Segmenting by location?

Your CRM probably lets you find contacts by geographic proximity (CiviCRM does).

The problem is, "X miles from Y" is the formula for a circle.

And your constituents don't live in perfectly round geographic areas.

If you're segmenting by circular areas, your segments will have either big overlaps or big gaps.

Fortunately, there are better options, namely:
ZIP codes
and counties.

Any contact with an address will appear in exactly one of those.

Configure a few smart groups -- e.g. a "North Texas" group for anyone with a primary address in one of "these 36 counties" -- and your geographic segments are set, automatically updated for as long as you need them.

With no overlap, and no gaps.

Not bad, right?

All the best,
A.