Segmenting Database

Gemma,

In mail, e.g. Quick letters, you find a tab that says "Segment".

You can use it to segment your list without duplication. Plug your queries in, in the order of your hierarchy. I would not add an appeal yet, you can do that later, but create output queries to check your work.


Here is a related BB Article:    https://kb.blackbaud.com/articles/Article/52570

Gemma Atkinson:

Hi All,


I am seeking the advice from this platform to see if i can tap into others that have or are going through the same segmentation issues that i am going through.


We are a High School and getting ready for our Spring Solicitation. We are focusing on Affinity areas to segment our data for example we are looking at Alumni that during their time at the school were involved in - Rugby, Rowing & The Muscial just to name a few ( the list is long ....). We have determined the heiraracy which will be 1. Musical, 2. Rugby 3. Rowing.


My challenge is we have multiple alumni/students that are involved in multiple activites i am wondering how i make sure that i am not soliciting - Jane Doe for the Musical and also her time playing Rugby.... Would the best practice be to pull the Musical Query and add the appeal so i have identified that she falls in to that catagory and when i create my Rugby query and add a field in to say "appeal does not  equal"Spring Solicitation Musical" or what ever the name of that specific appeal i have added?


I am curious to hear how you and your organization have gone about doing this in the past and what worked best for you.


Thanks 

Gemma 

When I'm trying to create segments or pull more complex lists I create a temporary attribute and in the comments put why are on the list


After the list is reviewed/cleaned up I add the appeal and either use market segment to put why on list/version or use comments on appeal to do that for tracking purposes

First, I believe there may be a current bug that prevents Quick Letters from appropriately adding Packages.


Second, you can use Quick Letters (or any Mail Parameters that have a Segment Tab) without filling in/assigning the Appeal (and Package) so you don't need to go back and try to update it later based on what was actually mailed.


Third, I'll throw my personal vote toward Joanne's post.  I prefer to use a temporary Attribute set to Allow Only One and include dates and comments.  At my last org, out of necessity (and to save my own sanity) I added the Appeal & Package to every record with the Attribute...including a Package of "Do Not Mail" for all of those who qualified for the mailing but were removed for some reason or other.  That way, when a fundraiser asked why so-and-so didn't receive the letter, I could say, "that's because you instructed me to remove that record from the mailing" or "that's because we pulled anyone who gave to the special project last year from this particular mailing"...and not have to spend time digging in to why the Appeal isn't on that record.


If you do this, you just need to Globally Add the Attribute in the hierarchical order you want.  Same as setting the order on the Segment Tab in Mail.