80/20 Customer Value RFM

Use this skill to find the customers, buyers, leads, or accounts that deserve disproportionate attention. It is based on 80/20 Sales and Marketing by Perry Marshall.

Source Traceability

Primary source: 80/20 Sales and Marketing, chapters 12, 19, 22, and 23.

• Chapter 12 covers premium buyer behavior and hidden customer value.
• Chapter 19 covers removing problem customers and weak performers.
• Chapter 22 covers choosing the few measurements that matter.
• Chapter 23 covers recency, frequency, money, and customer-value measurement.

Workflow

1. Define The Customer Set

Capture:

• Customer or lead population.
• Time window.
• Revenue, profit, or strategic value metric.
• Available behavioral data.
• Follow-up capacity.

If the data is weak, create a practical scoring plan instead of pretending the segmentation is precise.

2. Score RFM And Responsiveness

Score each customer or segment:

• Recency: how recently they acted or bought.
• Frequency: how often they act or buy.
• Money: how much they spend or can spend.
• Responsiveness: how quickly and strongly they respond.
• Fit: whether they match the desired customer profile.

3. Segment The List

Use these groups:

• Best buyers: high recent value, repeat behavior, strong fit.
• Expansion candidates: good fit with evidence of premium potential.
• Nurture: fit is plausible but timing or proof is weaker.
• Low-value tail: low fit, low value, high effort, or high support burden.
• Problem customers: negative margin, toxic behavior, or strategic drag.

4. Decide Treatment By Segment

Recommend different action by segment:

• Personal outreach.
• Premium offer.
• Referral request.
• Automated nurture.
• Requalification.
• Sunset, prune, or fire.

Output Format

# Customer Value Segmentation

## Data Available
- Population:
- Time window:
- Fields available:
- Data gaps:

## RFM Segments
| Segment | Recency | Frequency | Money | Responsiveness | Action |
|---------|---------|-----------|-------|----------------|--------|

## 80/20 Findings
- Top customers:
- Hidden expansion group:
- Low-value tail:
- Problem customers:

## Recommended Actions
1. [Action]
2. [Action]
3. [Action]

Quality Bar

• Do not treat all customers as equally valuable.
• Do not use revenue without considering effort, margin, or fit.
• Do not recommend firing customers without a clear reason.
• Separate premium potential from current spend.
• State what data would improve the segmentation.