In this lesson, you will learn and implement a workflow to create a personalized recommendation campaign based on the user's RFM value.
Using segments from the RFM analysis model to carry out different strategies according to the customer's purchasing behavior will help you communicate with them in a personalized way, offering recommendations that encourage their purchases.
Objective: Conversion.
Elements used: Push.
Implementation time: 1 hour.
We recommend that you follow all the steps and implement this strategy from scratch in your account, but if you need a quick way, the Workflow Template Directory has the template Recommended Products Campaign Based on RFM available to work with.
Lesson Summary
In this lesson you will learn:
- What RFM analysis is, how it works, and how to apply it in a strategy.
- The "Get purchase data" node, to obtain data related to purchases previously made by the contact.
- The "Belongs to segment" node, to check if a contact belongs to a specific segment.
- How to create segments based on the user's RFM value.
- How to create a custom field to record information about your contacts that is not included by default in their profile.
By the end of the lesson, you will have created in your account:
The personalized recommendation campaign based on buyer behavior that contains this workflow, through which you will automate sending emails based on the contacts' RFM:
- If they belong to the High RFM segment, they will receive an Up Selling email.
- If they belong to the Medium RFM segment, they will receive a Cross Selling email.
- If they belong to the Low RFM segment, they will receive an email with the Best Sellers of the last month.
Before you start: preliminary considerations
In this lesson, you will learn to segment contacts based on RFM to determine their value as buyers. But what is RFM analysis? Although at the end of this article you will find a link to the complete RFM information in Connectif, here is a summary to help you understand how it works:
What is RFM analysis
RFM analysis (Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value) enables precise and up-to-date segmentation of all contacts based on their purchasing behavior over time.
This segmentation can be used to target campaigns to each contact, as we will do in this strategy, but also to make predictions that optimize results.
RFM Properties
-
It is based on three parameters, each assigned a score between 1 and 5:
Recency evaluates the time since the last purchase.
Frequency evaluates the total number of purchases.
Monetary Value evaluates the average amount of purchases.
-
It uses 4 contact fields to store information related to each user in their profile. Their characteristics are as follows:
The RFM fields are system fields, created when integrating Connectif, and cannot be edited.
All RFM fields are of type radio, meaning they can only have a value from the defined set.
Connectif automatically recalculates the RFM fields once a day.
To facilitate RFM analysis, Connectif offers 11 groupings based on the described purchasing behavior.
How to check the RFM
Go to "Contacts > Segments" and search or filter to find the contact you want to check.
Once located, click on (Details) to access the contact's profile.
Check the values assigned to the contact in the analysis and the corresponding RFM segment.
Strategy Configuration
STEP 0. Create the workflow
How to create the workflow for this strategy
1. In your Connectif account, click "Workflows > Create new Workflow" and then click Create blank Workflow.
2. Click (Edit) and name it "Recommended Products Campaign Based on RFM".
3. Click Apply to save the new workflow name.
STEP 1. "Start" node
How to configure the "Start" node for this strategy
(This node sets the audience to which the workflow will be directed).
4. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Start” node.
5. Under Select a restriction, check "My entire list" and select "Contacts with email".
6. Under Select data source, check "All existing".
7. Click Update.
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to activate the workflow for all existing contacts with email at the time the strategy starts.
STEP 2. First "Belongs to segment" node (High RFM)
How to create the dynamic plus Segment for this strategy
(In this step, you will create a dynamic plus Segment grouping customers with High RFM).
8. Save the workflow and go to “Contacts > Segments”.
9. Click Create New Segment, select the type Dynamic Plus Segment, and click Go to segment editor.
10. In the editor, add the conditions for contacts to be included in the segment. In this case, add two filters to include contacts subscribed to the newsletter and belonging to the highest RFM groups:
Click the dropdown "Select field or activity" and, under the "Contact profile" group, choose "Newsletter subscription status".
In the interface, locate the operator selector to be created, select "Is equal to", and indicate "Subscribed" in the value dropdown that appears next.
Click "And" to add the next condition.
- Click "Select field or activity" and, under the "Value indicators" group, select "RFM - Segment".
- In the operator selector, choose "Is any of", and add "Champions" and "Loyal customers" in the value dropdown.
