How to Perform Spatial Segmentation Analysis?

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Last Updated: July 7, 2025

Understanding your customers is essential for growth, and one of the most powerful tools for doing this is business GIS. With tools like Maptitude, organizations can move beyond simple lists of customers or ZIP Code maps to uncover patterns, trends, and opportunities that are otherwise hidden in spreadsheets.

Using geodemographic segmentation data alongside your customer data helps businesses identify their top-performing customer profiles and locate similar populations in new markets. These insights allow companies to:

  • Pinpoint underserved areas or neighborhoods with strong demand

  • Compare sales performance across regions

  • Evaluate new locations for expansion

  • Target marketing campaigns based on data-backed customer segmentation

Maptitude supports this type of analysis with a nationwide segmentation framework based on Census Block Groups. Each area is categorized into 8 major segments, with 3–6 subsegments per segment, based on demographics, lifestyle, income, and more. By analyzing where your customers fall within these segments, you can discover high-value territories, evaluate store performance, and guide decisions about new market entry.

Step 1. Launch Maptitude and Create a New Map

Step 2. Install the Geodemographic Segmentation Layer

  • Download and install the Geodemographic Segmentation layer from the Maptitude Store. The downloaded file is typically located at C:\ccdata\Geodemographic Segmentation 20XX.

      Step 3. Create a Market Penetration Map

      • Select the 5-Digit ZIP Code layer as your working layer and open up a dataview.
      • Go to Map>Thematic Mapping>Color….
      • Then set Field to Formula…
      • Write the following formula: [Count My Customers]/Population*100
      • Name this formula “Market Penetration (%)”.
      • Click OK to apply a color theme to show the highest numbers of customers as a percentage of the total population of each neighborhood.

      Step 4. Identify your High-Performing Areas

      • Create subsets of your ZIP codes based on their market penetration by going to Selection > Select by Theme 

      Step 5. Add the Segmentation Layer to the Map

      • Go to Map>Layers…>Add Layer, browse to the folder above, select ccGeodemographicSegmentation.cdf, and click Open.

      Step 6. Identify Dominant Segments in High-Performing Areas

      • Set the Segmentation layer to be your working layer.
      • Create a selection set of the segments in your high-performing areas by going to Selection > Select by Location > Set layer to be 5-Digit ZIP Code and the Selection Set to be your high-performance set of ZIP Codes created in Step 4 > OK.
      • Open up the dataview of the created Selection Set to see a list of the relevant segments. Copy these for use in the next step.

      Step 7. Locate Similar Segments in a New Market

      • Open up a new map in the workspace by going to Map > New Map… > Select the new city or region you are evaluating.
      • Add the Geodemographic Segmentation layer and set it as your working layer.
      • Go to Selection>Select by Condition.
      • In the Set Name box, type a descriptive name for your new selection (e.g., Top Segments in Chicago).
      • From the Field List, choose Subsegment.
      • From the Operator List, choose =, and then paste your target subsegments from the copied list. You can also manually type it in with quotes if it doesn’t appear in the dropdown (e.g., "A3 High-Earning Families").
      • Make sure to check Select from Visible Features Only to restrict the selection to your current map view.
      • Click OK to create your new selection set.
      • Use the Selection toolbar to display only the selected subsegment areas. This will reveal neighborhoods in the new market that match your best-performing customer profile.
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