Target Market Determination for Information Distribution and Student Recruitment Using an Extended RFM Model with Spatial Analysis

Purpose: This research proposes a new modified Recency-Frequency-Monetary (RFM) model by extending the model with spatial analysis for supporting decision-makers in discovering the promotional target market. Research design, data and methodology: This quantitative research utilizes data-mining techniques and the RFM model to cluster a university's provider schools. The RFM model was modified by adapting its variables to the university's marketing context and adding a district's potential (D) variable based on heatmap analysis using Geographic Information System (GIS) and K-means clustering. The K-prototype algorithm and the Elbow method were applied to find provider school clusters using the proposed RFM-D model. After profiling the clusters, the target segment was assigned. The model was validated using empirical data from an Indonesian university, and its performance was compared to the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)-based RFM utilizing accuracy, precision, recall, and F1-score metrics. Results: This research identified five clusters. The target segment was chosen from the highest-value and high-value clusters that comprised 17.80% of provider schools but can contribute 75.77% of students. Conclusions: The proposed model recommended more targeted schools in higher-potential districts and predicted the target segment with 0.99 accuracies, outperforming the CLV-based model. The empirical findings help university management determine the promotion location and allocate resources for promotional information distribution and student recruitment.