10 tough decisions donor data migration decisions (webinar hosted by bloomerang, presented by gary...

10 Decisionsyou will face with any donor data migration

Presents

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Our Agenda

1. Overview

2. Some ground rules

3. Data migration - the process, the plan

4. 10 unavoidable decisions

– And what to do about them

5. Takeaways and Q&A

Please participate in our online poll while we get organized for today’s event.

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Nonprofit Data ServicesFounded in 2013 by professionals with 20+ years of technology and data

experience with Fortune 500 companies, the federal government, and nonprofits

Offices in Washington, DC and Seattle, WA metro areas

www.thirdsectorlabs.com

LEVEL 1:ASSESSMENTS AND

CLEANING

LEVEL 2:DATA MANAGEMENT,

ENRICHMENT, MIGRATION

LEVEL 3:WAREHOUSING,

MINING, VISUALIZATION

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Gary CarrPresident, Co-founder

[email protected]/in/gpfcarr

Let’s get started

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10 Decisionsyou will face in any donor data migration

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No decision is still a decision

Highly degradable … just like people’s

lives

As in “unavoidable”

There is always risk when you

move something

Data confound us … why?

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”• Sherlock Holmes

“Data is the new oil.”• Attributed to many people

“Data is not the new oil, but instead a new kind of resource entirely.”• Jer Thorp, in a Harvard Business Review article

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Confoundkon-FOUND, v

- To perplex or amaze - To through into

confusion or disorder

Here’s the heart of the problem …

“Personally, the NSA collecting data on me freaks me out. And I’m from the generation that wants to put a GPS in their kids so I always know where they are.”• Joss Whedon, screenwriter, director

We are feeling overwhelmed … big data = big confusion

What data do we need … and what can we ignore?

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Answering this question …

“What donor data do we need … and what can we ignore?”

... sums up the purpose of today’s webinar.

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You are here today because …

1. You are in the midst of a CRM migration and you are looking for insights

2. You have a CRM migration coming up

3. You have completed a CRM data migration recently and you are still wrestling with some problems

4. Data inspires you!– Then you must want a job with Third Sector Labs

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Let’s set some ground rules

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“Never tear down a bridge before you know why it was built. It may be your only means of retreat.”

- Seasoned general - Successful technologist

Our data migration ground rules

1. Your donor relationships depend on data – all of them. Therefore you need your donor data to be as “complete” as possible.

2. “Complete” = what you will actually use.

3. Your shiny new CRM represents your fundraising future, NOT your past.

4. Not making a decision is still making a decision.

5. All data migrations start with an understanding of the process, and they require a plan.

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The process and the plan

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It’s data moving time

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The technical process

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This is what we

do!!

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The technical process … really

1. ANALYSIS 2. MAPPING 3. DATA EXTRACTION

4. Clean now or later?

5. Parse now or later?

6. NEW DATABASE CONFIGURATION7. Test file8. Re-configure

database

9. CREATE DATA IMPORT FILES 10. IMPORT 11. Test 12. Re-import

13. Test14. Remaining cleaning, parsing

15. Create archives

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Steps most people focus on

Creating a plan

Actually, your data experts will build the plan

You want to plan ahead and be prepared … and ask better questions.

Start with a checklist

Here’s one from the Third Sector website.http://3rdsectorlabs.com/resources/data-migration-checklist/

Checklists

10 unavoidable decisions

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#1 Do we need data governance policies?

(by the way, what is “data governance?”)

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Data governance

What’s that?

Correct answer

“Yes!”Why?

Without policies and standards, you won’t be able to make the necessary decisions to complete your data migration.

There will be too many unanswered questions.

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Examples

1. Purpose– For what purposes do we store donor / constituent data?– What defines a “complete” donor record?

2. Processes– What are our processes for data gathering / input?– How frequently (and on what schedule) will we clean / update / enrich

our donor data?

3. Storage– How long do we store old records?– When does a prospect stop being a prospect and just become ‘bad

data’?– How many instances of an address or phone # or email do we store?

4. Security– What are our data security standards?

5. Other … compliance? Systems integration?

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#2 How many years of donor data do we migrate?

