After a long and hard-fought campaign, it's finally over. The votes have been tallied and your candidate has won (or lost). But what do you do with all of the data that you've amassed over the course of the campaign? How do you make sure that it's properly organized and preserved? The data you generated is an incredibly valuable asset.
In this post, we share steps to ensure you unlock its full longterm value.
Collect Data From Consultants And Vendors
Most campaigns rely on a team of consultants and vendors to assist with everything from fundraising to voter contact. These outside teams generate valuable data in the process. While they may not have shared that with you during the campaign – instead giving you topline reports – it’s essential that you ask them for the data they collected or produced about individual supporters and voters.
Clean Up Your Data
Next, you need to clean up your campaign’s data to ensure it is accurate and reliable. This will make it easier to access, analyze, and use in the future.
- Remove or consolidate duplicate entries.
- Delete extraneous information that is no longer needed.
- Make sure all of your data is formatted consistently. (Example: “VA” or “Virginia”)
- Spot check the data for accuracy.
Organize Your Data With A CRM
Contact relationship management (CRM) software is an essential tool for organizing and maintaining your campaign’s data. Not only will storing all of your contact information in one place keep it safe and organized, it will also make it easier to access later on and integrate with other software like email platforms and text messaging tools.
Backup Your Data
Always keep a backup copy of your campaign data separate from the CRM. Store this file on a physical hard drive as well as in the cloud with Dropbox or Google Drive.
Conclusion
Think of all of the resources – both dollars and time – spent on your campaign. Its most important byproduct is the data generated. Now is the time to make sure it is organized, saved, and ready to use again.
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