expert's blog

Database tips and help

Anyone that has used a good database understands and has seen the benefits of it being able to easily search, filter data and even grouping records together according to common attributes i.e. all members who live in Wellington.

Having a database also centralises the data, allowing multiple people to access the information relevant to them at the same time. Any changes are immediately updated, solving the problems associated with having multiple copies containing incorrect and out-dated information.

Many of the mundane tasks associated with updating lists can also be automated through the advanced features of databases.

Two types of databases: Flat and relational.

There are two common forms of databases:

• Flat databases view each client / entry as a separate entity, with no relationships. This is ideal for a straight list of clients, customers or contacts, with no association between them.
• Relational databases, as the name indicates, show relationships between entries. It may be that you deal with business clients, for which you have representative contacts. A Relational database can associate the individual (representative) with the business. Through this, as the contact changes, potentially moving to another organisation in your database, both records can be changed without having to update records manually.

The MoST database, and client management system is one strong database platform that deals with either of these formats particularly well.

What information should be collected?

This all depends on the type of organisation you are involved with and what you will be using your database for.

• Include information that will be relevant to your business and will aide you in targeting specific groups rather than only being able to mass mail the entire database. This ensures you only send information that is relevant and interesting to the recipient, increasing engagement with your offering.
• Regardless of the type of business you’re in, each record (individual or organisation) needs a unique identifier. This cannot be tied to anything else about this record i.e. it cannot be a telephone number or name as these change or other records may have the same information. This unique identifier is usually a number and will never change for the life of the database. Consider this like an account number.
• If you use your database to control access to your website it is a good idea to use the members’ email address as their username since members are more likely to remember this than the ID number.
• Think of the future with regards to the data you collect now, even if you don’t use some information now you may want to later.

At Expert developments, we have many years of experience dealing with all sorts of businesses and can provide a range of handy tips and solutions on the best use of your database.

Maintenance.

We often import existing databases into MoST and as such have had our fair share of "messy" databases presented to us prior to import.

Without proper maintenance a database can become unusable. Data becomes irrelevant, inaccurate and confusing. There are a few things to keep in mind when working with a database that will ensure that you data remains useful to you:

• When entering the data, enter the relevant data into the correct fields i.e. don’t use the address field to keep notes etc.
• Check for duplicates
• Periodically verify that data is up to date

With a MoST database you can do the following:

• Consolidate your e-Marketing strategy
• Manage mail merges
• Keep record of your customer relationships
• Control subscriptions and access to your website
• Create directories of your members
• Manage events and conferences
• Keep track of career professional development (CPD)
• Manage charges, based on account types
• Directly email unlimited clients, through the database, with no cost per send, filtering as you see fit.

To find out more about how to get your database to work FOR you in 2011, contact the team at expert on 04 384 9833, or email us now. We will gladly guide you through the process, and explore alternatives with you.

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