Constituent Contact Information – Ready For Your Next Mailing?
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Did you see Rachel Nigro’s post a few months ago, where she outlined five reasons she loves using appeal mailings in Altru? After reading and applying the great information Rachel provided, I came up with some thoughts of my own. Even when we’ve made use of all the great features available in Altru appeal mailings, how can we make sure our mailings are as effective as possible?
And I realized what the answer is: accurate contact information! The quality of our communications depends on the information we start collecting long before we ever decide to send a mailing to constituents.
So, what key aspects of a constituent record can you use to enhance your mailings? Keep the following in mind!
1. Address Information
2. Name Formats
Many patrons pay close attention to how they are addressed in your communications. Make sure your organization has some clear guidelines about how constituents should be addressed. You will also need some clear procedures on how to update the record if a constituent has a specific preference. You can set Default Name Format options, but those will not always apply to every constituent. Pay attention to the Name Format options whenever you create a new record, or update a record after a major life event. Updates are easy to make, and patrons appreciate being addressed properly.
And I realized what the answer is: accurate contact information! The quality of our communications depends on the information we start collecting long before we ever decide to send a mailing to constituents.
So, what key aspects of a constituent record can you use to enhance your mailings? Keep the following in mind!
1. Address Information
Make sure you’re using the address fields to their full capacity. The Do not send mail to this address checkbox, valid dates, and seasonal dates all ensure that your addresses are used when they are active and valid. The Address Type field (or Email Type field, if we’re talking about emails) can be used to make sure you understand the purpose of a specific address. Carefully consider which address or email type you’ll use for each patron mailing. Consistency will ensure the appropriate addresses are used in each mailing your organization sends.
2. Name Formats
Many patrons pay close attention to how they are addressed in your communications. Make sure your organization has some clear guidelines about how constituents should be addressed. You will also need some clear procedures on how to update the record if a constituent has a specific preference. You can set Default Name Format options, but those will not always apply to every constituent. Pay attention to the Name Format options whenever you create a new record, or update a record after a major life event. Updates are easy to make, and patrons appreciate being addressed properly.
3. Mail Preferences
As an Arts & Cultural organization, you have a lot of different departments that may be communicating with your patrons. And those patrons may have different preferences depending on the type of mailing they’ll be receiving. The constituent record in Altru has an area specifically for these special mailing preferences. Whether it’s appeals, event invitations, reminders, or acknowledgements, you can record which address type (mail or email) is appropriate for each event. You can also indicate whether a patron should not receive communication at all. Accurately setting mail preferences is a small step that can make a big difference to your patrons!
As an Arts & Cultural organization, you have a lot of different departments that may be communicating with your patrons. And those patrons may have different preferences depending on the type of mailing they’ll be receiving. The constituent record in Altru has an area specifically for these special mailing preferences. Whether it’s appeals, event invitations, reminders, or acknowledgements, you can record which address type (mail or email) is appropriate for each event. You can also indicate whether a patron should not receive communication at all. Accurately setting mail preferences is a small step that can make a big difference to your patrons!
If you are interested in learning more about constituent contact information and building appeal mailings, the Blackbaud University course Altru: Effective Communication discusses this and many other topics regarding corresponding with your constituents and patrons.
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ARCHIVED | Blackbaud Altru® Tips and Tricks
04/05/2017 3:21pm EDT
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For even more related to accurate contact information - check out these recent blogs as well:
Get Healthy (Data)! - https://community.blackbaud.com/blogs/60/2952
Data Hygiene: Do you even know my name? - https://community.blackbaud.com/blogs/60/3119
Data Hygiene: Go where you wanna go - https://community.blackbaud.com/blogs/60/3197