XM Directory Segments

Suite
Customer Experience Strategy & Research
Product
Qualtrics
What's on this page
Qtip: Segmentation is not available to all licenses. If you are a Brand Administrator who is interested in this feature and you do not see a Segments tab in your directory, reach out to Account Services.

About XM Directory Segments

Segmentation is the process of dividing the contacts in your XM Directory into different groups, based on demographics, needs, priorities, common interests, and other psychographic or behavioral criteria. XM Directory allows you to easily define segments based on these attributes.

Once you’ve created segments in XM Directory, they can be used across Qualtrics in many of the same places that mailing lists and samples can. However, the benefit of segments is that the group of contacts is more dynamic in nature because contacts can be added and removed based on changes in their attributes.

Qtip: Segments can only be created and edited by users who have the permission Manage Directories enabled. Any user with Access XM Directory enabled can distribute to existing segments.
Qtip: You cannot opt a contact out of a segment without opting them out of the entire directory. See opting contacts out of the directory.

Creating Segments

As segments are created, you and other directory managers will be able to see them in the Segments tab of the directory.

Once a segment is created, all contacts in your directory that meet the conditions will be added to the segment. Segments are refreshed within 24 hours, so that as new contacts are added to the directory that meet the criteria, or contacts are updated so they no longer meet criteria, segments are updated accordingly. You can also manually rebuild the segment.

Navigate to your Directories.
clicking the navigation menu in the top right and selecting Directories
clicking the navigation menu in the top right and selecting Directories
Select the directory where you’d like to add a segment. You may have access to just one.
Topmost navigation bar of the screen. Clicking the name of the directory and seeing a dropdown with a list of all other directories
Topmost navigation bar of the screen. Clicking the name of the directory and seeing a dropdown with a list of all other directories
Go to the Segments & lists tab.
Image shows the segments and lists tab of the directory, specifically the segments section
Image shows the segments and lists tab of the directory, specifically the segments section
Make sure you have Segments selected to the left. (This is the default page you will land on.)
Click Create a segment.
Name your segment.
New window opens where criteria can be set
New window opens where criteria can be set
If desired, add a description for the segment.
Determine whether all the conditions you will add must be met in order for a contact to be added to the segment, or if it can be any condition.
Select the field you want to define the segment by. You can choose from:
Specify how you will define the value.
Qtip: Is it an exact match? Choose Equal To. Is it a phrase or term that may be present in the value? Choose Contains. You can also specify whether a value is empty or not, or set numeric fields based on relative values, such as Greater than or equal to.
Enter the value, or select an existing one from the dropdown.
Add more conditions or condition sets as needed.
Click Create.

The segment will search through existing directory contacts to build the segment. This may take some time, especially if your directory has many contacts, so you can safely leave the page while the segment is being generated.

Qtip: There is a limit of 10 million contacts per segment, and you can create up to 20 segments per individual directory. If you’d like to increase to 50 segments per directory, please reach out to Support.

Creating Segments using Spotlight Insights (CX)

You can create segments directly from your CX dashboards through spotlight insights. For more information on how to use CX spotlight insights, visit the Spotlight Insights (CX) page.

Shows button within insights panel where you can create an XMD Segment.
Shows button within insights panel where you can create an XMD Segment.

AI-Generated Segments

Attention: This feature is only available to users on the new simplified pricing and packaging plans. If you have questions about your Qualtrics pricing and packaging plan, reach out to your Account Executive.
Attention: To use this feature, it must be enabled by a Brand Administrator. See AI Administration.

AI recommended segments use artificial intelligence to evaluate data within your directory and propose industry-specific segments. The AI model will look into the embedded data that exists within your directory, such as demographics and common interests, as well as your industry, and then create segments that optimize business goals like revenue, loyalty, and renewal.

These recommendations can help you discover unique segments that may be overlooked with manual segment creation.

Attention: Segment recommendations are available in English, Spanish, Japanese, German and French. If you have directory fields in other languages, you may see unreliable recommendations.
Qtip: It may take some time to generate new segment recommendations.

To use an AI-generated segment, follow these steps.

