Customer Segmentation using RFM Analysis

Customer Segmentation using RFM Analysis

How well do you know your customers? Whether you operate in a B2B or B2C space, chances are that 80% of your business comes from just 20% of your customers (Pareto's Principle). According to a study by Forbes, acquiring new customers costs five times more than retaining the existing ones. Identifying high-value customers is crucial to increase revenue and building brand loyalty.

Customer Segmentation is a critical strategy for businesses to understand and engage with customers effectively. Understanding the behavioral patterns of customers can help personalize the purchases they make and cater to their needs better. 

Questions like who are the customers who contribute more to sales, who are the customers about to churn, will help digital marketers understand the behavioral patterns of their customers. 

While there are many criteria based on which the customer base can be segmented, this solution focuses on segmenting customers based on the RFM analysis.

What is RFM Analysis?

RFM analysis (Recency, Frequency and Monetary) is a method used to identify and segment existing customers based on their purchasing behavior.  The key metrics of RFM analysis include

Recency

Recency refers to how recently a customer has made their purchase and this is the most important metric of the other metrics. This metric is a strong indicator of customer loyalty and interest.

Frequency

Frequency refers to how often a customer makes purchases or interacts with a business within a specific period. It measures the level of engagement and loyalty of a customer.

Monetary

Monetary value refers to the total amount of money a customer has spent with a business during a specific period. 




Industry-Specific Applications of RFM Analysis

  • SaaS and subscription services: RFM analysis can be adapted for SaaS and subscription services to segment users based on engagement, renewals, and revenue contribution.
  • Financial Sector: RFM analysis can improve credit scoring and risk assessment by evaluating customer transaction patterns, helping financial institutions make more informed loan approval decisions.

Data Requirements

For RFM analysis, you'll need a transactional dataset with the following equivalent columns (details) 
  • A product (Product ID)
  • A related transaction (Transaction ID)
  • Number of products purchased in a transaction (Product Quantity)
  • The product purchase price (Product Price)
  • Transaction date (Date)
  • Customer who made the purchase (Customer ID, Customer Name)
We have used a sample table of e-commerce data for illustration.

Steps for Implementing RFM analysis

1. Gather and Prepare Transaction Data : 

Gather all transaction data, ensuring it includes customer identifiers, transaction dates, and monetary amounts, and address missing or inconsistent values, ensuring data integrity before analysis.

2. Compute RFM Metrics: 

To segment customers based on their behavior, we compute three key metrics: Recency (R), Frequency (F), and Monetary Value (M). Below are SQL queries for each, along with detailed explanations.

Recency (R)

Recency measures how recently a customer made a purchase. It is calculated as the number of days since their last transaction. Customers with recent purchases are more engaged, while those who haven’t bought in a long time may be at risk of churn.

The time frame for RFM analysis should be tailored to your business model and industry. Choosing the right period for RFM analysis is essential, as it directly influences the accuracy of customer segmentation and the quality of insights derived.

Frequency (F)

Frequency tracks how often a customer makes purchases within a specific period. A higher frequency indicates a loyal customer who regularly shops, while a lower frequency suggests occasional or one-time buyers.

Monetary Value (M)

The total amount spent by the customer in the same period

RFM Query Table

SELECT
"Customer ID",
"Customer Name",
DAYS_BETWEEN(MAX("Transaction Date"), CURRENT_DATE()) AS "Recency",
COUNT ("Order ID") AS "Frequency",
SUM("Transaction Amount") AS "Monetary Value"
FROM  "Customer Data" 
GROUP BY "Customer ID",
  "Customer Name" 
ORDER BY "Recency" ASC,
  "Frequency" DESC,
"Monetary Value" DESC 



3. Segment Customers using Cluster Analysis

Manual scoring can skew the results and may not be practical for handling large volumes of data. In contrast, using machine learning algorithms like cluster analysis ensures unbiased, efficient, and data-driven segmentation. Unlike traditional scoring methods such as the quantile or percentile-based approach, cluster analysis recognizes inherent relationships and patterns in the data. With cluster analysis, business can obtain accurate segmentation and devise targeted strategies to improve sales and customer retention.