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Wrong answer

The data hoarder in us all says:

“Bring it all!”

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Correct answer

(Answering a question with a question)

When was the last time you logged into your CRM and studied donors or gifts older than 3 years?

“Start with 3 years”

Justify anything else with specific use cases … not fear of losing data

Archive the rest

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#3 What about lapsed donors – do import them too?

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Hint

• This is a communications / fundraising problem. • NOT a data problem

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????

Correct answer: “It depends”

Option A: “Segment your lapsed donors upon import.”• For newer, retention-based

CRMS like Bloomerang

Why?You need a separate outreach strategy for lapsed donors:- 2 or 3

communications- New messaging,

targeted- Anyone responding

goes into the new CRM

- Purge non-respondents

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Option B: “Do not import lapsed donors.”• If you can use your old

system• To manage the targeted

outreach campaign mentioned on the previous slide

Why?The majority of your lapsed donors are probably lost- Don’t muck up your

new CRM engine with a bunch of gunk

- Only bring over the lapsed donors that you re-engage

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#4 What about data that we can’t / don’t import?

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Wrong answer

• “Keep trying … there’s got to be a way to get it all in there.”

• “But it all fits in the old system!”

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Correct answer

Why?• Legacy data may be

poorly formatted• Corrupt• Doesn’t fit new CRM

data structure• Doesn’t fit with new

data governance policies

• You want to be able to get to it later … if you need it

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• No, not in an actual file cabinet …

• Microsoft Excel, Access … something simple

“Archive it.”

#5We have a couple of ad hoc text fields with lots of notes – what do we do about them?

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Wrong answer

“We need text fields in our new CRM database.”

“You never know when we may need the flexibility.”

L Name F Name Gift Notes

Abrams Sally $500 Born 3/4/74Married, DaveOne child, CindyMichigan StateAttended galaReferred Dave Smith

David Randel $250 Has vacation home in FloridaWife, CherylSubscriber to newsletter

Forresta Jacque 4/17 – spoke about giving; made pledge5/14 – followed up about gift pledge

Nevers Alicia $50 Only send emails; do not direct mail

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Correct answer

“Save it, and parse it …

later”

Why?• Don’t let a parsing

project interfere with a data migration … it will slow you down.

• The text data needs analysis.

• The parsing potential needs to be assessed against your CRM database.

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What is parsing?

1. Analyze fields2. Look for opportunities

to break data into multiple fields

3. Export to suitable tool … (Excel often works)

4. Separate the data in a new file

5. Map the new fields to the database

6. Re-import data in the new file format

L Name F Name Gift Notes

Abrams Sally $500 Born 3/4/74Married, DaveOne child, CindyMichigan StateAttended galaReferred Dave Smith

David Randel $250 Has vacation home in FloridaWife, CherylSubscriber to newsletter

Forresta Jacque 4/17 – spoke about giving; made pledge5/14 – followed up about gift pledge

Nevers Alicia $50 Only send emails; do not direct mail

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The result

L Name F Name Gift D.O.B. Spouse Children

Alma Mater

Subscriber

Comm Choice

Soft Credit

Notes

Abrams Sally $500 3/4/74 Dave Cindy Michigan State

All Dave Smith

David Randel $250 Cheryl Yes All Has vacation home in Florida

Forresta Jacque All 4/17 – spoke about giving; made pledge5/14 – followed up about gift pledge

Nevers Alicia $50 Email

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Ground rule reminder:

“Complete” = what you will use

#6When should our data be cleaned, before or after the data migration?

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Data hygiene polling data

29%

13%

4%

53%

When was the last time you cleaned your donor data?

3 months6 months12 monthsNot sure

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*Data from TSL 2014 webinar attendees


Rule of thumb: “Before migration.”

Why?Only bring over clean data:- Apply data

governance- Normalize- De-dupe- Purge

Post import:- Append- Parse

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Exception to the rule: “After migration.”

Why?• If the plan calls for it• If too many records

are co-mingled in a larger database … uncertainty about record ownership

• If there is migration urgency

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#7We are three months into our data migration project and we just figured out that some data fields won’t translate to the new CRM. What do we do now?