Navigate to the Directories tab.
directories tab within the global navigation menu
directories tab within the global navigation menu
Select the directory where you’d like to add a segment. You may only have access to 1 directory.
Topmost navigation bar of the screen. Clicking the name of the directory and seeing a dropdown with a list of all other directories
Topmost navigation bar of the screen. Clicking the name of the directory and seeing a dropdown with a list of all other directories
Go to the Segments & lists tab.
creating a segment from an AI recommendation
creating a segment from an AI recommendation
Make sure you have Segments selected to the left. (This is the default page you will land on.)
The AI segments generated for your directory will appear at the top of the page. Select Create this segment next to the AI segment you want to create.

The segment will automatically search through existing directory contacts to see which ones match the generated segment criteria. This may take some time, especially if your directory has many contacts, so you can safely leave the page while the segment is being built.

2 segments at a time will be visible within the segments tab. When you create or dismiss a segment, new recommendations will be shown.

Rating Segments

Use the thumbs up and thumbs down buttons to rate the segments that are generated. If you dislike a recommendation, you can provide feedback on what you didn’t like. The recommendation will then be removed from the segments tab. This feedback will be used to improve the recommendation model.

Qtip: There is a limit of 10 million contacts per segment, and you can create up to 20 segments per directory. If you’d like to increase to 50 segments per directory, please reach out to Support.

Setting Segment Criteria

Setting the criteria for a segment is similar to building filters in XM Directory. You can set criteria for your segment based on XM Directory information and survey responses. You can learn more about the available XM Directory fields and how to build condition sets at the links below.

List of criteria you can use:

How to combine criteria:

Creating Segments Based on Survey Responses

In addition to creating segments based on XM Directory information, you can create segments based on survey responses. This allows you to segment your contacts based on their responses to your surveys. Follow the steps below to use survey criteria in your segments.

Create your segment by following the steps above until you reach step 9.
Select Survey as the field you want to define the segment by.
New window opens where criteria can be set
New window opens where criteria can be set
Select a specific survey.
Select a specific survey field to define the segment by:
  • Question: Build your segment based on how your contacts answered a specific question from the survey.
  • Date of response: Build your segment based on when your contacts finished the survey.
  • Number of responses: Build your segment based on the number of times each contact completed the survey.
Specify how you will define the value.
Enter the value, or select an existing one from the dropdown.
Add more conditions or condition sets as needed. Conditions based on survey information include the following options:
  • Select New survey filter to add a condition based on a contact’s response to a survey question. You can add up to 10 question filters per segment.
    setting segment criteria based on a survey question
    setting segment criteria based on a survey question
  • Select New count filter to add a condition based on the number of times a contact responded to the survey. You can add one count filter per segment.
    setting segment criteria based on survey response count
    setting segment criteria based on survey response count
  • Select New date filter to add a condition based on when a contact responded to the survey. You can add one date filter per segment.
    setting segment criteria based on a survey response date
    setting segment criteria based on a survey response date
    Qtip: The maximum number of filters you can have on a segment is 10 per block. You can have a maximum of 10 blocks per segments, which means you can add 100 filters total per segment!
Click Create.

The segment will search through existing directory contacts to build the segment. This may take some time, especially if your directory has many contacts, so you can safely leave the page while the segment is being generated.

Distributing to XM Directory Segments

Once you’ve created your segments, you can distribute to them using the same methods of distribution you would for mailing lists. That means you can send the following kinds of distributions to segments:

Qtip: If you are distributing to a segment, contacts must remain in the segment to get a reminder. If they are removed from the segment they won’t receive reminders.

Start in the Distributions tab of XM Directory. When you get to the step where you choose recipients, select All Segments, then select your specific segment, as shown below.

Distributions tab; distributing, segments is in the dropdown for recipient types, along with lists and samples
Distributions tab; distributing, segments is in the dropdown for recipient types, along with lists and samples

You can also distribute to segments from inside the Distributions tab of a survey, using methods like email, SMS, and personal links. For example, in a survey email invite, select the To field, then highlight Segments to see a list of segments you can distribute to.

When choosing a contact list, also have the option to choose from segments in the directory
When choosing a contact list, also have the option to choose from segments in the directory

You can also automate distributions to your segments, sending regular messages to them on a schedule. These solutions include the following workflows:

The segment trends chart makes it easy to identify segment membership trends including new contacts and lost subscribers over time.

Displays segment trend areas in XMD
Displays segment trend areas in XMD
Segment trend visualization: This chart displays the number of segment members over time.
Length of Time: Select for which window of time you would like to view segment membership trends.
Percent Growth: This figure calculates the percentage of growth over the length of time selected in the segment trend visualization.
Amount of Growth/Churn: The right of the chart displays the number of new contacts added to the segment and the number of contacts who were removed from the segment for the selected period of time.