Follow the below steps to apply cluster analysis,
  1. Click the Create New icon and choose New chart from the drop-down menu.
  2. Add the columns to the chart shelf as shown below,
    1. X-axis: Customer Name
    2. Y-axis: Monetary Value with Sum function.
  3. Click Generate Graph and change the chart type to bar chart.

  4. Click the Analysis icon and select Cluster Analysis > Add Clusters.
  5. The Model is chosen automatically based on the columns dropped in the shelves.
  6. By default, the columns dropped in the shelves (Monetary Value) are selected as factors. Click the drop-down icon to include Recency and Frequency columns as factors.

  7. The number of clusters is determined automatically but can be adjusted based on business needs and specific customer segmentation goals to ensure optimal categorization.
  8. Choose the Normalization method to prevent values of high ranges from dominating the results. For instance, Recency (measured in days) and Monetary Value (measured in currency) have different scales, and normalization ensures a balanced contribution from each metric.
  9. Click Apply.

4. Export Clusters Data

Once the customer profiles have been segmented using cluster analysis, Export the Current view in the preferred table format to build more data visualizations to understand the clusters.


Build an RFM Analysis Dashboard

The RFM analysis dashboard provides a comprehensive view of customer behavior. Let's look at the steps involved in building this dashboard.

1. Import the Clusters Data

Import the downloaded clusters table back into Zoho Analytics using the files option as given below.
  1. Click the New icon on the side navigation panel and choose New Table/ Import Data.
  2. Select files and choose the Clusters Table to import and click Next.
  3. A data preview will be displayed; verify the data types of columns and click Create.

2. Create Reports to Understand the Characteristics of the Clusters

While the data is clustered, understanding the characteristics of each cluster is what enables businesses to take strategic actions. This includes identifying which customers need targeted marketing, personalized engagement, or retention efforts. Recognizing patterns within clusters provides insights into customer behavior, which is essential for optimizing marketing campaigns, improving retention strategies, and enhancing customer experience.
The below reports help understand the distribution of customers across different monetary value, recency and frequency segments within each cluster.

Clusters vs Monetary Value 

  1. Access the cluster table (imported data) and click the new icon > chart view.
  2. Drag and drop the columns as given below:
    1. X-axis - Clusters
    2. Y-axis - Monetary Value with the Count function.
    3. Color - Monetary Value with the Actual Range function.

Analyzing the chart, we can infer that,
  • Cluster 1 consists of a diverse group of customers spanning all spending levels.
  • Cluster 2 includes moderate to high spenders who contribute significantly to revenue.
  • Cluster 3 comprises low to mid-range spenders, often occasional buyers.
  • Cluster 4 represents high-value customers with premium spending habits.
  • Cluster 5 consists primarily of low spenders with minimal purchasing activity.
You can similarly create reports to know about the distribution of customers for the Recency and Frequency metrics.

The below table lists the characteristics of clusters

Cluster
Cluster Classification
Recency
Frequency
Monetary
Recommended actions
Cluster 1
Needs Attention
100 to 150 days
Low to Moderate 
 Diverse spending
Re-engagement campaigns, discounts, or reminders to encourage repeat purchases.
Cluster 2
Loyalist
0-50 (Highly Active)
High
Consistent moderate-to-high spenders
Loyalty programs, exclusive deals, early access to new products to maintain engagement.
Cluster 3
Potential Loyalist
0-50 (Active)
Low to Moderate  Budget-conscious, occasional buyers Cross-selling, personalized recommendations, and value-based promotions.
Cluster 4
Champions
100-150 (Inactive)
Moderate to High (Frequent buyers)
High spenders
VIP experiences, personalized services, and premium offers to retain and enhance their spending.
Cluster 5
Hibernating
Mostly inactive or infrequent
Low
Minimal spending
Win-back campaigns, incentives, special discounts, and targeted ads to regain interest.


