Iterable's Segmentation tool provides a query-building interface that lets you run nuanced searches for users with shared characteristics or behavior.
This article describes the different elements of the query builder and provides an explanation of what they're for.
In this article
Properties
The Choose a Property menu provides a list of characteristics that you can search for among your users. These properties fall into two broad categories: user data (attributes related to a user's demographic data, like their location and the type of device(s) they use) and event data (attributes related to a user's behavior, like their purchase history and engagement with the messages they've received from your brand).
User Data
The Contact Property option lets you choose data fields from user profiles that relate to information about user characteristics.
In this dropdown menu, you'll see a mix of default and custom user data fields that you can select to segment by. To learn more about these fields, see User Profile Fields Used by Iterable.
Beneath each field name, you'll see the associated data type. A field's data type determines which comparators are available for segmentation.
Event Data
The Choose a Property menu also includes options to segment by system events and custom events.
Fields
Once you've selected the user characteristic or event you want to search by, you'll select the field whose particular value you're interested in.
Values
Once you've selected the field you're interested in, enter or select the value(s) of the field that users should have in order to be eligible for your target segment.
NOTE
Searches are case- and formatting-sensitive (a search for a value of multicity
will yield different results than a search for multiCity or multi-city). For
the most accurate segmentation results, be sure to check your search values for
correct formatting, capitalization, spelling, and typos.
Logical operators
Throughout the segmentation query builder, you can use logical operators to indicate how many of the specified criteria users must match (or not match) in order to be included in your target segment. Iterable supports the following three logical operators:
- All – Users must match all of the clause or group's specified criteria to be included in the target segment.
- Any – Users must match at least one of the clause or group's specified criteria to be included in the target segment.
- None – Users cannot match any of the clause or group's specified criteria to be included in the target segment.
Comparators
The Segmentation tool supports a wide range of comparators for finding and/or excluding specific user and event data values from a search.
String Comparators
Iterable supports six comparators for fields that have the string data type.
- Is Set – A value has been set for the field (the field is not blank).
- Equals – The value of the field must exactly match a specified value.
- Does Not Equal – The value of the field must not match a specified value.
- Is One Of – The value of the field must match one of a specified list of possible values. You can specify a maximum of 100 possible values.
- Is Not One Of – The value of the field must not match any of a specified list of possible values. You can specify a maximum of 100 possible values.
- Starts With – The value of the field must start with the specified word or phrase.
NOTE
When using the Is One Of / Is Not One Of comparators, there are three ways to specify your desired values:
- Select one or more existing values from the dropdown menu.
- Type individual values into the text entry box, and press Enter on your keyboard to submit each value.
- Paste multiple values into the text entry box (separated by commas, pipes, or line breaks).
Numeric Comparators
Iterable supports five comparators for fields that contain numeric values. These comparators work with fields that have the string, long, or double data type:
- Greater Than – The value of the field is greater than the specified value.
- Less Than – The value of the field is less than the specified value.
- Is Between – The value of the field is between two specified values (inclusive).
- Greater Than Or Equal To – The value of the field is greater than or equal to the specified value.
- Less Than Or Equal To – The value of the field is less than or equal to the specified value.
Date Comparators
Iterable supports six comparators for fields that have the date data type.
- Is After – The value of the field must be at least one day later than the specified date.
- Is On Or After – The value of the field must be either the same day as or any day after the specified date.
- Is Before – The value of the field must be at least one day before the specified date.
- Is On Or Before – The value of the field must be at least one day before the specified date.
- Is Not – The value of the field can be any date except the one specified in the date comparison.
- Is Between – The value of the field must be a date that falls within the specified range.
List Comparators
Iterable supports two comparators for searches based on values of lists.
- Includes – Users must be members of the specified list(s).
- Includes Anything But – Users can be members of any list except the specified list(s).
Advanced
For more complex segmentation queries, we can support two additional comparators on a case-by-case basis:
- Contains – The value of a field contains the specified word or phrase.
- Matches Regex – Compares the value of a field to a regular expression (RegEx) to find every instance that matches the specified pattern.
These comparators are not available by default in Iterable. If you have a use case that requires the use of regular expressions or wildcard matching, please contact your Iterable customer support manager.