Top tips for successful data entry projects

February 19, 2019 by Christine Frith
Top tips for successful data entry projects

Data entry is, admittedly, one of our less glamorous services but it’s an essential task for many of our clients. Hour Hands Co-Founder, Liz Goscomb, describes a recent case study and gives her top tips on how to achieve a successful data entry project.

Marketing and PR campaigns require an accurate and up-to-date contact list to be successful, so often clients will ask us to gather and check contact details prior to launch.

While all projects are different, this recent data entry project shows the typical process that we follow.

Case study: PR Company

Our PR client needed an accurate database of contacts so that they could send details of an industry award to relevant companies and organisations.

Often we are required to pull the data together from scratch, drawing from resources such as industry directories and other online information. On this occasion the database was already in place but hundreds of old records required careful checking and updating. 

As a starting point we worked systematically through the database, checking each company’s website to ensure that they met our client’s criteria for this mailing. Following each check, we created a relevant entry on the database.

Once this initial check was completed, we telephoned each company to check the information with them directly. As well as ensuring that the company met the criteria, this also meant that we were able to get a named point of contact to send information to. Each successful call was logged on the database to show that the company had been contacted and that the contact and address details had been checked.

As a result of this piece of work:

How to complete data entry projects successfully

Hour Hands Co-Founder, Liz Goscomb, shares her top three tips for success when completing a data entry project.

  1. The internet is a great resource for compiling data or doing a first check but obtaining extra information that isn’t available online will make your database more useful and valuable. Making telephone calls is the best way to check details are up to date, so a friendly and professional telephone manner is important.
  2. Outdated information cannot be used, so be sure to update your database at every step of the process.
  3. You need to have excellent research skills and be resourceful. Attention to detail and a systematic approach are vital when updating records and revisiting data until you can validate it.

If you have a data entry project and you need some help, contact us for a no-obligation chat about your requirements.