Claire McDonough, Head of National Accounts
Just like tidying up your physical space, maintaining a clean and organized PAC database is essential for effective advocacy and engagement with your supporters. Here are five tips to help you spring clean your PAC database:
Tidy Your Contacts: Start by reviewing and updating the contact information of your supporters. Ensure that email addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses are current and accurate. Your HR/Membership file may be synching and sending new hires/members, but when was the last time you archived retirees and people that have left your organization? Run a query to find out if you have members whose emails are bouncing and create a plan with your membership team to acquire updated information.
Sweep Out the Cobwebs: Does that list of members who attended the 2018 Convention still provide any value? How about the 25 draft emails you never sent? Are there fields that you don’t even know what they are? It’s a great time to look through your custom fields, lists, distribution groups, email folders, tags, etc., and get rid of anything that isn’t providing strategic value.
Remove Duplicate Records: Duplicate records can clutter your database and lead to confusion and potential compliance issues. Use your PAC software data dedupe tool or manually review your database to identify and merge duplicate records.
Refresh Engagement Activities: Update information about supporter interactions and engagement activities, such as event attendance or advocacy participation. This data offers valuable insights into their engagement levels and can inform personalized outreach strategies.
Commit to Keeping Things Neat: Establish a plan for ongoing data hygiene to maintain the cleanliness and accuracy of your PAC database. Schedule regular data audits and updates to ensure that your database remains up-to-date and reliable.
By dedicating time and effort to spring clean your PAC database, you can enhance the efficiency of your solicitation efforts, strengthen relationships with your donors, and advance your PAC's mission. Seize the opportunity to refresh your database this spring and pave the way for greater impact and success in your PAC and advocacy initiatives!
If you don’t have the time, or data is not your thing, reach out to claire@sagac.com. Sagac is happy to bring the mops and brooms to help you tackle the job and create an ongoing plan for your database maintenance.