    OR
    Condition 2 - User has clicked on button B
    OR
    Condition 3 - User has spent more than 5 minutes in the app

    The user can meet any one of the conditions to be included in the segment, i.e., viewed screen A, clicked on button B, or spent more than 5 minutes in the app.
  1. Navigate to Marketer > Segments and click on Create segment.

  1. You can select the segment attribute based on which you want to filter and segment your app users and start defining the segment properties.

Step 1: Choose segment attributes

Select the type of data to be used while defining the segment and filtering out users. They include:
  1. All - It is the broadest scope, considering all user interactions and behavior.
  2. Screens - Focuses primarily on screen/page traversals within the app/product.
  3. Sessions - Focus is more on user activity and time spent.
  4. Events - Focus on user actions taken within the app/product.
When you choose 'All' you can segment users based on a combination of screens, sessions, events, and common filters.

Step 2: Define segment properties

The segment properties include the criteria for user segmentation, which consist of conditions grouped together in condition groups. You can create conditions using different properties of the segment attributes we discussed in the previous section. Here is the list of all the attribute properties based on which you can filter out and segment users:

Attributes
Properties
Events

  1. Name
  2. Time
  3. Event property
Screens

  1. Name
  2. Time
  3. Duration

Sessions
  1. Time
  2. Duration
Common
  1. App version
  2. OS version
  3. Device type
  4. Platform
  5. Application ID
  6. User group
  7. Countries
  1. Choose the segment properties based on which you want to apply conditions.
  2. Click on the + sign to add a new condition within the condition group.
  3. You can apply the AND or OR logic to a new condition within the condition group, or while creating a new condition group.
  4. As you define the segment properties, you will be able to see the criteria pattern at the bottom which shows the logic applied between different conditions groups. 

  1. The segment summary at the right displays all the conditions you have applied to create the individual segment.
NotesNote: You can only apply either AND or OR logic within a single condition group. To use a mix of AND and OR logic, create multiple condition groups.

Step 3: View segment results

  1. Choose the date range for which you want to apply the segment properties and view how many users meet the criteria within that selected date range.

  1. If you have already set a date range as part of the conditions, that range will automatically be applied when filtering the data.
  2. Once you have defined the segment properties, you can click on View stats to see the percentage and number of users who meet the set criteria and conditions from the total user base.
  3. Click Save segment and provide the name and description (optional) for the created segment to save it and get details of the users within the user segment.
  4. Once the newly created segment is saved, you will be able to see it listed along with other user segments.
  5. Click on the individual segment to view details of all the users who come under the user segment. You will be able to see a list of users under the segment with details like user ID, PII (personally identifiable information), and when the user installed the app.
  6. Click on Export to download the user list in a .csv file.
NotesNote: A user must meet all conditions (where AND logic is applied) or any one of several conditions (where OR logic is applied) to be included in the created user segment.

Edge cases and considerations

  1. If a user does not meet any condition within an OR group, they will be excluded from that group.
  2. Currently, mixed AND/OR logic cannot be applied within a single condition group—this may require breaking logic into separate groups.
  3. Using conditions with multiple AND filters can make your segment too narrow, especially with time-based filters. Always check the user count in the summary to ensure your segment is meaningful.
  4. If no users appear in a segment, check whether the chosen date range aligns with when the user activity occurred. A mismatch here is a common reason for empty results.
  5. Ensure you have a proper setup in the SDK to track all the required screens, sessions, and events to get the expected results while segmenting users.

Manage existing user segments

All the saved user segments will be listed as individual user segments in the Apptics console. You have options to:
  1. Edit - To edit the criteria and conditions for the segment.
  2. Edit as new - To create a new segment by modifying the criteria and conditions of an existing segment.
  3. Delete - Delete the user segment permanently.

NotesNote: Deleting a user segment will affect all the associated configurations done within console. For example, if you have configured a push notification for a user segment and you delete the segment here, the push notification will also be affected.

Use cases and future scope

User segmentation in Apptics gives you the flexibility to filter and analyze your app users based on real behaviors and attributes. Whether you're identifying power users, targeting churn risks, or tailoring messaging for a specific cohort–Segmentation in Apptics helps you stay user-centric and enables you to take meaningful actions based on the in-depth user analysis.

NotesNote: In future updates, saved segments may support additional actions such as integrating with marketing automation tools and using Apptics modules like push notifications for targeted marketing activities.