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Guidelines
| We have extracted some helpful comments
and suggestions from past discussions on our forum and incorporated
them into our guidelines page. |
Even
if you do not use a marketing database, these tips will help you
make the most of your resources.
Standardized software: Everyone in the
firm should use the same software, whatever it is. Data in almost
any program can be converted without too much trouble if the data
is in a consistent format. So, the firm can use WordPerfect Office,
secondary mailmerge files, Q&A, dBase or whatever to store the data
and ultimately the data can be converted to the database of choice.
Just get everyone to use the same one and it will save a lot of
money and headaches.
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| A consistent format:
Once everyone in the firm is using the same program,
they should also use the same data format. The idea again is standardization.
For example, if each attorney has his or her own WordPerfect Office
file of names and addresses, it would be a lot of work to bring
them together if they are not set up consistently. If some people
wish to track additional information which is not in the firm's
basic structure (car phone number, spouse's name, etc.), the best
idea is to add these fields to everyone's information, or some data
may get lost in the merge process. Even if data is stored in one
location for the whole firm, it must be consistently entered or
it will be difficult to convert and data may be lost. |
| Upper and lower case:
Although the post office scanners can read and
sort names and addresses more easily if capitalized, this can be
done automatically when printing. It is much more difficult to change
upper case information to upper and lower than vice versa. |
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| Proper names: Proper
names (Mr. John Smith III) should be separated into parts (usually
Prefix, First, Middle, Last and Suffix). The main reason for this
is form alphabetizing. If the fields aren't broken down, another field
must be created for the last name (usually called "Sort"), and those
cases where you do not want to use them (Brown, Jean), or it is inappropriate
to use both at once (Dr. Jean Brown, M.D). In addition, it is much
easier to format the data and look up information if it is broken
down in this manner. Most conversion methods can break down names
into their pieces, but not perfectly - some cleanup will always be
necessary. |
| Abbreviation: One
of the most common problems in attempting to track and eliminate
duplicates in data is the use of abbreviations. Even the best system
may not recognize that U.S. Mfg. Corp. is the same as United States
Manufacturing Corporation. Make enough space in the data input fields
to allow for this and add an extra line for company name, street,
and title/department. |
| Punctuation: As
with upper case information, punctuation can always be added when
printing, and is more difficult to remove than add. This is especially
true of the comma between city and state. Let the program put that
in for you. |
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| To summarize: Formatting
your data now - even a little at a time - will not only simplify
your conversion to a new marketing database, but the firm will get
the most out of the present system |
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