Database Management: Working With Contact Information

These two tools can help keep your database up to date.

CAPTURE CONTACT INFORMATION
Although the Internet is a great prospecting tool, you still need to re-type contact information into another marketing database. Windows does allow you to copy information from one program (such as Internet Explorer) and paste it into another program (such as a contact management program). However, it’s cumbersome to format and then transfer simple name and address information between programs because you have to copy and paste each separate line.

AddressGrabber™ offers one solution. This handy Windows utility is bundled with Stamps.com Internet Postage™ software to transfer address information onto an envelope. An upgraded version allows you to take contact information from one program and transfer it to another one. Just highlight the contact information in an e-mail message, on a Web page, or in a text document directly into your address book of choice without retyping. AddressGrabber is even smart enough to know where to put most elements without being told. This ability to interpret different parts of an address and transfer the data makes this simple program very useful.

Many programs provide a way to export and import data. However, these import functions are cumbersome and are really designed to move a list of contact information into or out of the program. On the other hand, you can use AddressGrabber to work with addresses one at a time. When you install AddressGrabber, the program automatically detects all of your address books and puts them into a movable toolbar that you can resize or hide to fit your desktop.

To capture an address, highlight the address information and bring up the AddressGrabber software by using the toolbar or icon. It “figures out” which information belongs in the correct fields of your address book: Name, title, company, address, phone number, e-mail, and so on. You can verify the information before it’s transferred. When you select “transfer,” the new contact information is added to your address book of choice.

We began using the program with the contacts in Microsoft Outlook ® as the destination program. We’ve been able to transfer addresses from e-mails and Web pages effortlessly. We’re impressed with the software’s ability to understand the address information and put it into the correct fields. A similar program from the same company called ListGrabber™ allows you to transfer lists of addresses, such as directory listings. We scanned in a directory page, converted the text using OCR (optical character recognition) software, highlighted the text address, and then transferred the data to Outlook. This process has reduced the amount of typing necessary to get address lists into a database.

AddressGrabber can also move information among different address books — say, from Outlook to ACT! ® and back again. Some of the common programs supported by AddressGrabber include ACT!, GoldMine ®, Maximizer™, Outlook, Lotus Organizer, Word, WordPerfect, Excel, and Outlook Express.

AddressGrabber is available in three versions that provide different levels of flexibility. The Basic version allows you to choose just one destination address book program. The Standard package extends this to multiple applications and address books. The Business version includes additional support for QuickBooks, along with Federal Express and United Parcel Service shipping applications. This is one of those utilities that does what it does very well.

GOOD CONTACTS
Once you capture contact information, keeping it up to date becomes equally important. Doing this can be a full-time job — especially with e-mail addresses. GoodContacts® is a Web-based service that can help manage the process of keeping your contact information current.

GoodContacts software works with contact information in Outlook and ACT! To update your existing contact information, select the individuals you want to verify within your database. The software inserts a snapshot of the existing contact information into an e-mail template. Personalize the e-mail and then send it to all of the contacts you selected.

When the contacts receive the e-mail, they can review the information listed in their “business card” and respond by clicking a button embedded in the e-mail to confirm that the information is correct or that it needs to be modified. If the information needs to be updated, the contact is sent to a secure Web form to modify the outdated information. No address information is stored on the Web server. The changes are put into an e-mail that’s sent back to you. The desktop software detects this e-mail when you receive it, processes it, and automatically updates your database with the new information. The software also identifies bad e-mail addresses, tracks e-mails that bounce back, and tells you whether contacts received the message and whether they read it — even if they don’t respond.

You can use the same process for handling new contact information. Let’s say that you receive an e-mail from someone not currently in your database and you want to add their address. Flag this e-mail and the GoodContacts software will send the same type of e-mail described above and ask the recipient to provide the additional contact information. A free two-week trial is available.