Stop Segmenting by Job Title.Start Building Preference Profiles.
Demographics tell you who someone is. Preference profiles tell you what they want. One drives revenue. The other collects dust in your CRM.
The Problem with Traditional Segmentation
Most email lists are segmented like this:
- • Job title: Marketing Manager, Founder, Developer
- • Company size: 1-10, 11-50, 51-200 employees
- • Industry: SaaS, E-commerce, Agency
- • Signup source: Webinar, blog post, ad
This is firmographic data. It's useful for targeting ads and qualifying leads. But it tells you almost nothing about:
- ✗ What they're struggling with
- ✗ What they're trying to achieve
- ✗ What content they find valuable
- ✗ What features they actually need
- ✗ How they want to be communicated with
The Insight
Two marketing managers at 50-person SaaS companies can have completely different priorities, challenges, and preferences.
One might be focused on growth and experimentation. The other on compliance and process. Same demographic. Totally different needs.
What is a Preference Profile?
A preference profile is a dynamic record of what a subscriber cares about, built incrementally over time through their actual behavior and stated preferences.
Instead of asking for everything upfront in a long signup form (which people abandon), you collect small pieces of information with each email interaction.
This is called progressive profiling — and it's how smart email marketers build deep customer understanding without annoying their subscribers.
Real Example: How One Newsletter Built 40,000 Data Points
A financial education newsletter used email polls to understand their subscribers. Over 3 months, they sent 20 polls asking about:
Values & Motivations
- • "What matters most to you?" (Freedom, security, wealth)
- • "How do you feel about money?" (Anxious, hopeful, confident)
- • "What would $2k/month buy you?" (Relief, time, travel)
Situation & Behavior
- • "Emergency fund status?" (6+ months, some, none)
- • "Homeownership?" (Own, rent, saving for down payment)
- • "Debt strategy?" (Pay ASAP, invest instead, balanced)
The Results:
- • 40,000+ responses from 20 polls (avg 2,000 responses per poll)
- • 42% response rate on highest-performing questions
- • Rich preference profiles for 20% of subscribers (vs roughly 0.003% who complete a multi-question survey)
What They Learned
- →42% prioritize freedom over security or wealth — led them to lean way more into freedom-focused content and messaging
- →65% feel anxious or guilty about money despite being financially literate — revealed this is an emotional problem, not a knowledge gap
- →40% want relief, not luxury — "breathe easier" beat "travel" 2:1 as desired outcome for extra income
- →68% identify as "waiting for permission" or "playing it safe" — massive opportunity for empowerment-focused content
How to Build Preference Profiles (Step-by-Step)
Map the Data You Actually Need
Before you ask random questions, define what insights would change your marketing decisions.
Categories to consider:
- • Values & Motivations: What drives decisions?
- • Current Situation: Where are they now?
- • Goals & Aspirations: Where do they want to be?
- • Pain Points & Challenges: What's blocking them?
- • Content Preferences: What do they want to learn?
- • Product Interest: What features matter most?
Ask One Question at a Time
Don't send a 15-question survey. Send one poll per email (or every 2-4 emails). Make it effortless to answer.
Why this works:
- • No survey fatigue — One question feels casual, not invasive
- • Higher response rates — 15-42% vs 2-5% for multi-question surveys
- • Better data quality — People actually think about their answer instead of clicking randomly to finish
Tag Every Response Automatically
The power of preference profiles comes from persistence. Each answer should write directly to the contact record — not sit in a survey spreadsheet.
Example tagging:
Poll: "What matters most to you?"
Response: "Freedom" → value:freedom
Poll: "What's your biggest challenge?"
Response: "Time" → challenge:time
Poll: "Which feature would help most?"
Response: "Analytics" → feature_interest:analytics
After 5-10 polls, you have a rich profile showing values, challenges, interests, and goals — way more useful than "Marketing Manager at 50-person SaaS company."
Create Micro-Segments
Now the magic happens. Combine preference tags to create hyper-targeted segments.
Example segments:
- •
value:freedom+feeling:anxious→ Send "How to build security while preserving freedom" content - •
challenge:time+feature_interest:automation→ Pitch automation features, share time-saving tips - •
goal:passive_income+risk_tolerance:aggressive→ Investment-focused nurture sequence
These segments convert 3-5x better than demographic segments because they're based on actual stated preferences, not assumptions.
Refresh Periodically
Preferences change. Re-ask key questions every 6-12 months to keep profiles current.
Pro tip:
Track when each tag was last updated. If someone's goal tag is 12 months old, re-ask "What's your top priority this quarter?" to see if it's changed.
What You Can Do With Preference Profiles
🎯 Hyper-Personalized Content
Send different content to different segments based on their stated interests, challenges, and goals — not job title guesses.
📊 Product Roadmap Validation
Know which features your audience actually wants. Tag contacts with feature interest and notify them when you ship.
💰 Sales Prioritization
Surface high-intent leads based on behavior + preferences, not just firmographics. "Freedom-oriented + time-strapped + interested in automation" = hot lead.
✍️ Better Copywriting
Use the actual language your subscribers use. If 40% say they want to "breathe easier," put that in your headlines — not "achieve financial freedom."
🔄 Dynamic Journeys
Trigger different nurture sequences based on preferences. "Anxious" subscribers get reassurance. "Confident" subscribers get advanced tactics.
📉 Churn Prevention
Identify preference mismatches before people churn. If someone wants "simple" but you're sending "advanced," adjust the stream.
How TapLoop Makes This Easy
✓ One-Click Polls in Email
No external forms. Subscribers answer with one click, directly in their inbox. Response rates 10-20x higher than survey links.
✓ Automatic Contact Tagging
Every response writes to the contact record. Build preference profiles over time without manual work.
✓ Duplicate & Fraud Detection
State-of-the-art duplicate detection ensures every response represents a real subscriber. Clean, trustworthy data.
✓ Clean Data Export
Export to CSV, JSON, or Zapier for CRM sync. No bloated custom fields — just structured, actionable data.
See How TapLoop Works →Ready to Build Preference Profiles?
Start with 100 free responses per month. Add your first poll in under 5 minutes. No credit card required.