Rebuilding Existing Segments

Segments are refreshed within 24 hours. This means that as you add new contacts to the directory that meet the segment’s criteria, or as contacts are updated so that they no longer meet criteria, the segment will take note of these changes and incorporate them once a day by default.

However, if you do not want to wait, you can rebuild the segment at any time.

Attention: Changes made in your directory that affect segment membership will not instantly be applied, even if you manually rebuild your segment. For example, rebuilding your segment immediately after updating a contact will not immediately remove that contact from your segment.
Go to the Segments & lists tab.
Image shows the segments and lists tab of the directory, specifically the segments section
Image shows the segments and lists tab of the directory, specifically the segments section
Make sure you have Segments selected to the left. (This is the default page you will land on.)
Click the name of the segment you want to rebuild.
Click Segment Options.
Once inside segment, "segment options" button
Once inside segment, "segment options" button
Select Rebuild Segment.

The segment may take some time to rebuild. Feel free to leave this page while it loads.

Qtip: There may be a little bit of time between when your tasks are shown as Complete and when the updates are actually shown in your segment.

Completed message highlighted at the top right of the screen
Completed message highlighted at the top right of the screen

Changing the Criteria for an Existing Segment

You can change the criteria for an existing segment. Once you do this, the segment will automatically rebuild itself, incorporating the appropriate contacts and removing those that do not fit the new criteria.

You can edit a segment’s criteria by using the dropdown and selecting Edit.

Dropdown next to segment expanded, first option to edit it
Dropdown next to segment expanded, first option to edit it

Or, if you’re inside the segment, click Segment Options and select Edit Segment.

Inside a segment, first option in segment options dropdown is to edit it
Inside a segment, first option in segment options dropdown is to edit it

Copying Segments

Copying segments can be useful if you plan to make a lot of similarly-formatted segments, and only need to change a few criteria at a time.

You can copy a segment by using the dropdown and selecting Copy.

Dropdown next to segment expanded, second option to copy it
Dropdown next to segment expanded, second option to copy it

Or, if you’re inside the segment, click Segment Options and select Copy Segment.

Inside a segment, third option in segment options dropdown is to copy it
Inside a segment, third option in segment options dropdown is to copy it

From there, you will be given the exact same criteria and can edit it before you finish creating your new segment. Don’t forget to give your segment a new name.

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Deleting Segments

Warning: Once you delete a segment, it is irretrievable. Do not delete a segment unless you are absolutely sure that is what you want to do!

You can delete a segment by using the dropdown and selecting Delete, or, from inside the segment, by clicking Segment Options and selecting Delete Segment.

Dropdown next to segment expanded, third option to delete it
Dropdown next to segment expanded, third option to delete it

Inside a segment, fourth option in segment options dropdown is to delete it
Inside a segment, fourth option in segment options dropdown is to delete it

Marking Segments as Favorites

Clicking the star icon to the left of a segment will mark it as a favorite. This will display the segment within the Favorites section of the Summary tab. For more information, see Favorites.

icons to add segments to favorites section within summary tab
icons to add segments to favorites section within summary tab

Using Segments in CX Dashboards

You can use segment membership in your CX Dashboards, making decisions and gathering insights based on which contacts belong to which segments.

To learn more, see Using Segment Data in Dashboards.

Creating Workflows for Segment Membership Changes

As contacts are added to or removed from your segments, you can automatically set off different tasks, such as sending notifications (such as emails or Slack messages), creating tickets (in Qualtrics, Freshdesk, or elsewhere), and much, much more. You can also set workflows when a contact opts into or out of a segment.

See Experience ID Segments Events for more details.

Projects That Can Use Segments

Qtip: The features discussed in this section are not necessarily included with every license. If you’re interested in getting access, please reach out to your Account Executive.

You can use XM Directory to create segments you can then use to distribute to several types of Qualtrics projects. However, not every Qualtrics project type is compatible with XM Directory.

XM Directory can be used to send the following:

In contrast, XM Directory cannot be used to distribute any Employee Experience (EX) projects. That means that no EX projects can be used with XM Directory, including Engagement, Pulse, 360, and more.

XM Directory contact data is completely separate from the employee / participant information saved in the Employee Directory. That means that data edited in one directory will never affect the other, and employee directory information cannot be used to build segments.

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