Playbooks
Same physics, different event definitions. Pick your repeating behavior, then wire Friction → Latency → RF → ROI cutoff.
Retail / ecommerce
Event = purchase (or session). 2→3 purchase Latency by category. RF on orders + revenue. Cut catalogs/email by RF cell. Defecting Best = high M, stale R.
B2B / SaaS
Event = activation milestone, weekly active, seat expand. Latency on trial→paid and paid→expand. Recency on last value moment, not last login vanity.
Local services
Classic salon pattern: average revisit Latency. Human memory doesn’t scale — the wire does. Control group proves found profit.
Nonprofit
Event = gift. RF still works (book case: large ROI lift). Don’t over-mail low RF; steward Rocket Fuel donors personally.
Content / media
Event = visit or qualified consume. Recency predicts return. Ad-supported: potential value = future sessions × yield. Grow new high-R low-F readers into habit.
Catalog / omni
RFM was born here. Use Campaign ROI Cutoff religiously — print cost makes “mail everyone” fatal. Discount ladder: lower RF needs more push (expensive).
Program outline (any vertical)
- Define the repeating value event.
- Build scoring file (id, last event date, frequency units, optional $).
- Score RF; plot LifeCycle Grid; set Hurdle Rate.
- Launch one Latency trip wire with holdout.
- Test creative on a stratified RF sample; log response by cell.
- Roll out only above breakeven cutoff (+ safety).
- Rescore monthly; watch falling RF death spiral early.