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.

      Zoho Campaigns Resources


        • 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 - 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.
          • Invitation-Based User Access in Zoho Analytics

            Hello everyone, We’re rolling out an important update on how users are added to your Zoho Analytics Organization and Workspaces. Previously, when admins added users, they were automatically added to the organization. Moving forward, to improve security

          Zoho CRM Plus Resources

            Zoho Books Resources


              Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                Zoho Projects Resources


                  Zoho Sprints Resources


                    Zoho Orchestly Resources


                      Zoho Creator Resources


                        Zoho WorkDrive Resources



                          Zoho CRM Resources

                          • CRM Community Learning Series

                            CRM Community Learning Series


                          • Tips

                            Tips

                          • Functions

                            Functions

                          • Meetups

                            Meetups

                          • Kbase

                            Kbase

                          • Resources

                            Resources

                          • Digest

                            Digest

                          • CRM Marketplace

                            CRM Marketplace

                          • MVP Corner

                            MVP Corner




                            Zoho Writer Writer

                            Get Started. Write Away!

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

                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ



                                ご検討中の方

                                  • Recent Topics

                                  • Alert if a field is ticked.

                                    Hi There, We have two modules named Opportunities (Deals) and End Users (CustomModule1), as per the image below. Within Opportunities, we have a lookup field that looks up from the End Users Module. We are looking to get an alert either via email or another
                                  • Zoho CRM Analytics - Allow To Reorder Dashboards

                                    I would like to suggest that you add the ability to reorder dashboards in the Analytics Module. I can see that this has been requested some time ago, the latest 9 years ago. I am not sure if this is a big or small endeavor, but such a small fix can go
                                  • Kaizen #194 : Trigger Client Script via Custom buttons

                                    Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting and useful Kaizen post. We know that Client Scripts can be triggered with Canvas buttons and we discussed this with a use case in Kaizen#180. Today, let us discuss how to trigger Client Script when a
                                  • Adding Choices in a Sub-Form Dropdown

                                    Hi, Has anybody tried Adding Choices to a Dropdown in a Zoho Creator Sub-Form programmatically? My Deluge code adds rows to a subform with 2 fields A and B. A - text field. B - dropdown. My Deluge script adds the row and displays A successfully. For the
                                  • Zoho CRM Email Templates 100% Width No Background How?

                                    Hi, On the Zoho CRM Email Templates in setup > customization > templates > new templates > I choose blank template, but still it puts in a gray background and a max width for the email. I just want to make an email that looks like an email I would send from gmail that has no background or max width. How do you do this? 
                                  • Checking client unsubscribe details

                                    Hi team, Can you please let me know where we can check if a client has unsubscribed, along with the date and time it was done? If this information is not available at our end, please help confirm the unsubscribe date for the below email ID from the backend:
                                  • Optimum CRM setup for new B2B business

                                    Can some advise the most common way to setup Zoho CRM to handle sales for a B2B company? Specifically in how to handle inbound/outbound emails. I have spent hours researching online and can't seem to find an accepted approach, or even a tutorial. I have
                                  • Integration with...

                                    Dear Zoho Commerce team, Please could you consider the integration within Zoho Commerce / Inventory and Qapla'? (https://www.qapla.it/en/) This app is better than Aftership in many ways: - Aftership integration require PRO plan and price start from more
                                  • Scan and Fill CRM Lookup Field

                                    Not sure if there is a reason why this isn't possible or if I'm just missing it. But I would like to be able to use the scan and fill feature on the mobile app to prefill the CRM lookup field and fetch the rest of the data in the form.
                                  • Customer Management: #2 Organize Customers to Enhance Efficiency

                                    When Ankit started his digital services firm, things felt simple. A client would call, ask for a website or a one-time consultation, Ankit would send an invoice, get paid, and move on. "Just one client, one invoice. Easy.", he thought. Fast forward a
                                  • Zoho Mail and Zoho Flow integration to automatically create ToDo tasks from outbound emails

                                    How do i setup Zoho Mail and Zoho Flow integration to automatically create ToDo tasks from outbound emails
                                  • Attachments between Zoho and Clickup, using Flow.