Based on the above table, you can give specific labels to the clusters using the bucket columns option.

RFM Dashboard


Limitations & Considerations of RFM Analysis

While RFM analysis is a powerful customer segmentation tool, businesses should be aware of certain limitations and factors that can influence results:

  • Data Freshness and Relevance: RFM analysis relies on transactional data, making the freshness and relevance of this data crucial for accurate customer segmentation. Setting up automated data imports ensures real-time updates, reducing the risk of working with stale data.
  • Seasonal Variations: Customer purchasing behavior often fluctuates due to seasonal trends, holidays, and industry-specific cycles, which can impact RFM scores and lead to misleading segmentation if not accounted for properly. Instead of analyzing only recent months, compare customer behavior for the same period in previous years to detect true engagement patterns.

    Access your files securely from anywhere

        All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.







                              Zoho Developer Community




                                                    • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                    • Digest


                                                    • Functions


                                                    • Meetups


                                                    • Kbase


                                                    • Resources


                                                    • Glossary


                                                    • Desk Marketplace


                                                    • MVP Corner


                                                    • Word of the Day


                                                    • Ask the Experts



                                                              • Sticky Posts

                                                              • What's New in Zoho Analytics - January 2026

                                                                Hello Users! We are starting the year with a strong lineup of updates, marking the beginning of many improvements planned to enhance your analytics experience. Explore the latest improvements built to boost performance, simplify analysis, and help you
                                                              • What's New in Zoho Analytics - November 2025

                                                                We're thrilled to announce a significant update focused on expanding your data connectivity, enhancing visualization capabilities, and delivering a more powerful, intuitive, and performant analytics experience. Here’s a look at what’s new. Explore What's
                                                              • What's New in Zoho Analytics - October 2025

                                                                Hello Users! We're are back with a fresh set of updates and enhancements to make data analysis faster and more insightful. Take a quick look at what’s new and see how these updates can power up your reports and dashboards. Explore What's New! Extreme
                                                              • What’s New in Zoho Analytics – September 2025

                                                                Hello Users!! In this month’s update, we’re raising the bar across multiple touchpoints, from how you bring in data, plan and track projects to how you design and brand your dashboards. We’ve added the all-new Gantt chart for project visualization, expanded
                                                              • Announcing Agentic AI - Ask Zia!

                                                                We are delighted to roll out the new agentic AI capabilities in Ask Zia, where every stage of the BI workflow is assisted by AI. With a human-in-the-loop approach, Ask Zia ensures that you’re in command of the decision, while AI handles the complexity.


                                                              Manage your brands on social media



                                                                    Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                        Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                          Zoho Books Resources


                                                                            Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                              Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                                Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                                  Qntrl Resources


                                                                                    Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                        Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                        • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                          CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                        • Kaizen

                                                                                          Kaizen

                                                                                        • Functions

                                                                                          Functions

                                                                                        • Meetups

                                                                                          Meetups

                                                                                        • Kbase

                                                                                          Kbase

                                                                                        • Resources

                                                                                          Resources

                                                                                        • Digest

                                                                                          Digest

                                                                                        • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                          CRM Marketplace

                                                                                        • MVP Corner

                                                                                          MVP Corner









                                                                                            Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                            Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                            Get Started Now


                                                                                              Zoho Show Resources

                                                                                                Zoho Writer

                                                                                                Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                                Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                                  Zoho CRM コンテンツ




                                                                                                    Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                        ご検討中の方




                                                                                                                • Recent Topics

                                                                                                                • Dropshipping Address - Does Not Show on Invoice Correctly

                                                                                                                  When a dropshipping address is used for a customer, the correct ship-to address does not seem to show on the Invoice. It shows correctly on the Sales Order, Shipment Order, and Package, just not the Invoice. This is a problem, because the company being
                                                                                                                • Prepayment of a sales order

