What Gartner just confirmed

Before we get to Gartner, this: Need-based segmentation does not replace behavioral segmentation.

It just answers a different question.

Behavioral data tells you WHO to contact, and WHEN.
Need-based data tells you WHAT to say.

The first decides which patrons to target; the other identifies what messaging will resonate. Together, they make personalization much more powerful.

Behavioral data remains essential: it can identify patterns, surface opportunities, and help organizations reach the right patrons at the right time. But it can't answer every question on its own.

And that gap is starting to get some serious attention.

Recent Gartner research found that 58% of consumers say brands fail to understand their needs and preferences—even as companies pour resources into personalization. Nearly half of customers described personalized digital communications as irrelevant, creepy, or both.

Personalization without genuine customer understanding, says Gartner, can backfire. Among customers who had a negative experience with personalization, purchase regret was 3.2x higher, and they were 44% less likely to buy again.

Gartner points to an approach they call active personalization.

Instead of guessing what customers need, active personalization involves them directly:

Ask them.
Help them clarify what they're trying to accomplish.
Then use what they willingly share to make their journey more useful.

Gartner found that customers engaged through active personalization were 2.3x more likely to confidently complete critical purchase decisions.

This is remarkably similar to what the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra found in their need-based segmentation pilot:

In their 16-week controlled pilot, patrons who received messaging based on self-declared needs converted at 2.9x the rate of those receiving the NBSO’s standard messaging.

Looking ahead to the 2026-2027 season and beyond, I think need-based personalizationwill become the most important growth levers in the arts sector's toolkit.

Because: customer centricity is no longer optional.

And the customer centric model wins because it starts where revenue actually begins: with what consumers are seeking, not with what you made.

The good news is this: you don't have to wait for a sophisticated personalization system to start thinking from the demand side.

You can start by changing the question.

Instead of asking: How do we get more people interested in what we offer?
Ask: What are people already trying to accomplish—how might what we offer help?

That question can change a campaign.
It can change how you describe an experience.
It can change who becomes your target audience.

Need-based segmentation gives us a way to operationalize customer understanding at scale.

But customer understanding itself?
You can start there today.