                                    Olá suporte Flow, tudo bem ? Estamos usando o flow para integrar Zoho Desk com o clickup. Não localizamos a opção de integrar anexos entre do zoho Desk para o clickup. Gostaríamos de saber se migrando para o plano pago, teremos suporte para fazer a integração
                                  • Adding an Account on Zoho Mail Trigger in Zoho Flow

                                    I'm trying to create a flow using the zoho mail trigger "Email Receive". My problem is that when I select this trigger, it only shows one account from the account dropdown. I'm planning to assign it on a different email. How can I add other email ad
                                  • Linnworks

                                    Unless I am missing something, the Linnworks integration is very basic and limited. I have reached out to support but the first response was completely useless and trying to get a reply in a timely manner is very difficult. Surely I should be able to
                                  • Test data won't load

                                    I am using a Flow to receive orders from WooCommerce and add them to a Zoho Creator app. I recently received an order which failed, and when attempting to test the order I found that it just shows a loading animation and shows up in the history as "queued."
                                  • AddHour resets the time to 00:00:00 before adding the hour.

                                    Based on the documentation here: https://www.zoho.com/deluge/help/functions/datetime/addhour.html Here's my custom function: string ConvertDateFormat(string inputDate) { // Extract only the date-time part (before the timezone) dateTimePart = inputDate.subString(0,19);
                                  • WhatsApp Link is not integrating

                                    Hello, I am using zoho flow. when new row added in google sheet it sends email to respected person. In email body I have a text "Share via WhatsApp". behind this text I putted a link. But when the recipient receives email and wants to share my given info
                                  • Zoho flow - Webhook

                                    If I choose an app as a trigger in Zoho Flow, is it still possible to add a webhook later in the same flow?
                                  • Zoho Flow + Bigin + Shopify

                                    We are testing Zoho Flow for the first time and want to create a flow based in first purchases. When a client makes his first order, we're going to add the "primeiracompra" (first order) tag to his account in Shopify (it's not efficient, but that's the
                                  • Adding multiple Attendee email addresses when adding a Zoho Calendar event in Zoho Flow

                                    I am trying to integrate Notion and Zoho Calendar via Zoho Flow. However, the Attendee email address supported by Zoho Calendar - Create event only supports one email address, so I am having difficulty implementing automation to automatically register
                                  • Is it The Flow? Or is it me?

                                    I want to do some basic level stuff, take two fields from a webhook, create a zsheet from a template using one field with date appended, create a folder using both fields as the name, and put the zsheet into that folder. I was going to elaborate - but
                                  • Having problem with data transferring from Google sheet to ZMA

                                    When connecting Google sheet with Zoho marketing automation it is having the email as a mandatory field. Can I change it as non-mandatory field or is there any other way to trasnfer data from google sheet to ZMA. I have leads which we get from whatsapp,
                                  • Dropbox to Workdrive synchronisation

                                    I want to get all the files and folders from Dropbox to Workdrive and each time a new file or folder is added in dropbox i want it to be available in Workdrive and wise versa. Sync Updates to Files Trigger: "File updated" (Dropbox). Action: "Upload file"
                                  • Microsoft Planner Task to Service Desk Plus Request - error n4001

                                    Hi there. I'm trying to create a flow that will create a new request in ServiceDesk Plus when a new task is created in Microsoft Planner. I have succesfully connected both Planner and ServiceDesk Plus, and have configured the 'create request' section
                                  • Trailing Space in "Date and time scheduled "

                                    I am trying to use the Zoho Projects - Create event action in a flow. It is failing with the output error as: "Action did not execute successfully due to an unknown error. Contact support for more details." The input is: { "Duration - Minutes": 30, "Project":
                                  • Project name by deal name; project creation via flow

