Virtuous CRM+ has many ways to capture data which can sometimes make it a challenge to understand what option is the best for the type of data you're trying to capture. This article will provide some guidance on how to make the best decision for your data.
Glossary
Before we can talk about application of these data pieces, it's really important to understand exactly what these items are within the database.
- Tags - an internal contact management tool. Tags are never seen by donors and are meant to be used primarily with queries, filters, and automation.
- Custom Fields - place to keep contact or individual information that does not already exist in another field within Virtuous CRM+. This can be seen by donors as a merge tag in communications or submissions in a form.
- Custom Collections - a way to keep a collection of related information. Many times, used to keep historical data and can be collected via forms however, the data cannot be used as a merge tag in communications.
- Organization Groups - a way to organize contacts for donor management purposes. Can also be used to filter contacts for users in Virtuous CRM+.
Which One Do I Use?
Below are some decision trees to help you in your decision making process, in the next section, we'll talk about some exceptions to these rules.
Tags
Custom Fields
Custom Collections
Organization Groups
Exceptions
Like just about any rule, there are going to be exceptions and our decision trees above have a few. Below are some examples of important exceptions:
- Tags - Tags are incredibly useful in automations. They can be used to continue to qualify a contact for a workflow until the actions in a step have completed. The exception to the rule with tags comes in with keeping the history of information for a contact record. While the tag itself does not contain historical information, you can add a contact note at the same time that you add or remove a tag in automation to capture the date that a contact had that tag added or removed from their record.
- Custom Collections - while collections are helpful for collecting multiple possible values for a field, it is possible that you could use a custom field with a multi-select list rather than a custom field.
- Organization Groups - Organization groups can be a way to organize contacts for things other than portfolio usage (like region for example). However, for most organizations, this can be accomplished with tags which are more universally usable in queries in the database.
Need Help Cleaning Up Data?
Need help cleaning up your data? Virtuous Professional Services offers solutions to optimize your CRM data and improve data hygiene through deduplication, Pledge & Recurring Gift clean up, and data appends. These services are geared to improve your Donor Segmentation, streamline your marketing Campaigns, and ensure accurate reporting. Click here to learn more about our Professional Services offerings, or contact your Customer Success Manager to get started!