Our customer database sits in a MS SQL database.  Every couple of
weeks I have to query the database to create an email list for our
email communications.  There are a number of variables that I change
each time I do the query, for example customer type, product type,
state, product status, etc.  Currently I do it by doing an excel query
however this is time consuming when you take into account remembering
all the small variables, de duplication and ensuring I get the correct
information.  For example if I forget a variable it takes time to
start again.  Is there a quicker and easier way I should be doing it?

Depends on the amount of data we are talking about. There are
numberous ways to speed up a query including changing the parameters
to be more selective.

DbVisualizer is a Java based tool (uses JDBC) to connect to different
types of databases and can be downloaded from here:

http://www.minq.se/products/dbvis/index.html

In this tool you can have variables in your sql query and when you
execute that query, it will prompt you to enter values for those
variables.

You can type the query one and save it as a bookmark in the tool - so
you don't have to retype it every couple of weeks. Also, you can save
the database connection information. So your weekly steps will be as
follows after the initial setup:

1. Open DbVisualizer
2. Connect to the customer database
3. Open bookmark editor and put the sql query in the sql editor
4. Execute query, enter values for variables

You can put variables (they call then parameters) in EXCEL queries too.
I used to give parameters names that looked like questions. So instead
of parm1, or even "Zip Code" I would use "Enter Zip Code (Use ? for
Wild Cards)"
as the parameter name. Then when the user ran the query that is what
they saw as a prompt.