The leaflet is appropriate for the shop as it has pictures of membership cards and entertainment images. The leaflet worked well as it explained to customers on how to become a member, opening times and how to get to the shop. Most customers were satisfied with the leaflet itself, however some people thought the leaflet was a unattractive and did not give enough detail about how to get there. The leaflet was satisfactory however it could have explained more detail in some areas of the leaflet.
Aim 3 – Mail Merge Letter
I need to create a mail merge letter that will be sent out to current member, informing them about new offers and discounts. The mail merge letter will be linked to the database of members and will be created also on a word processing package. The mail merge letter should include the store logo, member’s address, member’s first name and surname, date, store address, store contact details and whom it is from. The letter will be in A4 size making it suitable for someone to read. The letter will also be formal and have a formal layout. At the bottom of the letter, there may also be a voucher that can be used at the store.
The data on the letter was appropriate as it had details on offers and discounts for the customers. The letter was laid out in a formal way and was written in a formal language. This is because the letter was being given out to customers and the letters needed to be formal. On the letter was a voucher that could be easily cut out and be used. The letter did work as several customers came into the shop and used the voucher. Therefore the letter was sent out and a clear message was given to the customers. The mail merge had several letters within it and any staff member could scroll through the letter and sent a letter to a customer or more than one customer. I used CSV to export the data on the database to a mail merge, doing it in this method was good as it was quick and there was limited problems. However, there was a problem when I had changed details on the database and the data on mail merge did not change also, therefore I had to export another CSV file and do the whole process again. Furthermore, when I had made the address lines on database, the address line on the mail merge letter showed an error and the address lines had a fault, so I had to change the address lines on the database and export the CSV files again. Therefore the manager was not completely satisfied with the outcome of the mail merge letter.
Modelling
Aim 4 – Spreadsheet
The store will need an order form, which will calculate the customer’s purchases. The order form will be created on a spreadsheet package, which will enable me to create graphs, sort, search, validate and create IF Statements. The order form must contain: Product ID, Product name, Quantity, Customer’s name, Customer Address, Customer Phone Number, Staff name, Sub Total, Total Cost, Discount, Payment Details, In stock, store logo and pictures off Clip Art or the internet. The spreadsheet must have a formal layout. I will create it on a spreadsheet package so it can be altered easily and total costs etc can be worked out easily. The spreadsheet can then be used make a graph, so the manager can see which items are sold the most.
The data on the spreadsheet was appropriate as it contained the details of the items sold in the store. The spreadsheet had spaces where the staff could fill in the customer’s details. The details needed were appropriate as they are vital for the store’s reference, for example what each customer had bought. The spreadsheet was a computerised order form for the staff to use in the store. Each order was printed and saved for reference. The spreadsheet had a Word Art heading to make the order from more appealing. The pictures on the spreadsheet were and only the company logo was added to give the spreadsheet some identity.
The spreadsheet worked well as the manager and his staff had no problems using it. The spreadsheet is easy to use as it has drop down boxes for the quantity and the description of all the items in the store have already been added. One particular unique item added to the spreadsheet was the use of the date of birth of each customer, this excluded the under aged customers for example customer under 18 years of aged were not permitted to buy any products from the store, a clear warning message would appear then on the spreadsheet. The formulas used in the spreadsheet were relevant and they worked well on the spreadsheet. I used formulas to calculate the total, total cost, 5 % discount and the balance. Some formulas were basic and others were complex, for example formulas for deciding the use of 5 % discount was decided upon IF Statements.
I also created a graph to show the difference in price of the different products sold at the store. The graph was easy to read and held all the information that needed to be included, the manager felt this graph helped the store as he knew which price to increase or decrease if he thought they were overpriced or under priced. However, the manager thinks other types of charts should be created to show different types of data. I changed data on the spreadsheet because the product, ‘White Stripes’ was not selling well so the price was reduced from £5.00 to £3.00. The manager thought the high price of the product was putting people off. The price of the product now is reasonable and no it is selling well. The manager thinks this was a good idea to reduce the price of the CD because there have now been more sales. I changed the formula of the 10% discount to 5% because the manager had realised that he was not making enough profit from the 10% discount. Now, profit has gone up slightly and the manager will keep it at 5% discount from now on. The new formula was =IF (D34>50,D34*0.05,D34*0) rather than =IF (D34>50,D34*0.1,D34*0).
It did achieve the aim I had set out as it worked well in the store and there were no problems with the spreadsheet. It could easily be used and read.
Data Handling
Aim 5 - Database
Lastly, I will create a database of all the members; the database will hold the members’ details. The database will be linked to the mail merge letter so member’s address and names can be inserted quicker. A questionnaire will be given out to customers they can fill it in; a member of staff will transfer the information from the questionnaire into to the database. A record on the database must contain: Membership ID, Member First Name, Member Surname, Address, Phone Number, E-mail Address, When Joined, Date of Birth and Account Details. I will use a database package to create a database because I can sort, make complex searches and create graphs.
The data on the data was appropriate as it asked some questions that did not involve breaking into confidentiality. However, it did ask for card details and therefore some customers may be reluctant to give their details. Furthermore, the questionnaire asked for address details and email addresses. I could have used other questions which did not interfere with confidentiality such as ‘if they would like to give their details’ and explaining that the store handles all questionnaires with secure confidentiality. I could ask more questions to get more details of the customer and this could help with knowing the customer better.
The database was easy to use and it worked well. Records could easily be added and the information from the questionnaires could be filled in with ease. The store required the use of sorts, searches and graphs. All of these were available, sorting was needed to sort customers into surnames in ascending order and therefore the member of staff could easily find the customer he/she was looking for. The store needs to carry out regular sort in order to find certain customers through the process of sorting. Moreover, the database allowed simple searches which enabled staff to search for particular items within the membership database so for example they could send a letter to those living in Danescourt. As well as simple searches, complex searches could be performed and this enabled members of staff the searches for more detailed items and the search would therefore be more accurate. This helped the store greatly, as there were very few mistake made, it was quick to search and sort and finally, it was accurate.
The database I made also allowed graphs of data; an example I used was a graph showing where most members are from as the manager was looking to set up a new store in the area with most members, this helped the manager a lot as he was able to make his decision quickly and it showed clearly which area had most members living there.
I was able to edit records and change details of members easily as some customers had changed their details due to movement of house, so the changing of their details needed to done quickly and accurately, the best way to do this was to edit it on the database.
Furthermore, I could delete records within the database as some members had decided to cancel their membership with the store and therefore the member details were not needed on the database as it would intervene with other records. I completed the deleting of records by selecting it from the menus on the database.
All of these features were easy to use and they were accurate. It helped the store immensely as it saved time and it was very accurate. Data could have been presented in different ways and the staff could edit records without having to give the member a new questionnaire to fill in; this again saved time. The process of this was efficient and effective and therefore the store could bring in more customers and therefore make more money.
The database did achieve the aim I had set out as the whole process of the database worked correctly and there were minimal problems with the system. I was able to link the database to the mail merge system and this was done with no difficulty. The questionnaires that were given out to customers were given back and a member of staff typed in the details into the database; although this was time consuming it did produce and a good system with a flowing process.
FUTURE MODIFICATIONS
Communicating
Poster
To improve my poster I could do a number of things. I could make it more attractive by using different types of fonts and sizes.
