Quick solutions for updating your client database

Your client database is one of the m

ost valuable assets you own, so don't let it waste away.

Whether you use it for EDMs or eNewsletters, it's vital that your database is always up to date with your clients' most current contact details and those details can change very quickly. Here are some neat ways to manage your system.

Keep your information simple

The best way to make managing your system stress free is to keep your data simple from the start. Avoid clutter and unnecessary information to cut the amount of time you spend updating. It's also worth restricting access to your database it may be a shared resource, but it'll be hard to control accuracy if everyone is able to modify it.

Invest in standardisation

Keeping your database current can be very tricky when the information it contains isn't standardised. How can you make sure you're free of duplications or incorrect entries if you have one person as J. Smith, Jane Smith and Smith, Jane? Set up some hard and fast rules and stick to standardised data formats if you want to be able to update your details quickly and easily.

Schedule frequent reviews

To stop your database from growing out of control and losing relevance, you need to schedule frequent reviews. At least twice a year, you should go through your information and determine whether it is still relevant. If this process includes getting in touch with clients to verify their data, restrict this to once a year to avoid frustration. When you do update or make changes to an entry, always add a date to show when it was last modified.

Hire a professional data-cleaning service

If you really don't have time to manually update your database, it might be worth considering hiring a professional company to check and clean all of your data. A neglected database can become worthless within three years thanks to the high rate of churn, so this might be an investment that's worth your while.

Contact your local Snap Centre for all your marketing needs.