11. Click (Edit), assign a name to the segment, in this case, "High-RFM", and click Apply. Then click Save and return to the workflow for this strategy.
How to configure the "Belongs to segment" node for this strategy
(This node will check if the contact belongs to the first dynamic plus Segment created, High RFM).
12. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > Contact" and drag the "Belongs to segment" node to the editor, connecting it to the "Start" node.
13. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Belongs to segment” node.
14. Under Select a segment, choose the segment you just created.
15. Click Update.
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact belongs to the "High-RFM" segment to allow them to continue through this branch of the flow. If not in that group, they will proceed to the next "Belongs to segment" node for further checks.
STEP 3. "Get last cart" node
How to configure the "Get last cart" node for this strategy
(This node will retrieve the last purchased cart of the contact with High RFM).
16. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > E-commerce" and drag the "Get last cart" node to the editor, connecting it to the first "Belongs to segment" node.
17. On the connection between this node and the previous one, click the circle until "Yes" appears, so only contacts with High RFM continue through this branch.
18. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Get last cart” node.
19. Under Select cart status, choose “Purchased” from the dropdown to obtain the last cart bought by the contact.
20. Click Update.
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to get the last cart purchased by the contact so that in the next node, we can obtain recommended products based on this purchase.
STEP 4. First "Get products" node
How to configure the "Get products" node for this strategy
(This node will get the highest value product from the cart).
21. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > E-commerce" and drag the "Get products" node to the editor, connecting it to the "Get last cart" node.
22. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Get products” node.
23. Select "Filtered products" as the main use case and click Next .
24. In Main use case configuration:
Select "1" in Number of products to obtain to get one product related to this cart.
Under Select product source, choose "Imported data" and add "Get last cart". This way, Connectif will obtain a product from those in the cart.
Under Configure product selection order, choose "Sort by descending price" and click Next . This way, Connectif will get the highest priced product.
25. In Summary, locate the section Number of products to obtain and set “1”. Then, uncheck the box "Fill with products up to selected limit".
26. Click Finish .
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to get the highest priced product from the contact’s last purchased cart.
STEP 5. "Set field" node
How to create the custom field in Connectif for this strategy
(In this step, you will create a custom field to record in the profile of contacts with High RFM the price of the most expensive product they have purchased).
27. Save the workflow and go to "Contacts > Contact fields" and click Add new custom field.
28. To create the field:
- Assign the appropriate "Type" for the data the field will collect, in this case Decimal, since it is a monetary value. Do not mark it as required, as it is not a mandatory contact field.
- Assign a name to the field, in this case, "Price of the highest value product" and you can modify the auto-generated ID if you wish.
- Assign "0" as the minimum and default value, so this amount will appear if the field is not updated.
- Assign an icon to the field if you do not want the default one.
29. Click Save to create the new custom contact field and return to the workflow for this strategy.
How to configure the "Set field" node for this strategy
(This node sets the price of the most expensive purchased product in the custom field created).
30. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Contact" and drag the "Set field" node to the editor, connecting it to the "Get products" node.
31. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Set field” node.
32. To update the new field with the price of the most expensive product from the contact’s last cart:
Drag the "Unit price" field from the "Get products" node to the left block of the custom field. This way, the price obtained in that node, which is the highest priced product from the last cart, will be recorded in the contact's profile.
In Operator, select "Assign".
33. Click Update.
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to update the newly created field in the contact’s profile by adding the price information of the most expensive product from their last purchase. This information is obtained from the data extracted by the two previous nodes.
STEP 6. Second "Get products" node
(This node will get products priced higher than the highest priced product purchased).
34. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > E-commerce" and drag the "Get products" node to the editor, connecting it to the "Set field" node.
35. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Get products” node.
36. Select "Automatically related to a cart" as the main use case and "Best selling products" as an additional use case. Click Next .
37. In Main use case configuration:
Select "6" in Number of products to obtain.
Under Select related cart, choose "Internal cart ID (Get last cart)".
Click Add another condition and select “Unit price” in the dropdown. Choose "Is greater than" as the operator. On the right, select “Imported data” and after clicking “Select imported data”, choose the custom field created, for this example “Contact > Price of the highest value product”.
Check the box "Randomly reorder obtained products" and click Next .
