Changing the Way Business is Done: The Wall Street Journal Customizes Salesforce CRM to Drive Journal-in-Education Program

“Salesforce.com has allowed us to build our own CRM in keeping with our vision of supporting the goals of higher education—and changed the way we do business in the process. It’s been extremely easy to use, integrate, and create a custom tabs. Salesforce lives up to its promises.”


Challenge
  • The Wall Street Journal— the world's leading business publication—wanted to more effectively manage the sales component of its highly successful Journal-in-Education program
  • The newspaper sought a customizable CRM solution that could easily adapt to its unique processes and academic structure
  • Rudimentary spreadsheets failed to adequately manage the sales pipeline
  • The system had to integrate with Microsoft Outlook and an online fulfillment system

Solution
  • The company chose Salesforce with front- and back-end implementations—easily integrating the system with Microsoft Outlook and an online fulfillment system
  • Without the help of IT, the Wall Street Journal created custom tabs to manage institutional sales contracts and customized fields to align with its business processes
  • A documents tab allows users to access all marketing materials, order forms, and contracts
  • Custom objects provide an intuitive way to manage data for vending machines, rack displays, and multi-addresses for wholesale drops
  • Surveying internal Salesforce users helps generate ideas for changes that add value to the solution
  • The company is considering adding workflow functionality to automate lead generation and distribution

Results
  • Salesforce helps sales reps develop and maintain strong relationships with universities and professors
  • Management has gained clear insight into its sales pipeline, nationwide activities, and successes
  • With improved productivity, the company easily identifies and prioritizes new opportunities
  • All subscriber data is now accessible on demand: orders, inventory, subscription expiration dates, and more
  • Salesforce gives the Wall Street Journal a consistent face across institutions and geographies
  • A centralized source of information makes for a seamless transition when a rep leaves the company
 
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