                                    Hello, I want to create a project in zoho projects using flow by a trigger at the crm. My trigger is the update of a deal (stage). The project name should be the account name/ deal name. But I dont find the solution to it. Can you please give me the answer
                                  • Slack / Zoho Flow; Repl

                                    I am trying to add a comment in a zoho ticket when someone reply's to a message in a thread. The Message posted to public channel trigger doesn't seem to pick up thread messages. I also cannot use the thread_ts field as it doesn't seem to pull that in.
                                  • Get Holiday ready with Zoho Mail's Templates

                                    As the holiday season approaches, it’s time to step away from work and unwind. You may not be able to respond to every email or send individual messages to wish everyone holidays greetings—but It is still important to stay connected. How do you send thoughtful
                                  • Customize folder permissions in a Team Folder in a Team Folder via zoho Flow

                                    HI All, on the nth level folder of a team folder I would like to Customize folder permissions when it's created in the flow of Creating folders. That last level I only want to grant access to a specific group, goup ID 201XXXXXXXX. Can you help with a
                                  • Associating a Candidate to a Job Listing

                                    Hello, I am trying to use Zoho Forms embedded on my website for candidates to apply for a job opening. I want the form then to tie directly with zoho recruit and have the candidate be automatically inputed into Recruit as well as associated with the specific
                                  • Automate reminder emails for events

                                    Hi team, I am trying to automate send event reminders via zoho campaign to my attendees 1 day prior to my scheduled events. I used zoho flow, autoresponder in zoho campaign, as well as I used workflow and automation - but none of these methods are working.
                                  • Update related module entry Zoho Flow not working with custom module ?

                                    Hi everyone. I am facing an issue here on Zoho Flow. Basically what I am doing is checking when a module entry is being filled in with an Event ID. Event is a custom module that I created. If the field is being filled in I fetch the contact with its ID
                                  • How to disable time log on / time log off

                                    Hi We use zoho people just to manage our HR Collaborators. We don't need that each persona check in and out the time tracker. How to disable from the screen that ?
                                  • Zoho Flow - Add to Google Calendar from trigger in Zoho Creator App

                                    Hello! New to Zoho Flow, but I believe I have everything setup the way it should be however getting an error saying "Google Calendar says "Bad Request". Any idea where I should start looking? Essentially some background: Zoho Creator app has a trigger
                                  • Picklist field shows "none" as default

                                    Hello, Is there an option to avoid showing "none" as the default value in a picklist field? I also don't want to see any option displayed. My expectation is to have a blank bar, and then when I display the drop-down list, I can choose whichever I wa
                                  • Email authentication

                                    أريد التحقق من البريد الإلكتروني
                                  • What’s New in Zoho Analytics – December 2025

                                    December is a special time of the year to celebrate progress, reflect on what we have achieved, and prepare for what’s ahead! As we wrap up the year, this month’s updates focus on refining experiences, strengthening analytics workflows, and setting the
                                  • Marketing Tip #12: Earn trust with payment badges and clear policies

                                    Online shoppers want to know they can trust your store. Displaying trust signals such as SSL-secure payment badges, return and refund policies, and verified reviews shows visitors that your store is reliable. These visual cues can turn hesitation into
                                  • The improved portal experience: Introducing the template view for inventory modules, enhanced configurations, and PDF export support

                                    Availability: Open for all DCs. Editions: All Hello everyone, You can now achieve a seamless, brand-aligned portal experience with our enhanced configuration options and the new template view for inventory modules. Your clients will now be able to view
                                  • Zoho Analytics Bulk Api Import json Data

                                    HI, I’m trying to bulk-update rows in Zoho Analytics, and below are the request and response details. I’d like to understand the required parameters for constructing a bulk API request to import or update data in a table using Deluge. Any guidance on
                                  • Next Page