                                                                                                                  How does everyone handle this common (at least it is common for us!) situation? We require all our orders to be fully prepaid before shipment since we manufacture made to order, custom products. Since ZOHO does not allow a sales order to be prepaid, we are forced to create an invoice at the time an order is placed to allow the customer to pay it. Our sales category is therefore skewed, since the sale was actually booked at the time an order was placed, rather then at the time it is shipped, which
                                                                                                                • Access to Specific Zoho Desk layout for external parties

                                                                                                                  Hi, We have a partner who handles for us sales requests from specific markets. He is not a Zoho Desk user. But we want him to b part of a specific Zoho Desk layout to handle inquiries.  How to achieve it in the easiest way possible?
                                                                                                                • Deposit on a Sales Order

                                                                                                                  Good day, 100% of my business is preorders, no inventory. I am trying to run away from QB for one of my businesses, but I require two options that I don't seem to find with Zoho Books. 1 - If there is a way to apply a deposit on a sales order, as with
                                                                                                                • How Does Knowledge Base Search and Article Recommendation Work?

                                                                                                                  Hello, I would like to understand how the Knowledge Base search engine works. Specifically, does it search based on: The article title only? The full article content? Both, the article and the content? Keywords? Tags? Also, how does the system determine
                                                                                                                • Bulk Delete Attachments

                                                                                                                  Is there a way to bulk delete attachments on the form entries? our storage is full and deleting files one by one is pain taking process.
                                                                                                                • How do I sync multiple Google calendars?

                                                                                                                  I'm brand new to Zoho and I figured out how to sync my business Google calendar but I would also like to sync my personal Google calendar. How can I do this so that, at the very least, when I have personal engagements like doctor's appointments, I can
                                                                                                                • Ability to Disable System Banner Messages in Chat Flow Control

                                                                                                                  Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement related to the system banner messages in Zoho SalesIQ chat flow control. Current Behavior: SalesIQ allows configuring various automatic banner/system messages such as: Waiting
                                                                                                                • Idle Chat Reminders for Agent-Handled Conversations

                                                                                                                  Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to the Idle Chat Handling functionality in Zoho SalesIQ—specifically for chats that are handled by human agents after a bot-to-agent transfer. Current Behavior: In Zobot settings,
                                                                                                                • Snapchat

                                                                                                                  Are there any plans to add Snapchat to Zoho Social or is there any API that we can use to integrate into Zoho.
                                                                                                                • Zoho Sign "An unexpected error occured" when clients trying to sign documents

                                                                                                                  We are unable to have clients sign our documents. When attempting to complete the process an error appears saying "an unexpected error occured" and in the document history just shows "signing failure." We are at a complete standstill with no response
                                                                                                                • ¡Vuelven los Workshops Certificados de Zoho a España!

                                                                                                                  ¡Hola usuarios de Español Zoho Community! Hace ya unos días que hemos dado la bienvenida al 2026, y promete ser un año de lo más emocionante. Y es que nos gustaría haceros nuestro particular regalo de Reyes, aunque lleguemos un poco tarde. 🎁 ¡Nos gustaría
                                                                                                                • How to list services on quote instead of products

                                                                                                                  I need to create a customer facing estimate that displays our services. The default quote layout only allows products to be listed. Is there a way to correct this?
                                                                                                                • Syncing calendar with Google Calendar doesn't work when events are sent to auto repeat

                                                                                                                  Hi... The ZOHO CRM -- GOOGLE CALENDAR sync is broken. If I create a single event on either side, sync works, but if I create an event with auto repeat on either side it doesn't work. Furthermore, events created before the sync don't show up in the calendar.
                                                                                                                • Invoice status on write-off is "Paid" - how do I change this to "Written off"

