What's in a Name? The New eTapestry Name Format and Conversion.
Published
In June we released split name field functionality to new eTapestry customers and in the 7.16.0 release on August 2nd, we began rolling out the split name functionality to existing customers. You may already have it! Splitting the name into multiple fields, like First Name and Last Name, has always been one of the biggest requests we have gotten from our customers.
Since the eTapestry product was introduced, it only had a single field for name which did not follow conventional wisdom for building databases. While the original thought was that this gave flexibility to our clients, we have learned over the years that sometimes, following the conventional wisdom is a pretty smart thing to do. Let me just point out a few reasons why we are making the change now, and the positive impact it will have on your data and your organization.
· Consistent data: For example, when you create an account, you will select whether the Name Format is for an Individual, Family, or Business. When you select Individual, you enter name information in separate fields for Title, First Name, Middle Name, Last name, and Suffix. Then we automatically build the Account Name, Sort Name, and Salutations based on the configurations set by your organization. This improves consistency, even when data is being entered by different users. The Business and Family Name Formats still have a single name field, but we also automatically build the Sort Name and Salutations based on your organization’s configurations.
· Better accuracy with third party software: eTapestry integrates with several third party systems that provide some powerful data back to your organization. By having separate name parts (i.e. First Name, Last Name, etc), we can be even more accurate in matching the data with the third party system which will make the results even more effective.
· Easier data entry: Now that you are entering data into separate name fields, we can do some of your work for you! As mentioned above, once you enter the name data into the system, we will populate your salutation fields automatically, saving you time during data entry. You choose which fields you want us to use for each type of salutation and then start entering names. We take care of the rest. This helps to ensure that every salutation is filled in, so your data flowing out of eTapestry will be cleaner. No more letters that start with “Dear :”
· Easier to use no matter where you use eTapestry: Did you know eTapestry is used all over the World? Now we can customize name fields, just like we do address fields, to meet each country’s needs.
Those are a lot of good reasons, however one of the best reasons for doing this just may be a byproduct of our existing customers having to convert their existing names into multiple fields. CLEANER DATA!!!! As you work through the conversion process, we are giving you an opportunity to make sure your data is in tip-top shape. This means making corrections to accounts that have been marked incorrectly for a long time or filling in data that is missing. Cleaner data is a good thing. Cleaner data saves your organization time and money. Cleaner data means that your organization can spend more time on the mission and less time cleaning up data before you send it out to your supporters.
I must admit that for a long time I was a fan of the single name field and you will probably run across people who will try to convince you that a single name field is the way to go. However, let me tell you, they are wrong. Having multiple name fields is a good thing for the reasons I list above, and more not mentioned here, but don’t take it from me, here is what Charee from Ascension Academy has to say about it.
"As someone that inherited a database of names that were all in different formats, I was very excited that Etapestry changed the name format and even gave me a tool to convert the names the way I needed them. Once again, Etapestry and the team of developers put the customer first!"
Charee Godwin-Smith
Ascension Academy
To all of the customers over the years that have made this suggestion, we thank you. You were right and I am glad that we have made this change for you.
Since the eTapestry product was introduced, it only had a single field for name which did not follow conventional wisdom for building databases. While the original thought was that this gave flexibility to our clients, we have learned over the years that sometimes, following the conventional wisdom is a pretty smart thing to do. Let me just point out a few reasons why we are making the change now, and the positive impact it will have on your data and your organization.
· Consistent data: For example, when you create an account, you will select whether the Name Format is for an Individual, Family, or Business. When you select Individual, you enter name information in separate fields for Title, First Name, Middle Name, Last name, and Suffix. Then we automatically build the Account Name, Sort Name, and Salutations based on the configurations set by your organization. This improves consistency, even when data is being entered by different users. The Business and Family Name Formats still have a single name field, but we also automatically build the Sort Name and Salutations based on your organization’s configurations.
· Better accuracy with third party software: eTapestry integrates with several third party systems that provide some powerful data back to your organization. By having separate name parts (i.e. First Name, Last Name, etc), we can be even more accurate in matching the data with the third party system which will make the results even more effective.
· Easier data entry: Now that you are entering data into separate name fields, we can do some of your work for you! As mentioned above, once you enter the name data into the system, we will populate your salutation fields automatically, saving you time during data entry. You choose which fields you want us to use for each type of salutation and then start entering names. We take care of the rest. This helps to ensure that every salutation is filled in, so your data flowing out of eTapestry will be cleaner. No more letters that start with “Dear :”
· Easier to use no matter where you use eTapestry: Did you know eTapestry is used all over the World? Now we can customize name fields, just like we do address fields, to meet each country’s needs.
Those are a lot of good reasons, however one of the best reasons for doing this just may be a byproduct of our existing customers having to convert their existing names into multiple fields. CLEANER DATA!!!! As you work through the conversion process, we are giving you an opportunity to make sure your data is in tip-top shape. This means making corrections to accounts that have been marked incorrectly for a long time or filling in data that is missing. Cleaner data is a good thing. Cleaner data saves your organization time and money. Cleaner data means that your organization can spend more time on the mission and less time cleaning up data before you send it out to your supporters.
I must admit that for a long time I was a fan of the single name field and you will probably run across people who will try to convince you that a single name field is the way to go. However, let me tell you, they are wrong. Having multiple name fields is a good thing for the reasons I list above, and more not mentioned here, but don’t take it from me, here is what Charee from Ascension Academy has to say about it.
"As someone that inherited a database of names that were all in different formats, I was very excited that Etapestry changed the name format and even gave me a tool to convert the names the way I needed them. Once again, Etapestry and the team of developers put the customer first!"
Charee Godwin-Smith
Ascension Academy
To all of the customers over the years that have made this suggestion, we thank you. You were right and I am glad that we have made this change for you.
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08/20/2015 4:00pm EDT
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