How to Shift from Insight Producer to Segmentation Custodian
How to Shift from Insight Producer to Segmentation Custodian (And Why Your Organisation Needs You To)
You don't need another reminder that segmentation often gathers dust.
You've lived it.
You built the model. You saw the excitement. You felt the slow fade as projects moved on, priorities shifted, and the segmentation you poured months into became a PowerPoint ghost.
It’s not because you did bad work.
It’s because the job wasn’t finished.
Why the Producer Mindset is Failing
Insight teams are masters at producing segmentation. But production isn't enough anymore.
If you want segmentation to drive real change, you have to shift - from producer of deliverables to custodian of living systems.
And that shift starts with you.
The warning signs are already here:
- Segments that don’t map to today’s market realities.
- Teams using "customer types" that don’t match the research.
- ROI questions you can’t easily answer.
- The painful realisation that, six months in, no one "owns" the segmentation anymore.
Here’s the truth:
Segmentation isn’t a project.
It’s a capability.
And capabilities need maintenance, growth, and governance (or they go unused and get forgotten).
The New Job: Custodian, Not Creator
Most insight teams already know the challenges: segmentation often gets built brilliantly but struggles to live, breathe, and drive real action over time.
Stepping into the true custodian role isn’t about fixing past mistakes, it’s about unlocking a different kind of ongoing impact.
Here’s what it really takes:
1. You Maintain the Living System
You already know static models don’t survive long. Custodians build segmentations designed to flex - adding nuance, evolving definitions, and incorporating new signals as the market moves.
Set refresh cycles. Track segment health. Spot early warning signs when segments drift out of relevance.
Tip: Think "quarterly tune-ups," not "five-year rebuilds."
2. You Build Cross-Functional Muscle Memory
It’s no secret that segmentation can't thrive through insights teams alone.
Custodians create governance structures that embed segmentation into shared muscle memory - not an occasional guest star.
Create councils. Design decision rights. Build habits, not heroic rescues.
Tip: If you're still the only one defending segmentation six months from now, it’s a signal to strengthen shared ownership.
3. You Engineer the Infrastructure
Many teams have felt the pain of segmentation living in slides but not systems. Real custodians work with tech, data, and ops teams to bake segmentation into the daily systems people actually use:
- CRM integrations
- Segment toggles in dashboards
- Operational flags in customer systems
If people have to "remember" to use your segmentation, you’ve already lost. It must be built into their workflow by default.
4. You Lead Evolution, Not Just Creation
Everyone’s seen good segmentations slowly lose relevance.
Custodians future-proof their work with modular architectures - stable cores with flexible edges - designed to absorb new behaviours, emerging needs, and market shifts without constant rebuilds.
Tip: Design segments with room to grow.
5. You Evangelise and Enable
You’re not just managing a system. You’re leading a movement.
Custodians champion segmentation daily: training, coaching, celebrating, and showing teams how segmentation drives sharper targeting and better decisions.
Wins aren’t just collected quietly - they’re shared loudly to build momentum and belief.
Tip: Think less "librarian of insights" and more "chief instigator of customer-centric action."
Five Moves You Can Make This Quarter
- Audit your current segmentation’s health. Where is it losing traction? Why?
- Establish a refresh rhythm. Even a lightweight pulse check beats waiting for a full rebuild.
- Set up a Segment Governance Group. One meeting per quarter. Huge dividends.
- Embed one application into one system. Start small. Create momentum.
- Showcase one success story. Prove segmentation isn't an artefact - it's an accelerator.
From Deliverable to Discipline
The shift from segmentation producer to custodian represents more than just a change in process, it's a fundamental reimagining of what segmentation (and broader insight) really is, and how it creates value.
When segmentation becomes a discipline rather than a deliverable, it transforms from a periodic research exercise into a core organisational capability.
It shifts from something created once and gradually forgotten, to something continuously cultivated and increasingly valuable over time.
For you as an insight leader, this shift offers an opportunity to dramatically increase your impact and influence.
By positioning yourself as a custodian of critical customer understanding – not just a producer of research projects – you can drive more consistent, aligned, and effective customer strategies across your organisation.
The future belongs to insight teams that can build, maintain, and evolve living segmentation systems, not just deliver static segmentation projects.
This article is part of our series on making segmentation truly actionable and impactful across organisations, drawn from insights shared in our latest exposé, "Rebuilding the Foundation: The State of Segmentation in 2025."
Want the full deep dive? Get the exposé here.