38. In Additional use case configuration:
Select "6" in Number of products to obtain.
Click Add another condition and select “Unit price” in the dropdown. Choose "Is greater than" as the operator. On the right, select “Imported data” and after clicking “Select imported data”, choose the custom field created, for this example “Contact > Price of the highest value product”.
Under Select purchase time period, choose "Best sellers of the last month".
Check the box "Randomly reorder obtained products" and click Next .
39. In Summary, set “6” in Number of products to obtain and click Finish .
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to obtain, for use in the Up Selling email, 6 products related to the contact’s last purchased cart. If not enough products are found, it will be completed with best sellers. In both cases, products will have prices higher than the most expensive product purchased (data obtained from the custom field created earlier).
STEP 7. First "Send email" node (High RFM)
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will send the Up Selling email with the recommended products).
40. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, connecting it to the second "Get products" node.
41. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Send email” node. Click Create new content to create a new email.
42. Configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email, as learned in previous lessons.
If needed, all steps to create an email are available in this lesson.
43. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element and edit it:
(Optional). Assign it a name, in this case "Last visited products".
Under Template, select the first option.
Under Structure, configure the rows and columns to display and check the box Show incomplete rows. In this case, we chose 2 rows and 3 columns on desktop, and 3 rows and 2 columns on mobile.
44. Click Save and return to the content list.
How to configure the "Send email" node for this strategy
(This node will send the Up Selling email to contacts in the High RFM segment).
45. Select the email you just created and click Next .
46. Configure the sending as learned in previous lessons:
Under Send to, select "Contact".
Specify the email type as "Newsletter".
Configure the Send to contact parameters.
Under Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then click Next .
47. Under Variables, configure the information to personalize in your email, as learned in previous lessons:
Drag the contact field Name to match the variable {{name}}.
Drag the information obtained from the second "Get products" node to complete the dynamic content of the email with recommended products based on the most expensive product from the contact’s last purchased cart.
If needed, all steps to assign product variables to an email are available in this lesson.
48. Click Finish .
At this step, we have sent an email to contacts with High RFM. The email includes personalized products related to the most expensive product from their last purchase, obtained in previous steps. Additionally, when configuring the UTM variable for the email button, we assigned the product name to track the clicked product.
STEP 8. Second "Belongs to segment" node (Medium RFM)
How to create the dynamic plus Segment for this strategy
(In this step, you will create a dynamic plus Segment grouping customers with Medium RFM).
49. Save the workflow and go to “Contacts > Segments”.
50. Create a new Dynamic Plus Segment and add conditions for contacts to be included. In this case, add two filters to include contacts subscribed to the newsletter and belonging to the medium RFM groups:
Click the dropdown "Select field or activity" and, under the "Contact profile" group, choose "Newsletter subscription status".
In the interface, locate the operator selector to be created, select "Is equal to", and indicate "Subscribed" in the value dropdown that appears next.
Click "And" to add the next condition.
Click "Select field or activity" and, under the "Value indicators" group, select "RFM - Segment".
In the operator selector, choose "Is any of" and add "Potentially loyal", "New customers", "Promising" and "Needs attention" in the value dropdown.
51. Click (Edit), assign a name to the segment and click Apply. In this case, "Medium-RFM". Then click Save and return to the workflow for this strategy.
How to configure the "Belongs to segment" node for this strategy
(This node will check if the contact belongs to the second dynamic plus Segment created, Medium RFM).
52. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > Contact" and drag the "Belongs to segment" node to the editor, connecting it to the first "Belongs to segment" node.
53. On the connection between this node and the previous one, click the circle until "No" appears, so contacts that do not have High RFM proceed to this node.
53. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Belongs to segment” node.
54. Choose the segment you just created, in this case, "Medium-RFM" and click Update.
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact belongs to the "Medium-RFM" segment to allow them to continue through this branch of the flow. If not in that group, they will proceed to the next "Belongs to segment" node for further checks.
STEP 9. Third "Get products" node
How to configure the "Get products" node for this strategy
(This node will get the latest products purchased by contacts with Medium RFM).
55. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > E-commerce" and drag the "Get products" node to the editor, connecting it to the second "Belongs to segment" node.
