8 Data Entry Standards That Will Enhance Your Customer Database
Whether you are a non-profit organization, a corporation, or a members club the most important asset you have is your client database. Having accurate and updated data will make communicating with them more effective. Every organization should have standards for data entry so that the data collected is clean, not duplicated, and ready to use.
The United States Postal Service has outlined address guidelines in Publication 28. Here are the highlights so you don’t need to go in search of it (and quite frankly, it’s dry reading!)
- Use proper or “title” case. Your clients matter - look professional. Don’t use all upper or lower case.
- Put company names in their own field, not in one of the address fields
- Only use 2 address fields – one for the main address, the other for secondary address information like Apt, Suite, Dept
- Don’t abbreviate personal names or company names (Wm vs William, Univ of Chgo)
- Use abbreviations without punctuation for directionals in addresses (123 S State St)
- Abbreviate street suffixes with no punctuation (Ave, St, Blvd, Ct, Rd, Ln)
- Spell out city names (Palos Heights, not Palos Hts)
- Use the two-character state abbreviations
Following these simple rules will save time and money. It will be easier to find and remove duplicate records, which will save postage for your mailings and make a better impression with clients. No more undeliverable mail being sent back to you!