In an interview, Carsten Fronia, the Marketing Research Manager at the SAZ-IT subsidiary, SAZ smart.net, in Garbsen, gives practical tips for users of database management. In fine cuisine, it is the taste that counts. What counts in the practice of database management? Data quality, data quality and again data quality! This always has to remain at the same level. This is important so that a forecast based on a model may also actually become reality. Meanwhile, the recipe is always being changed to suit changing tastes. In cooking jargon, this means: on the basis of my current culinary knowledge, how can I cultivate vegetable ingredients and change recipes so I can prepare a meal next week which tastes just as good or even better than today? In the information world, managers receive so-called … Continue Reading

Or what the art of cooking and database management have in common by Frédéric Cavro Hotdog stand or fine cuisine? Lunchtime special or seafood buffet? – As in the culinary arts, database management is aimed at satisfying the tastes of the target group. There is an enormous range: depending on the customer’s requirements, simple dishes or elaborate creations are produced – with or without topping. Transferred to the world of database management, this means anything is possible. Starting from standard reporting, progressing to analysis methods, such as online analytical processing (OLAP), then on to forecasts. The information “dish” produced depends on the customer’s requirements and the capacity of the expert database chef. In addition, the quality of the information … Continue Reading

by Henk Wassenaar Crossing Borders? … OK. Borderless Direct Marketing? … No way! If we look at Europe as a whole, how united are the ‘United States of Europe’ really? A great deal will still need to happen in the coming years before we can talk in terms of a united Europe. A single currency on its own does not unite a region. Cultural differences will always play a role. That is the creative challenge that demands a regional approach. But what does that mean for a geographic approach to clients? Whether it involves consumer-oriented fundraising or a B2B market approach, traditional post or e-mail, the address is always the key. And that is the main challenge in using direct marketing in an international context. The target audience needs to be defined as clearly as … Continue Reading

Today, we begin our second group of posts in our Crossing Borders in Fundraising series - Modern Database Management; posts that will appear weekly through March. Perhaps you are wondering why the image of Granny's corner store market. The answer is pretty simple, for this simple shop symbolizes what a good database should be all about - to give your client the very best service through knowledge of their constitutiency. This is the basis of every corner store, regardless of where situated. And every database built should be trying to recreate this. With every piece of information gathered, we aim to achieve better targeting and therefore request additional support. The biggest drawback of every database is the impersonal nature. Millions of names and transactions, more than any one person … Continue Reading