                                                                                                                  HI guys, I want to write off a couple of outstanding invoices, but when I do this, the status of the invoices shows as "Paid". Clearly this is not the case and I need to be able to see that they are written off in the customer's history. Is there a way
                                                                                                                • Zoho Books - France

                                                                                                                  L’équipe de Zoho France reçoit régulièrement des questions sur la conformité de ses applications de finances (Zoho Books/ Zoho Invoice) pour le marché français. Voici quelques points pour clarifier la question : Zoho Books est un logiciel de comptabilité
                                                                                                                • Creating meetings from an email

                                                                                                                  Hi. Similar to Outlook, it would be helpful if a meeting can be scheduled from an email so that the attendees need not be manually entered every time it's created.
                                                                                                                • Please, make writer into a content creation tool

                                                                                                                  I'm tired of relying on Google Docs. I'm actually considering moving to ClickUp, but if Writer were a good content creation tool instead of just a word processor, I would finally be able to move all my development within the Zoho ecosystem, rather than
                                                                                                                • ZohoSalesIQ.Chat cannot send messages

                                                                                                                  Chat cannot send messages. Our app implements the customer service chat window functionality by integrating the Mobilisten SDK. Recently, we encountered an issue: after successful SDK initialization and visitor registration, when the `startWithQuestion`
                                                                                                                • Missed chats on WhatsApp closing after one minute

                                                                                                                  Hi, we have added WhatsApp as a channel. However, if a chat is not picked up within 2mins, the chat is marked as missed and is closed within a minute. Why are they not staying in our "missed" queue for 24 hours as per our WhatsApp preference settings?
                                                                                                                • Feature Request: Add Tax ID Display on Event Tickets

                                                                                                                  Hello Backstage Team, I’ve had several clients bring up an issue regarding tax compliance when creating events. For tax purposes, they are required to show their Tax ID on the event tickets. Currently, this isn’t an option, so they have to manually generate
                                                                                                                • Release Notes | January 2026

                                                                                                                  We have rolled out a set of powerful new enhancements across Zoho Vertical Studio that bring several long-awaited capabilities to your applications. These updates focus on deeper customization, smarter automation, better reporting, and improved usability
                                                                                                                • Email Alias: To keep emails flowing without disruption

                                                                                                                  Email Alias acts like a nickname for a user’s primary email address, allowing multiple email addresses to deliver messages into the same mailbox. Consider the scenario where an employee manages multiple responsibilities, such as responding to sales inquiries,
                                                                                                                • Zoho Sites - General Feedback

                                                                                                                  Hi Everyone-- Quick question for discussion: is it me or is working with Zoho Sites like entering the Twilight Zone? I've built many sites over the years, but this platform seems impossible. I've spent an entire day and a half trying to get a simple one-color
                                                                                                                • Archive Option in Conversation View

                                                                                                                  Hello, I have a suggestion\request to add an "Archive Thread" button in conversation view of Zoho Mail. The best suggestion I have is to put an "Archive Thread" button next to the "Label Entire Thread" button in conversation view. Most users don't just
                                                                                                                • Inventory "Bulk Actions" button - add more fields to "Bulk Update > Select a field"

                                                                                                                  Can we not get a lot more actions that are commonly used by customers into the "More Actions" button on the Inventory list? More fields listed in the Bulk Update > Select A Field? Possible Bulk update Fields Preferred Supplier ( to quickly move items
                                                                                                                • Bulk upload image option in Zoho Commerce

                                                                                                                  I dont know if I am not looking into it properly but is there no option to bulk upload images along with the products? Like after you upload the products, I will have to upload images one by one again? Can someone help me out here? And what should I enter
                                                                                                                • Function #11: Apply unused credits automatically to invoices

