Novi's Group feature is a great way to segment your database into groups that have certain commonalities - whether it's member type, location, the same custom field values, etc.
Groups have six main purposes:
To sync to MailChimp or Constant Contact for email marketing
To lock down content (e.g. blog/news categories, static webpages, etc.)
To lock down certain pricing (e.g. event tickets, products, etc.)
To create a directory on your website
To share custom reports with non-admin users
To survey individuals for NPS
Use Novi Groups as a quick and easy built-in report! Also, bulk register attendees for events as an admin from groups!
Note: Custom Reports offer a wider variety of additional column options. When in need of a detailed report with specific data such as address fields split into separate columns, primary contact information, etc. Novi recommends using the Custom Report feature instead of the Groups functionality.
Quick Links:
Create New Group
To create a Group:
Go to Members > Groups in the left navigation.
On the Groups screen, click the Add Group button in the upper right-hand corner.
You can also copy an existing Group!
Go to Members > Groups in the left navigation.
On the main Groups screen, locate the group and at the end of its row, click the arrow in the Action column.
Then select Copy Group.
From there, rename the new group and edit the setup as needed (more info below).
Once the group has been created, there are two different approaches to the setup: Limit to Specific Records or Conditions.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Each group must be built on "Limit to Specific Records" OR using Conditions, but both "Limit to Specific Records" and Conditions cannot be used at the same time.
Below are some tools to help determine which is correct for the scenario. As always, if help is needed please reach out to Novi's support team & we're happy to assist.
Limit to Specific Records
This is the fastest way to create a one-off group in Novi. Simply toggle the "Limit to Specific Records" toggle to "On" and select any records to be included in the group.
The approach does require admins to manually add and remove records from group. Therefore, this may not be the ideal approach for larger groups.
Conditions
Creating a group with conditions can be a more flexible approach. If unfamiliar with creating conditions, search for "conditions" in our help section for a variety of articles with more information.
Group condition options are listed in sections:
Member Fields and Parent Member Fields - Specific pre-existing fields in Novi, such as address, member type, open balance, etc. See "Member Field and Parent Member Field conditions available" below for a list of available fields.
Custom Fields and Parent Member Custom Fields - Applicable custom fields created by the association.
Customer Activities - A list of activity types that appear on a record's activity timeline that can be pulled based on "days ago" conditions.
Events - A list of all non-recurring events that can be pulled based on "Registered" or "Not Registered" conditions as well as "Attended" or "Not Attended" conditions.
Note: Groups will pull attendees, not purchasers. Guest registrations will not be included because they are not linked to a member record.
Product Purchases - A list of ecommerce products that can be pulled based on "Has Purchased" (not including canceled orders; both fulfilled or open status apply) or "Has Not Purchased" conditions.
Note: If the purchaser was not logged in (i.e. they were a guest), they will not be included in the Group.
Subscriptions - A list of subscription products based on the number of days ago of the subscription expiration dates.
To search for a condition:
Click into the Conditions section of a group.
From there, a dropdown will appear, presenting all of condition options.
Additionally, keywords can be searched in condition box to easily filter/find a specific condition.
Here is an example of a Product Purchase condition:
Member Field and Parent Member Field Conditions Available
Account Created Date - Days Ago, or Specific Date
Application Date - Days Ago, or Specific Date (if using application feature)
Auto-Pay
Billing Address City, State, Zip & Country
Credentials
Has a Headshot or Logo
Has a <Special Offer> (This will reflect the special offer name set in Association Settings)
Has a User Account
Has Member Benefits (This will include any record in your database that is currently receiving benefits, both dues-paying and inheriting records.)
Is A Person
Is an Instructor
Is User in Role (Admin, Limited, Regular)
Job Title
Last Login - Days Ago (The group will be updated as soon as the user logs in, as well as nightly. People who have never logged in will have a null value. Removing or changing the user account will reset the Last Login date to a null value. Note: A user can stay logged in for days, or even up to several weeks at a time, so we recommend entering a value of 30 days or more.)
