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121 CRM feature · Contact segmentation

Create working audiences that explain why a contact is included.

Group contacts using useful, maintained criteria so teams can prioritise work and communicate more responsibly. The capability is described from official product evidence; its availability, configuration and any usage charges for a particular 121 account still need to be confirmed before reliance.

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Customer Thread

Contact segmentation in a working customer journey

Illustrative example

  1. Question asked

    Which opted-in clients need a review soon?

  2. Rules applied

    Review date is within 45 days and status is active.

  3. List checked

    An owner reviews missing dates and exclusions.

    Human decision

  4. Work planned

    Tasks are created for the responsible advisers.

Illustrative workflow — names, organisations and activity are fictional.

Fictional product demonstration

Contact segmentation, shown as working software

This coded interface uses realistic fictional data to explain the operating pattern; it is not a screenshot of a live customer account.

121 CRM · Reporting summary

Journey summary

New

24

Illustrative

Owned

21

Illustrative

Due

4

Illustrative

Website
Referral
Direct
Illustrative exampleFictional figures only. Definitions, access, data quality and interpretation determine whether a view is useful.

How it helps

See how the feature supports the work.

Each part has a clear job. It becomes useful when it fits the way customers already move through the business and your team knows when to step in.

Capability 01

Smart lists

Builds reusable contact views from saved filters and relevant record conditions.

How it works
Stores or organises supported business data under configured fields, permissions and record rules.
Why use it
Lets teams focus on a working group without maintaining separate copies of the same contacts.
Plan for
The platform does not make imported, duplicated or incomplete data accurate without review.
Your team owns
A data owner must define the record model and resolve quality, ownership and access exceptions.
Capability 02

Tags

Applies controlled labels that can support filtering, workflow entry and operational categorisation.

How it works
Stores or organises supported business data under configured fields, permissions and record rules.
Why use it
Provides a simple way to group records when a full custom field is unnecessary.
Plan for
The platform does not make imported, duplicated or incomplete data accurate without review.
Your team owns
A data owner must define the record model and resolve quality, ownership and access exceptions.
Capability 03

Custom fields

Adds structured fields to supported record types so a business can capture information it actually needs.

How it works
Stores or organises supported business data under configured fields, permissions and record rules.
Why use it
Replaces important notes and spreadsheet columns with searchable, reusable data.
Plan for
The platform does not make imported, duplicated or incomplete data accurate without review.
Your team owns
A data owner must define the record model and resolve quality, ownership and access exceptions.
Capability 04

Contacts

Stores a person or lead with contact details, activity, ownership and related records.

How it works
Stores or organises supported business data under configured fields, permissions and record rules.
Why use it
Gives a team one place to understand who a customer is and what has happened.
Plan for
The platform does not make imported, duplicated or incomplete data accurate without review.
Your team owns
A data owner must define the record model and resolve quality, ownership and access exceptions.
Capability 05

Bulk actions

Applies supported updates or actions to a selected group of records rather than one at a time.

How it works
Stores or organises supported business data under configured fields, permissions and record rules.
Why use it
Saves administrative effort while retaining a review point before a large change.
Plan for
The platform does not make imported, duplicated or incomplete data accurate without review.
Your team owns
A data owner must define the record model and resolve quality, ownership and access exceptions.

Use it with purpose

What good contact segmentation looks like

A fictional consultancy creates a live list of opted-in clients whose annual review is due within 45 days. The useful outcome is a record that another person can understand and continue, not simply another automated event.

Start with a business question

Define the decision the segment supports before adding filters.

Use reliable fields

Build rules from maintained dates, statuses and preferences rather than informal notes.

Review membership

Check surprising inclusions and exclusions before acting on the list.

Configuration decisions

Decide the operating rules before switching contact segmentation on

A credible setup begins with ownership, eligibility and exception decisions. Those choices should be written in plain English and tested with realistic fictional data.

Name the purpose

Describe each list in plain English so another person can understand its intended use.

Choose inclusion rules

Set exact criteria and define how missing or conflicting data is treated.

Human review point

Assign maintenance

Give someone responsibility for fields and tags that drive important segments.

From configuration to daily use

Keep the rule, the owner and the exception visible

The second view shows how the capability connects to work a person can review and continue.

121 CRM · Workflow sequence

Enquiry received

Capture source and customer

Acknowledgement

Set a clear response expectation

Human review

Check fit, consent and exceptions

Owner assigned

Name the person responsible

Follow-up due

Remind the owner, not the customer blindly

Illustrative exampleA conceptual workflow. Triggers, messages, delays and exceptions need configuration and testing.

Practical example

Follow one example from signal to next action

A fictional consultancy creates a live list of opted-in clients whose annual review is due within 45 days. The example shows the role of the CRM while keeping the consequential decision with a person.

Question asked

Which opted-in clients need a review soon?

Rules applied

Review date is within 45 days and status is active.

Human judgement

List checked

An owner reviews missing dates and exclusions.

Work planned

Tasks are created for the responsible advisers.

Boundaries and checks

Plan for the limits of contact segmentation

Product capability is only one part of a dependable process. Data quality, provider configuration, consent, permissions and staff cover still matter.

Data and context

A segment is only as accurate as its source data.

Account and provider setup

Dynamic membership can change between review and action.

Keep a person accountable

Human responsibility

Segment membership does not by itself establish consent to contact.

Questions about this page

Useful answers, without the sales fog.

1. Is contact segmentation confirmed as included in every 121 CRM account?

No. The underlying capability is evidenced in official product documentation, but 121 plan entitlement, sub-account configuration, connected providers and usage charges have not been assumed. Confirm the intended setup before relying on it.

2. What should we decide before configuring contact segmentation?

Start with three decisions: name the purpose, choose inclusion rules, assign maintenance. Then test ordinary, missing-data and exception cases with fictional records.

3. What is a practical way to measure whether contact segmentation is helping?

Measure whether the intended customer work becomes visible and owned. For this page, review start with a business question, use reliable fields, review membership rather than treating clicks, sends or record counts as proof of business value.

4. Can contact segmentation be fully automated?

No. Segment membership does not by itself establish consent to contact. Automation can coordinate repeatable steps, while people remain responsible for judgement, exceptions, consent and correcting the record.

Read all CRM questions

Continue the journey

Customer managementCampaign managementData-quality reviewCustom fields

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