How to strategically use RFM properties in campaigns and flows

You will learn

Learn how to use RFM (recency, frequency, and monetary) properties to target specific types of campaigns and content to your customer groups. Either by using the profile properties themselves or by using a segment with the RFM properties, you can tailor your marketing even further.

Before you begin

You have a few options for how to use RFM segments in your campaigns and flows:

• Segment conditions to target and tailor your campaigns.
• Variables with conditional logic in your email templates.
• Properties to target and tailor your flows.

Before using these strategies, check that your account meets the RFM report requirements. Current RFM group is the group a profile belongs to now. Previous RFM group is the most recent different group they belonged to, and is Unknown until a change is recorded.

RFM profile properties refresh nightly. A recent purchase may not yet be reflected in the group used by a segment, email, or flow.

Use segments to tailor your campaigns

You can use segments that have RFM properties (Current RFM group or Previous RFM group) to target customers of certain groups. This is especially helpful as Klaviyo has already done the work of categorizing who these customers are based on their historical purchase behavior. Learn how to build a segment using RFM properties.

Examples of using segments in campaign sends could include:

• Targeting customers in the Loyal and Champions groups to provide reviews on items
• Targeting Loyal or Recent customers with new products or product offers to cross-sell and up-sell
• Targeting Recent customers with a subscription offer to encourage repeat purchases and help them move into the Champions or Loyal group
• Targeting Inactive or At risk customers with winback campaigns
• Targeting Inactive or At risk customers with entry-level or lower cost items
• Offering exclusive or time-limited discounts to Inactive or At risk customers

Use RFM properties as variables in your email templates

Using RFM properties (Current RFM group or Previous RFM group) as variables within email templates can help to further personalize emails to your specific customer groups. You can dynamically display a block, text, or custom content to a certain customer group, show or hide these based on the group, and use show/hide logic variants to give each group its own version of the same block or section.

If you use an HTML template, you can create a drag-and-drop copy before adding show/hide logic. The original HTML template stays unchanged.

1. In the template library, select Email: saved. Open your HTML template’s 3-dot menu and select Clone to drag and drop.
2. Open Converted templates. When the copy shows Ready to use, click its name to open it in the editor. Review the converted content and layout before using it in an email.

To show a block only to profiles in the Champions group, use this example in a drag-and-drop template:

1. Select a block without existing show/hide logic, then select the Display tab.
2. Under Show/hide logic, select Show only to a specific audience, then select Use code and enter person|lookup:'Current RFM group' == 'Champions'. Match the property name and group value exactly.
3. Click Save.
4. Click Preview and check profiles in Champions, in another RFM group, and without an RFM group. Confirm that the block appears only for the Champions profile.

To show each RFM group a different version of the same block, select Personalize for multiple audiences instead and create a logic variant for each group. For example, use person|lookup:'Current RFM group' == 'Champions' for one variant and person|lookup:'Current RFM group' == 'At risk' for another, then add a fallback for profiles in other groups or without an RFM group. Each recipient sees only the first variant they match.

Examples of using variables in email sends could include:

• Personalizing the products that certain customer groups see vs. others by product value or type. For example, Champions or Loyal customers see higher value items vs. Inactive or At risk that see more entry level items.
• Discounts appear for certain customer groups, such as Needs attention, Inactive, or At risk to encourage purchases.
• Showing a section about leaving product reviews to those only in the Champions or Loyal groups.
• Showing lower priced products to those in Needs attention or At risk to encourage purchases.
• Having loyalty points information:
  • For those in Champions, Loyal, Recent, and Needs attention groups show their tier or status.
  • For those in Inactive or At risk explain your loyalty program and value they will receive after purchases.

Use RFM properties in flows

Metric-triggered flows

In your metric-triggered flows, use Current RFM group or Previous RFM group in split conditions to send customers down different paths. You can also use these properties as dynamic variables to personalize the content of your flow messages.

The 6 RFM groups used in these examples require purchase activity. To distinguish first-time buyers, repeat buyers, or people who have never purchased, use conditions based on Placed Order activity.

Examples of using RFM properties in flows could include:

• Creating a split with paths for these RFM groups:
  • Champions or Loyal.
  • Recent, Needs attention, Inactive, or At risk.
• Creating a split based on RFM group in a browse abandonment flow.
  • For example, those in Champions, Loyal, or Recent may get a regular browse abandonment message, while those in Needs attention, Inactive, or At risk receive a browse abandonment message with an additional discount.
• Creating a flow for those in the Champions, Loyal, or Recent group highlighting new products or launches.
• Encouraging those in the Champions, Loyal, or Recent group to leave reviews of their products.

Segment-triggered flows

Use RFM-based segments to launch a segment-triggered flow when a profile joins the segment. For example, use a segment for customers who enter Champions or a separate segment for customers who enter Needs attention.

Examples of using RFM-based segments in flows could include:

• Targeting customers in the Needs attention or At risk groups with time-limited discounts or welcome-back incentives.
• Reaching out to those who recently became Champions or Loyal customers with “thank you” messaging. You could include a special promotion just for them or welcome them to another tier of your loyalty program.
• Trying to cross-sell new or highly rated products to those who recently became Champions or Loyal customers.

Following up with post-purchase messaging for those who just entered the Recent group with a time-limited discount to purchase another product.

Using custom metrics with RFM data

Custom metrics allow you to combine or filter metrics already in Klaviyo to reflect your business model. For RFM analysis, choose a custom metric with a monetary value so customer groups are based on the order data you want to analyze.

Below are some examples of common use cases:

• Combine sources of placed orders or revenue for RFM analysis
  Combine order metrics from your integrations, systems (e.g., point of sale), and data tools after their events have synced to Klaviyo. This gives you a more complete picture of your customers’ spending habits.
• Remove subscription events from counting in RFM analysis
  Standard Shopify integrations, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce will include subscriptions in Placed Order events automatically. If the events include a property that identifies subscription orders, you can use it to filter out those orders in a custom metric and capture only one-time orders. This may be helpful if you want to evaluate customer behaviors based only on product sales, not including recurring subscriptions.
• Only focus on online buying habits for RFM analysis
  With Shopify and some custom integrations, physical retail (POS) and e-commerce orders will come through as a single event (e.g., Shopify Placed Order event). You may want to create a custom metric that removes these POS events, so that you can focus on online sales only. This may be helpful if you want to target customers with special online promotions, shipping information, online-only products, etc.

Additional resources

• Getting started with the recency, frequency, and monetary (RFM) analysis report
• Understanding scoring and customer groups in the recency, frequency, and monetary analysis (RFM) report
• How to build a segment using RFM properties