56. On the connection between this node and the first "Belongs to segment" node, click the circle until “Yes” appears, so only contacts with Medium RFM continue through this flow.
57. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Get products” node.
58. Select "Latest purchased products" as the use case and click Next .
59. In Main use case configuration, select "6" in Number of products to obtain and click Next .
60. In Summary, locate the section Number of products to obtain and set “6”. Then uncheck the box "Fill with products up to selected limit".
61. Click Finish .
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to get the last 6 products purchased by the contact.
STEP 10. Fourth "Get products" node
How to configure the "Get products" node for this strategy
(This node will get products automatically related to the last products purchased by contacts with Medium RFM).
62. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > E-commerce" and drag the "Get products" node to the editor, connecting it to the third "Get products" node.
63. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Get products” node.
64. Select "Automatically related to a product list" as the main use case and "Best selling products" as an additional use case. Click Next .
65. In Main use case configuration:
Select "6" in Number of products to obtain.
Under Select product source, add "Get products", which is the only available option and corresponds to the previous node, as "Imported data". Since the "Get products" nodes from different branches are not connected, they cannot be selected as imported data.
Under Configure product selection order, choose "Best sellers of the last month" and check the box "Randomly reorder obtained products". Click Next .
66. In Additional use case configuration:
Select "6" in Number of products to obtain.
Under Select purchase time period, choose "Best sellers of the last month" and check the box "Randomly reorder obtained products". Click Next .
67. In Summary, locate the section Number of products to obtain and set “6”. Then check the box "Exclude products exported by previous nodes".
68. Click Finish .
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to get products related to the last products purchased by the contact for use in the Cross Selling email. If not enough products are found (in this case 6), it will complete the list with best sellers of the last month.
STEP 11. Second "Send email" node (Medium RFM)
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will send the email with recommended products).
69. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, connecting it to the fourth "Get products" node.
70. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Send email” node. Click Create new content to create a new email.
72. Configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email, as learned in previous lessons.
If needed, all steps to create an email are available in this lesson.
73. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element and edit it:
Under Template, select the first option.
Under Structure, configure the rows and columns to display and check the box Show incomplete rows. In this case, we chose 2 rows and 3 columns on desktop, and 3 rows and 2 columns on mobile.
74. Click Save and return to the content list.
How to configure the "Send email" node for this strategy
(This node will send the Cross Selling email to contacts in the Medium RFM segment).
75. Select the email you just created and click Next .
76. Configure the sending as learned in previous lessons:
Under Send to, select "Contact".
Specify the email type as "Newsletter".
Configure the Send to contact parameters.
Under Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then click Next .
77. Under Variables, configure the information to personalize in your email, as learned in previous lessons:
Drag the contact field Name to match the variable {{name}}.
Drag the information obtained from the second "Get products" node to complete the dynamic content of the email with recommended products based on the most expensive product from the contact’s last purchased cart.
If needed, all steps to assign product variables to an email are available in this lesson.
78. Click Finish .
At this step, we have sent an email to contacts with Medium RFM. The email includes personalized products related to the last products they purchased or among the best sellers of the last month, obtained in previous steps. Additionally, when configuring the UTM variable for the email button, we assigned the product name to track the clicked product.
STEP 12. Third "Belongs to segment" node (Low RFM)
How to create the dynamic plus Segment for this strategy
(In this step, you will create a dynamic plus Segment grouping customers with Low RFM).
79. Save the workflow and go to “Contacts > Segments”.
80. Create a new Dynamic Plus Segment and add conditions for contacts to be included. In this case, add two filters to include contacts subscribed to the newsletter and belonging to the low RFM groups:
Click the dropdown "Select field or activity" and, under the "Contact profile" group, choose "Newsletter subscription status".
In the interface, locate the operator selector to be created, select "Is equal to", and indicate "Subscribed" in the value dropdown that appears next.
Click "And" to add the next condition.
Click "Select field or activity" and, under the "Value indicators" group, select "RFM - Segment".
In the operator selector, choose "Is any of", and add "About to sleep", "At risk", "Cannot lose", and "Hibernating" in the value dropdown.
81. Click (Edit), assign a name to the segment and click Apply. In this case, "Low-RFM". Then click Save and return to the workflow for this strategy.