Member Since Date - Days Ago, or Specific Date
Member Type
Membership Expiration - Days Ago (A positive number would identify members that expired in the past. A negative number of days would project members who are scheduled to expire in the future.)
Membership Expiration Date
Membership Status (Options: Non-Member, Prospect, Pending, Current, Grace Period, Expired, or Inheriting)
Novi API Feed Status (if applicable - API Feed)
Open Balance (Refers to all open invoices for a member record, plus their sub-companies and staff.)
Open Dues Balance (Refers to the balance on open dues invoices created within Novi, for the member record only. It does not include invoices created in QuickBooks.)
Original Join Date - Days Ago (This is a field for tracking when a member first joined. If there has been a lapse in membership, this date will be different from the Current Membership Since date.)
Original Join Date - Specific Date (This is a field for tracking when a member first joined. If there has been a lapse in membership, this date will be different from the Current Membership Since date.)
Overdue Balance (Refers to all past-due invoices for a member record, plus their sub-companies and staff.)
Overdue Dues Balance (Refers to the balance on past-due membership dues invoices created within Novi, for the member record only. It does not include invoices created in QuickBooks.)
Prefix and Suffix
Shipping Address City, State, Zip, Country & County/Parish
Fields related to seats (if using seat-based membership types):
Assigned Seats
Unassigned Seats
Total Seats
Group Beneficiaries
Don't forget to also determine which group beneficiaries should be in the group. For example, if pulling a group of companies, should their staff also be in the group?
Group List View Columns
Once the group has been created, remember that the columns in the group member list are driven by the gear icon in the top right corner. To add new columns to a group member list, click the gear and select additional columns to display.
Group Member List Filter
You'll also see a filter on the group's Members tab that includes 3 options:
Show Beneficiaries - This option will default to Primary Group Members only.
If your group includes beneficiaries and you would like to see their statuses as well, switch this filter to All (or Beneficiary Members).
Email Sync Status - This will allow you to filter the group members list by those who have sync statuses of Up To Date, N/A, Failed, or Processing. You can select more than one.
Do Not Send Marketing Emails - This allows you to filter the group member list by those who have "Do Not Send Marketing Emails" set to True, False, or Any.
Default Filters:
Group Category
There are several uses for groups in Novi, so keep groups list organized by utilizing Categories.
When creating a new group, select corresponding category(ies) in the Categories field.
The categories available are based on pre-determined categories created by admins in Novi and are located in the sidebar under the Members section.
Archived Groups
Why Archive a Group?
There is no limit to the number of groups that can be created in Novi. Any group built with conditions is dynamically calculating and updating, often daily. That's a lot of processing power that could be sent to running reports, merging records, or other background updates that keep your system running smoothly instead.
Archiving groups means a faster, more powerful Novi. Plus a way to clean up that long groups list without having to delete anything.
How Does a Group Get Archived?
Novi groups move from a status of Active to Archived in two ways.
1) Manually by admins going to Actions > Archive while editing a group
2) Automatically by Novi after a long period of inactivity*
* Not all groups will be auto-archived, see below for details.
Auto-Archive Conditions
Groups will NOT be archived by Novi if they are:
Synced to Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Higher Logic, or Forj
Used for access in API or SSO Clients
Used for Blog visibility, Committees, Directories, Ecommerce visibility, Event or Event Ticket visibility/ability to purchase, NPS, Page visibility, Report sharing, or Secure file access
If they do not meet any of the above, groups WILL be archived by Novi if they:
Have a Last Used Date greater than 90 days
Reactivate an Archived Group
1) Go to Members > Segments > Groups
2) Update the filter to Group Status = Archived
3) Find the group and select Unarchive from the Action column
OR, open the group and select Unarchive from the Actions button
Additional Resources: