Cameron Maddux

Customer and User Segmentation: Reprioritizing at Mailchimp

Challenge

Mailchimp had a recent eCommerce user prioritization, creating a clear focus for some teams but leaving significant gaps in the overall business and product strategy:

• The majority of customers (non-eCommerce users) were left without clear prioritization

• Product managers, designers and marketers lacked frameworks to understand and serve these customer segments

• Leadership struggled with decision-making alignment beyond the core eCommerce focus

• Previous segmentation attempts had been unsuccessful, creating organizational skepticism

Approach

I led, developed, and implemented a comprehensive three-phase segmentation strategy:

Phase 1: Data-Driven Modeling

• Collaborated with data science to analyze product usage patterns

• Created a self-coded modeling investigation to identify distinct user groups

• Ensured segments were replicable and aligned with both company strategy and market realities

• Established quantifiable metrics to define and track segments

Phase 2: Qualitative Exploration

• Conducted in-depth interviews with customers across potential segments about product needs and usage

• Validated that segments existed beyond product usage data

• Mapped behavioral patterns and needs against our core user profile

• Discovered nuanced differences in goals, challenges, and success metrics

Phase 3: Quantitative Validation

• Designed and deployed large-scale customer surveys

• Statistically validated segment existence and distribution

• Measured segment size and business impact

• Refined segmentation model based on comprehensive data

Impact

The segmentation project transformed Mailchimp's strategic direction:

• Received unanimous executive approval from founders, CPO, CMO, COO, and CFO

• Identified and prioritized a previously undiscovered high-value segment with alignment from leadership (phew.)

• Led company-wide education through department-by-department roadshows

• Initiated customer decision journey workshops for each segment to deepen organizational understanding

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Scribd Longitudinal Diary Study: Mapping Pandemic-Era Content Consumption Behaviors

I joined Scribd in May 2020. Yeah, during the start of the pandemic lockdowns. Scribd is content on small screens and in ears: books, audiobooks, podcasts, sheet music, magazine articles, documents, Slideshare. Like many digital products, usage changed dramatically, with complexity and difficult pattern recognition. Product use was healthy and increasing, but how to respond was floundering.

I put together a diary study. That informed product strategy, helped make design decisions, provided machine learning teams with behavioral data to refine recommendation algorithms (that is what the balloon represents), and guided content acquisition strategy.

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Shorter case studies involving Card Sorts & Metadata, and Evaluative on Product Features

I am happy to build out case studies around a breadth of different research plans, goals, and methodologies. Here are a couple on building product features including a content carousel with metadata and a mobile-first feature.

Ask me to present the Case Studies.