How to configure the "Belongs to segment" node for this strategy
(This node will check if the contact belongs to the third dynamic plus Segment created, Low RFM).
82. In the node selection menu, go to "Conditions > Contact" and drag the "Belongs to segment" node to the editor, connecting it to the second "Belongs to segment" node.
83. On the connection between this node and the previous one, click the circle until "No" appears, so contacts without Medium or High RFM proceed to this node.
84. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Belongs to segment” node.
85. Under Select a segment, choose the segment you just created, in this case, "Low-RFM" and click Update.
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to check if the contact belongs to the "Low-RFM" segment to allow them to continue through this branch of the flow. If not in that group, the strategy will stop, as the contact will not belong to any of the other two segments either.
STEP 13. Fifth "Get products" node
How to configure the "Get products" node for this strategy
(This node will get the best selling products of the last month).
86. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > E-commerce" and drag the "Get products" node to the editor, connecting it to the third "Belongs to segment" node.
87. On the connection between this node and the previous one, click the circle until "Yes" appears, so only contacts with Low RFM continue through this flow.
88. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Get products” node.
89. Select "Best selling products" as the main use case and "Most visited products" as an additional use case. Click Next .
90. In Main use case configuration:
Select "6" in Number of products to obtain.
Under Select purchase time period, choose "Best sellers of the last month" and check the box "Randomly reorder obtained products".
Click Next .
91. In Additional use case configuration:
Select "6" in Number of products to obtain.
Under Select visit time period, choose "Most visited in the last month" and check the box "Randomly reorder obtained products".
Click Next .
92. In Summary, locate the section Number of products to obtain and set “6”.
93. Click Finish .
At this step, we have instructed Connectif to get up to 6 best selling products of the last month, randomly ordered. If that quantity is not reached, it will complete with the most visited products, also randomly ordered.
STEP 14. Third "Send email" node (Low RFM)
How to configure the email for this strategy
(In this step, you will send the email with recommended products to contacts with Low RFM).
94. In the node selection menu, go to "Actions > Email" and drag the "Send email" node to the editor, connecting it to the fifth "Get products" node.
95. Click (Edit node configuration) of the “Send email” node. Click Create new content to create a new email.
96. Configure the composition and add the elements you want to your email, as learned in previous lessons.
If needed, all steps to create an email are available in this lesson.
97. Once you have configured the text and images of your email, add a Product element and edit it:
Under Template, select the first option.
Under Structure, configure the rows and columns to display and check the box Show incomplete rows. In this case, we chose 2 rows and 3 columns on desktop, and 3 rows and 2 columns on mobile.
98. Click Save and return to the content list.
How to configure the "Send email" node for this strategy
(This node will send the Best Sellers email to contacts in the Low RFM segment).
99. Select the email you just created and click Next .
100. Configure the sending as learned in previous lessons:
Under Send to, select "Contact".
Specify the email type as "Newsletter".
Configure the Send to contact parameters.
Under Google Analytics, click "Enable Google Analytics" and then click Next .
101. Under Variables, configure the information to personalize in your email, as learned in previous lessons:
Drag the contact field Name to match the variable {{name}}.
Drag the information obtained from the "Get products" node to complete the dynamic content of the email with recommended products based on the most expensive product from the contact’s last purchased cart.
If needed, all steps to assign product variables to an email are available in this lesson.
102. Click Finish .
At this step, we have sent an email to contacts with Low RFM. The email includes the best selling (preferably) or most visited products of the last month, obtained in the previous step. Additionally, when configuring the UTM variable for the email button, we assigned the product name to track the clicked product.
Result
After completing the steps, you will have created your recommended products strategy based on your contacts' value to send them a personalized email in each case and help you meet different objectives.
Congratulations!
You have reached the end of the lesson, completing the course on your first strategies in Connectif.
Return to the course
Access the full course index and explanation of each lesson at this link.
Related readings
If you want to deepen any of the learnings acquired in this lesson, you can access the guide documentation:
- RFM Analysis, to learn in depth about this segmentation and other use cases where to apply it.
- Coupons, to learn about this Connectif feature that can be useful in segmented strategies like this one.
- Data Explorer, to learn how to analyze your strategy metrics and gather valuable data to optimize them.