                                                                                                                  Today, we bring you a custom function that automatically applies unused credits from excess payments, credit notes, and retainer payments to an invoice when it is created. Prerequisites: Create a Connection named "zbooks" to successfully execute the function.
                                                                                                                • Tip #60- Exploring Technician Console: Screen Resolution- 'Insider Insights'

                                                                                                                  Hello Zoho Assist Community! Have you ever started a remote session and felt the screen quality wasn’t sharp enough for detailed work? A new user recently explored Zoho Assist after installing the trial version and running a few initial tests. While the
                                                                                                                • Right Moment, Right Message, Right Operator: Never Miss a High-Intent Lead

                                                                                                                  Ever been on a website or app, thinking “Should I buy this or not?” and suddenly a friendly message “Hi! How can I help you?” pops up at the perfect moment? That’s not luck. That’s timing done right. Engaging right visitors at the right moment, with the
                                                                                                                • CRM x WorkDrive: We're rolling out the WorkDrive-powered file storage experience for existing users

                                                                                                                  Release plan: Gradual rollout to customers without file storage add-ons, in this order: 1. Standalone CRM 2. CRM Plus and Zoho One DCs: All | Editions: All Available now for: - Standalone CRM accounts in Free and Standard editions without file storage
                                                                                                                • Zoho CRM Workflow Automation: Activate & Deactivate Workflows Using API

                                                                                                                  Zoho has now enabled: ✅ Activate / Deactivate workflows using API ✅ Schedule workflow activation & deactivation This is extremely useful for real-world automation use cases 💡 🧩 My Use Case I created a scheduled automation that: ☀️ Activates workflows
                                                                                                                • {Action Required} Re-authenticate your Google Accounts to Continue Data Sync

                                                                                                                  Hello Users! To align with Google’s latest updates on how apps access files in Google Drive, we’ve enhanced our integration to comply with the updated security and privacy standards, ensuring safer and more reliable access to your data. With this update,
                                                                                                                • Function #53: Transaction Level Profitability for Invoices

                                                                                                                  Hello everyone, and welcome back to our series! We have previously provided custom functions for calculating the profitability of a quote and a sales order. There may be instances where the invoice may differ from its corresponding quote or sales order.
                                                                                                                • Project-Based Inventory Consumption and Proforma Invoice in Zoho ERP

                                                                                                                  While working with customers across different industries, we have identified a few functional questions and gaps that commonly arise—especially for project-based and service-oriented businesses. Many organizations, such as those in shipping, construction,
                                                                                                                • [Free Webinar] Zoho RPA - OCR, PDF Automation, & More

                                                                                                                  Hello Everyone! Greetings from the Zoho RPA Training Team! We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming webinar on the latest release updates for Zoho RPA, where we’ll unveil powerful new capabilities designed to make your automation journey smarter, faster,
                                                                                                                • Zobot Execution Logs & Run History (Similar to Zoho Flow)

                                                                                                                  Dear Zoho SalesIQ Team, We would like to request an enhancement for Zoho SalesIQ Zobot: adding an execution log / run history, similar to what already exists in Zoho Flow. Reference: Zoho Flow In Zoho Flow, every execution is recorded in the History tab,
                                                                                                                • Global Search Settings

                                                                                                                  I'd love a way to remove some modules from being included in the global search. This would allow use to provide a better user experience, limiting the global search to only those modules that are regularly used removing any models used for background
                                                                                                                • Card Location in Zobot

                                                                                                                  Hello, when using the “Location” card in a codeless builder Zobot, the behavior in WhatsApp is inconsistent. When asking the user to share their location, they can type a message, which will return the message “Sorry, the entered location is invalid.
                                                                                                                • Automation Series: Auto-create Dependent Task on Status Change

                                                                                                                  In Zoho Projects, you can automatically create and assign a dependent task when a task’s status is updated. This helps teams stay aligned, ensures reviews happen on time, and reduces manual effort. In this post, we’ll walk through an easy setup using
                                                                                                                • Next Page