5 solutions to database problems: common challenges faced by publishers are tackled by the experts

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, Annual, 1997 by Lambeth Hochwald

Face it: Your database is still your greatest marketing tool. Databases not only keep us connected to our customers, they also save us money and keep us steps ahead of our competitors as we tailor customized information to readers based on their demographic profiles.

But what happens when the database you've honed for years starts to go stale? Or, what if management has no interest in shoring up systems that are quickly becoming outdated? Here are five scenarios you may have already encountered, and some help in bringing your system up to date.

Your mainframe is a dinosaur.

Your subscriber database was created decades ago, and now it's obsolete compared with what's on the market today

Not to worry, say experts."Evaluate what you have before you decide it's outmoded," says Terry Nathan, executive vice president and co-owner of The Media Services Group, a Stamford, Connecticut-based provider of administrative software, services and consulting for publishers. "I've seen people take good technology and poor database design and decide the whole system is an outdated tool"

Instead, Nathan recommends figuring out whether you have the internal resources to refuel your database in-house. If you don't, then he suggests researching companies that can help you modify your database or start from scratch.

For Robert Savett, a Merion, Pennsylvania-based database-marketing consultant, the best option is usually to hire a service bureau to do the job."They'll do a better job re-creating your database and maintaining it," he says."By outsourcing, you'll get state-of-the-art technology."

John Woods, circulation and marketing director for Soundings Publications, Inc., an Essex, Connecticut-based publisher of four titles, realized six months ago that the company's subscription fulfillment software and database had passed their prime.

"Our old system was disintegrating and our system hardware was failing," says Woods. For that reason, Woods converted his subscription fulfillment files from a flatfile system, with data stored in discrete compartments, to a relational database. This change made it possible to access data in several different ways, which in turn made it easier to prospect customers and research their buying habits.

Updating the system was critical for the company's audience of more than 200,000 names, including readers of Soundings, a consumer boating title with 85,000 paid readers, and Woodshop News (circulation 90,000)."Since our hardware was no longer manufactured, we realized that we had to move quickly to salvage our applications," he says.

Even if you are forced to update, make sure you've examined all your options first, says Tom Rocco, vice president of marketing services of Emmaus, Pennsylvania-based Rodale Press. Rodale has used a marketing database for more than eight years. It might be just as important to focus on what your technology can still do for you, instead of isolating its limitations. "Remember that just because the technology isn't state-of-the-art doesn't mean you can't do business with it," he says."There are probably a lot of cases where, from a business standpoint, the technology may be obsolete, but still usable."

It may not be as bad as you think. "Anyone who has an open system and a database that uses open-system technology has bought insurance against outdated technology," says Nathan."Software tools will allow you to move information easily from one environment to another."

Data transfers and data sharing are more complicated for those publishers who maintain their data in flat-file databases, rather than relational databases. Companies that have set up PC databases that aren't open systems may encounter difficulties and unanticipated expenses, says Nathan."Without an open system, you're faced with an expensive and messy process to convert files."

If you have a flat-file setup, be prepared for six-figure expenditures to rehab or retool your database (depending on how much needs to be done), including the possibility of investing in new system software and database and subscription fulfillment applications.

And now you're finding that management is less and less enthusiastic about your efforts--especially as budget time nears."Give your database internal publicity," says Rocco. "We want our marketing people to use it most efficiently for cross-selling and promotions. We don't want them to forget to use it--especially since it will help them target mailings and ultimately keep costs down."

Jerry Okabe, vice president of circulation at San Francisco-based Miller Freeman, says that upper management is often the last group to hear about the need for a strong database."They don't see the advantage of being proactive at making fulfillment and databases a resource," he says.

That may be because they haven't seen the file produce useful information, says Nathan. "Maybe your manager doesn't understand what databases really do," he says."On the circulation side, the proof of the strength or viability of your database is borne out in how well your promotions and campaigns have done"