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Don’t panic!

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This is not uncommon

1. This usually occurs after analysis, data mapping, CRM configuration and initial testing is underway.

2. Then … Ah-ha!!3. Some fields in the new CRM are not interpreting

data the way you expected .4. How do you know?

– Reports look wrong– Data seems missing– Donor profiles appear incomplete

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What to do

1. Stop the imports2. Identify data gaps and mistakes3. Re-map

– This can be tedious

4. Re-configure the new CRM database– Do you need new or custom fields?

5. Create new test files– Does the problem lie with the test file itself?

6. Then re-run your test imports

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But be open minded

• If you can’t figure out a way for the new CRM to accommodate the old data, you probably don’t need it … and you were trying to hold onto it for the wrong reasons.

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The new CRM represents your future, not your past!

• Is the real issue that the old database is suffering from bad data management practices that the new CRM won’t tolerate?

#8We can’t agree on what data to keep and what to purge. Can’t we just bring it all over to the new CRM and decide later?

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Correct answer

“No!”Why?

• You are stuck on one or more data governance policies that you don’t want to follow.

• Work through the problem.

• Remember: archiving data is your piece of mind.

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No decision IS a decision

#9Once the migration is completed – and our data is rock solid - who is responsible for data quality?

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Potential answers

1. Tech team or dba (database administrator)

2. Marketing / communications

3. Fundraising4. Consultant

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(Just don’t expect this level of enthusiasm)

Correct answer

“Any of them”

Why?• All are good choices• Depends on your org

structure

What is necessary:1. Accountability2. Budget3. Manage data quality

on its own schedule

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What do we know about data quality?

“If your data isn’t getter better, it’s getting worse” -- TSL data scientist

“What! Why?”

-- audience

Data quality vs. data degradation

“Data degrades”

• What does that mean?

Data degradationCause #1: your organization

– Lack of data entry standards

– Unskilled data entry workers

– Common mistakes

– Record fragmentation

Cause #2: the technology– Multiple, disparate systems

– System upgrades

– Integration, processing errors

– Sheer volume of data

Cause #3: those darned donors … life!– Change in address … every 5 to 7 years

– Change in jobs … 9 to 11 jobs in a lifetime

– Family / life event … divorce rate, birth of children, death … what else?

That’s why data quality management requires

Three necessary ingredients:

1. Accountability

2. Budget

3. Manage data quality on its own schedule

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#10Do we need a data consultant to complete our CRM migration, or can we just rely on our new vendor?

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At the risk of sounding self-serving …

“Probably”

(unless you have in-house staffing)

Why?

• You need one or more resources who can:– Extract legacy data– Clean, normalize and

purge– Create import files for

the new CRM– Create post-migration

archives

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New CRM vendor tech resources

• Want to receive a clean data set• Configure the CRM database• Import the clean data• Get done as quickly as possible

Be sure to review a plan - including roles and responsibilities - with your new vendor.

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Data migrations require a plan

Who is making sure you break down silos …

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To achieve one complete view?

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Aha!Here she is!

Desired outcome of making these unavoidable decisions

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There are many

1. Clean data2. Future focused3. No wasted money on per-record SaaS costs4. No wasted time due to bad data clogging up

systems, exports, etc.5. Improved fundraising results6. Better donor relationships

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Remember … even with a new CRM

garbage in, garbage out

In conclusion

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Take-aways

1. Understand the CRM data migration process2. Identify the key decisions that will be made

along the way3. Discuss pros and cons of decision options4. Have a sense of preparedness and control over

your next data migration project

How we can help

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Data basics • Assessments, hygiene,

management

Data intermediates• Migrations, integrations, security

Data advanced• Warehousing, mining, analytics,

visualizations

Gary CarrPresident, Co-founder

ThirdSectorLabs.com [email protected]

linkedin.com/in/gpfcarr

For your time and attendance …

and …

a special thanks to our host

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Thank you!

We’d like to hear from you!

Please submit your questions…

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Q & A