Reports and groups each serve different purposes, but can make a world of difference in your daily operations! Read on to learn more about the difference between the two, and when to use one over the other.
Novi Custom Reports
Novi's custom reporting engine can be a powerful tool for finding the exact information you're looking for regarding membership or event fields. With close to 2,000 fields available across three different types of reports, admin users can find records that meet incredibly specific criteria and display detailed information for the records shown. Reports can be printed or exported as a CSV file.
Additionally, custom reports can be shared with non-admin users. If you need to share information with committees or board members, you should consider using custom reports.
Novi Groups
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 several 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
To send Census requests for profile updates
Using Groups vs Custom Reports
If you're using Novi Groups as a convenient built-in reporting tool, that's a great idea! You can easily export a Group list as a CSV file. That being said, while Groups have a lot of display columns available on the Members tab, just keep in mind that Custom Reports offer a wide variety of additional display column and condition options.
It's usually easiest to figure out if you need a Group first. Then go from there!
If you answer YES to any of these questions then you will definitely need a Group:
Will you need to sync the data over to MailChimp or Constant Contact?
Do you need to lock down the visibility of a page on your website?
Do you need to lock down the visibility and/or purchasability of an event or event ticket?
Do you need to restrict who can purchase a product?
Do you need to create a directory?
Do you need to send an NPS survey?
Do you need to send a Census request?
If you answer NO to any of those^ questions, then you may still be able to use a Group to view/export a list of data, but you may find that you need a Custom Report instead.
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