Email Marketing by the Numbers: How to Use the World’s Greatest Marketing Tool to Take Any Organization to the Next Level

Recommended Segment: Lapsed Constituents

How does your organization treat someone who has followed a pattern that’s suddenly broken? Perhaps a predictable customer stops coming in all together, or suddenly switches to another behavior such as buying online rather than in the store.

Earlier, we discussed RFM: Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value. I mentioned that Recency is the most important attribute because predictability of behavior is tied to the time frame in which the behavior occurred. The more recent the behavior, the higher the likelihood that the behavior will happen again. Do you think a customer who hasn’t been into your store in the past five years is more likely to buy than a person who came into your store last year? Last year’s purchaser is more likely. The relationship hasn’t grown too far apart yet.

You want to constantly keep an eye on timing with respect to your segments. For example, if your “best” group typically exhibits a desired behavior every month, then you will want to immediately identify the individuals who did not do something as soon as the month ends. Waiting two months to identify them may be too long to make an impact. I’m not saying it’s a cause for panic, but there should be some communication to help you understand the change or spark a response. Think of this communication like the defribrillator used in the emergency room. Sometimes a surprising jolt will get the patient back on course. Sometimes it won’t. But to even have a chance for ...