BRIEFING PAPER 14
Databases and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
This briefing paper explains what a database is and how it differs from a CRM (Customer Relationship
Management system). It also covers the steps to implementing a data management system and looks at
methods that could be used to record your organisation activities with your stakeholders (partners /
funders), membership (front line organisations you support), staff / volunteers and beneficiaries.
Introduction
All organisations are required to collect information on a wide range of activities; it often feels like we
spend more and more time processing data than delivering the activities. The diversity of our
organisations’ activities and funding streams is a complex task that requires a significant amount of time
to manage. All stakeholders that we work with have different needs and often require different
information reporting that can and does change as the nature of our sector changes. With reductions in
funding and core staffing many organisations are turning to technology to help them work more
effectively with fewer resources, one such technology being rolled out is a ‘database’.
What is a database?
It is a computer based software application (program) that allows input of information in a related and
structured way for processing and reporting. There are many technologies and terminologies used when
investigating the world of databases and often experts will interchange the terminology and disagree on
the best solutions.
A typical example of a database solution could combine an accounts program like Sage or the contacts
you may have in Microsoft Outlook. You may have a database as a list of information in a spreadsheet or
use a simple database like Microsoft Access or ‘Base’ in the Open Office suite.
What is the difference between a CRM and a database?
In short they are the same core system. A CRM is a database that has been designed to track
interactions / interventions between an organisation and its ‘customers’. A CRM will store details on
organisations / projects we work with and support, it will provide an effective way to communicate
electronically and allow us to record activities that people / organisations have participated in and most
importantly allow us to create reports quickly and dynamically to evidence our impact. Like most
solutions CRMs have evolved from the private commercial sector but are being developed to reflect the
needs of civil society organisations. We will use the term database to mean a CRM solution.
There are many proprietary and open source software applications that can be deployed as an effective
CRM system. This article identifies the needs of the organisation and an implementation process rather
comparing specific vendor products. Get the process right then the products can be selected later.
What can an effective database solution do for your organisation?

Increase efficiency in data processing

Improve communications with staff, volunteers, funders etc…

Increase membership satisfaction

Improve management decision making

Reduce wastage of / maximise resources
It can achieve this by providing:

Centralised data storage solution

Secure data storage with multi-level security access

Reduces duplication / conflicting information

Event tracking

Donations and gift aid tracking

Integration with current information systems

Automated processes and work flow patterns

Effective communication (email / eNewsletters etc…)

The facility to track / measure communication / interactions / interventions with stakeholders

Greater co-ordination between staff

Increase support for volunteers

To have a referral and signposting facility

Ability to create standard / ad-hoc and dynamic reports

Can be internal or Internet based

Scalable (can be extended to meet future needs)

Measure effectiveness of outcomes and social impact of activities
Considerations
There is no one size fits all! Some organisations are similar but they all have unique elements that need
to be addressed. Even an off the shelf solution will need development.

You will need an internal project manager with good ICT to ensure the project delivers against
the briefing / scoping documents. This person may not have database skills to develop the
system but should be able to communicate with internal staff and external developers. For more
information see http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/projectmanagementpeopleside

There will be set-up costs (hardware & software). For registered charities see
http://www.ctxchange.org/ for discounted software and hardware. For server hardware see
http://www.serversdirect.co.uk/. An open source CRM system will be free to download although
like any other system may need customisation of screens and development of new reports.

There can be significant costs associated with ‘cleaning’ and moving data from any system you
may currently have into a new one (data migration). This is not a step to take lightly!

With any new database there will be a need for phased training for administrators and end users,
and on-going maintenance / support contract to ensure developments / security and reliability.
Where to start?
You are embarking on an important journey that will need significant planning and resources if you are to
complete it successfully. Setting aside time at the start to include realistic staffing resources and clearly
defined milestones, using measuring and monitoring techniques – the skills used to track funding or any
other management project are just as important and applicable in your database journey..
Stage 1 – Current State Analysis: Create your steering group to identify; how do we currently collect and
process our data? How do we communicate with stakeholders and beneficiaries? How do we maintain
our information? How, when and what do we report? What are our needs? Where are our data
processing issues?
Stage 2 – Integration: What systems do we currently use? What do we want from a database?
Technology is just the enabler – not the primary solution!
Stage 3 – Desired State Analysis: Identifying your needs, project goals resulting in a clear direction and
identify gaps
Stage 4 – Software selection: Mapping your needs against products, looking for developers and support,
taking references, site visits to other similar organisations and defining a criterion for selection.
Stage 5 – Project Management: Create your plan to manage the development and implementation of
your database.
Stage 6 – Development: Working with developers to ensure the customisation of the database meets
your requirements. Look at existing data, how does this map to the new system? Does data need to be
cleaned? Should any additional data items be gathered?
Stage 7 – Implementation: Change management, staff training, parallel implementation, review,
modifications.
Stage 8 – Go Live! : But this is only the start! Review if the organisation is comfortable with the system
and new workflows. Do reports need to be tweaked or added? Are processes now simpler? Are we more
informed about the needs of our clients? Are we more responsive and adaptable in service delivery?
“A journey of a thousand miles starts with the first step”.
There are a series of eight further briefing sheets (and other related templates) which cover each of the
stages listed above to plan and implement a new CRM system. These will be available to download from
www.ictchampions.org.uk/downloads.
Also see articles on the ICT Knowledgebase about this topic - http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/crm
and http://www.ictknowledgebase.org.uk/databasemarket.
Regional ICT Champions
www.ictchampions.org.uk
There is an ICT Champion in every region, a trusted expert who can answer frequently asked questions
about ICT and how it can help the third sector. The ICT Champions website tells you who they are and
offers short, jargon-free answers, useful links, factsheets, sample policies to download and a calendar of
ICT-related events and workshops.
Written by:
Issued date:
ICT Champions
January 2011
Creative Commons License: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales.
(For details see: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ )