The Nature of DataData Capture,

Cleaning, Maintenance & Segmenting

Karen ClarkeCharity AdvisorBRG Direct Ltd

Let me introduce myself………. My name is Karen Clarke, I am fast

approaching 60 (Yikes!) and I have worked for BRG Direct for nearly 25 years, most of that time has been spent making lots of friends in the Charity Sector.

Having spent the best part of a quarter of a century poking my nose into other people’s data, I think I am safe in saying that I have seen it all: The Good, the Bad and The Very Very Ugly! Some things have made me laugh out loud whilst others have left me with steam coming out of my ears!

Lets get to it!

Data CaptureData CleaningData ProfilingData Appending Wealth ScreeningData SegmentingCold DataData Protection

Data CaptureLets go back to basics! Set sensible protocols that everyone

can follow. Write it all down & make sure

everyone has a copy. Be consistent; all records should be

captured in the same format. Title, Forename, Initial, Surname – in

separate fields. Your CRM system will produce the

Salutation, Postname, Greeting etc. What goes in here eventually comes

out the other end as a letter, and we all know how easy it is to upset a supporter if we get their name wrong.

Title Forename Initial Surname

Mr Joseph J Bloggs

Title, Forename, Initial, Surname

Do NOT use full stops, commas and question marks.

Limit the number of titles that you use.

If you have to use a joint title, keep them the same throughout your database.

ALWAYS capture a forename.

If not possible, put the initial in the forename field AS WELL AS the initial field.

Addresses

Be consistent! Do NOT put a company

or organisation name in Address Line 1.

Try not to use C/O. Keep 1 line in each field. Commas and speech

marks throw out fields and lead to problems!

If you don’t have the address, leave the fields BLANK!

Not known, Unknown, Didn’t want to give it etc should not be in the address fields!

Other fields

Again, be consistent! Keep email addresses in

the email field, not in the telephone number field (a common error we find!) or vice versa.

Dates of Birth – can be used for special birthday challenges, legacies etc.

Telephone Numbers – must be TPS checked

Data Cleaning

Think of your database as a beautiful garden: If you maintain it, feed it, nurture it and cut out the dead wood, it will grow and reward you time & again.

Neglect it and the weeds will start to sprout and it will wither and die.

Have your data checked regularly.

We suggest once a year BUT before any mailing is best practise.

Do I need to have my data cleaned?

YES! The 4th principle of the Data Protection Act (1998) states

that:‘Personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date.’

The Institute of Fundraising Code of Fundraising Practice says:‘Organisations MUST maintain good data hygiene practices (removing incorrect/incomplete information from your data) to ensure donor information is accurate, reflects donors’ communication preferences and is retained only for as long as necessary.’

Deceased Records• The Mortality Suppressions

Experian deceased data Public record information 2.5million individuals on the file

• Mortascreen Plus Sourced from UK probate registries Supplemented with insurance data, funeral

directors information & returned mail marked as deceased

• The National Deceased Register Data derived from financial services products

such as life insurance, pensions & annuities No volunteered data so is highly accurate Over 4.3million records

• The Bereavement Register Fully permissioned, verified registration data

directly from the bereaved

Gone Away Records• Absolute Movers

Leading source to identify individuals who have moved

Private and public data sources used to identify and validate people who have left an address

• Purity Compiled by Acxiom from consumer data 20million gone away records

• disConnect 37million records from Equifax Cross referenced from various sources to

identify those who have moved

• National Change of Address Consumers who have opted out when

registering for re-direction Also contains postal returns marked as

deceased or goneaway

Movers• Absolute Contacts

UK’s premier source for identifying home movers

Edited electoral roll and other compliant sources verify the resident at the new address

• National Change of Address (NCOA) Consumers who have registered for Royal

Mail’s redirection service NOT opted out, allowing information to be

passed to 3rd parties

• reConnect More than 20million records Claims to identify a move earlier in the

process, getting the information to you faster

Why use these services?

Screening reduces wasted mail costsReduces the risk of mailing a deceased

individual and causing distress to their familyImprove response ratesRe-engage lost or lapsed supporters

Forename & Initial matchesHere we have the Smiths:

Donald Derek And David.

They all live together at 14 Made Up Street, Made Upville, MU1 1MU.

Sadly, Grandad Donald dies

And shortly after, David moves away to University

But Derek is still living at 14 Made Up Street.

So if you only have Mr D Smith on your database, how do we know if its Donald, Derek or David who has matched???

ProfilingThe more you know about your supporters, the more targeted you can make the message.

The more targeted the message, the more response rate you will get.

Geodemographic Behind every customer is an individual.

Mosaics let you treat them that wayReach the right people, with the right messageGroup B is one of the highest profiled group

within most charities profiles

Mosaic Groups

Data Appending

We can append: Dates of Birth Wealth File Indicators Mosaic Groups Council Tax Bands Estimated Income Email addresses Telephone numbers TPS & MPSindicatorsPlus many more!

Wealth Screening

Our in-house database.Top 15 blue chip company investors.Marked 1 – 5, 1 being less than £5,000 invested, 5

being more than £100,000 invested.Excellent legacy targets.Council tax bands, mosaic groups & estimated

income bands.Combining these will identify the most wealthy prospects with your database.

Segmentation

Your database already has lots of useful information that will help you to segment it, but there is a lot more available. • Did you know that you can have dates of birth appended

to your data? • If a specific date is not available, you can have an

estimated age group. • Couple this with things like Council Tax Bands, Wealth

File Indicators, Estimated Incomes or even the latest Mosaic codes and you will have a much more flexible database that will allow you to make multiple selections.

ProfilingThe more you know about your supporters, the more targeted you can make the message.

The more targeted the message, the more response rate you will get.

Cold data

Target, Target, Target!Profile existing supporters to make the right

selections.Some of our charity clients have reported between

4% and 6% response rate.Target the right people.A series of small, highly targeted mailings will at least

replace the deceased and gone aways that you take out of your database every week.

If you don’t attract new blood, your database will die!

Data ProtectionData protection agreement must be in place.Ensure data is securely transferred.

Upload facilitiesEncrypted email.Time limited ftp.Password protected Zip file by email.

Use a strong password!Strong password examples: Weak password examples:

BRG366D1r3c7 password or passw0rd

k@7enC1#rK3//! brgdirect

g3M@1Sf$99#/zX data

*+#p@ss261oPW> karen

QUESTIONS?

Recap

Data Capture – Keep it consistentData Cleaning – Clean at least once a yearData Profiling – Know your supportersData Appending – Fill in the blanksWealth Screening – Find major donors and legacy

prospectsData Segmenting – Target your messageCold Data – Add fresh prospectsData Protection – PASSWORD!!!

THANK YOU!!