Vision Critical

As a fast-growing software company, it is critical to stay connected and measure what matters. Salesforce gives us the visibility we need to drive greater value and velocity across our business.”

Derek Smyth, COO AT Vision Critical
 

Customer intelligence software company Vision Critical brings customer relationships and sales opportunities into sharper focus with Salesforce

Customers are demanding more from companies than ever before. Empowered by technology, they expect a different kind of relationship. While they are eager to communicate with the brands they care about, they want that feedback to be on their terms. They expect their opinions and experiences will be used to drive improvements, product innovation and ultimately better experiences. “Companies that don’t rise to the challenges posed by today’s digital and fickle customers risk losing their loyalty—which spells trouble for business,” says Tyler Douglas, Chief Marketing Officer at Vision Critical. “People are no longer content to be treated like faceless data points. They want to know why they matter. Companies need to engage their customers for meaningful insight in order to develop better products, increase customer loyalty and improve customer satisfaction.”

Thanks to Salesforce Sales Cloud, Tyler and his team can practice what they preach. Founded in 2000, Vision Critical provides cloud-based customer intelligence solutions to a third of the Fortune 500. Their software enables companies to build private, secure communities of customers they can engage for ongoing insight to guide their business and make smarter decisions.

 

With all our data in one place, we no longer have to spend 40 hours compiling sales reports every week. Sales Cloud has effectively given us back a sales rep”

DEREK SMYTH, COO AT VISION CRITICAL

“With Sales Cloud, we have a holistic view of our customers in every geography,” confirms Douglas. “From creating leads and tracking opportunities to onboarding customers and capturing interactions, Sales Cloud is now at the centre of our business.”

As well as increasing visibility, Sales Cloud has increased efficiency. “With all our data in one place, we no longer have to spend 40 hours compiling sales reports every week. Sales Cloud has effectively given us back a sales rep,” says Vision Critical Chief Operating Officer Derek Smyth, who oversees Sales, Marketing, Product and Customer Success.

To ensure this customer contact information stays accurate, Vision Critical uses Data.com. “It also helps us define our territories and identify where the next opportunities lie,” adds Smyth.

Each lead is tagged in Sales Cloud based on the customer’s propensity to buy, and then passed to the right person. As Douglas explains: “We can see leads progress through the funnel; automated processes make sure opportunities are followed up quickly and efficiently.”

Seeing opportunities in a new light

With a growth rate of 100 per cent year-on-year and big ambitions for the future, greater efficiency and visibility will be key as the Canadian-based company continues to expand globally.

“Sharing information across a couple of local offices is one thing, but when you have people working 12 hours apart in nine different countries, it gets a lot more complicated,” reveals Smyth.

With Sales Cloud, opportunities involving the same company but different customer contacts can be shared across Vision Critical’s 100-strong sales team. As CMO Douglas confirms: “We can take a global approach to serving our customers, which is hugely powerful as we primarily work with large global companies.”

Salesforce Chatter, an enterprise social networking tool, also enables Vision Critical to share information on sales leads, market trends, competitors, and individual achievements, with its 750 employees.

“We even have a hash tag ‘BOOM’ to broadcast sales wins,” reveals Smyth. “Chatter is not perceived as work; the flow of information is fun and helps our fast-growing sales organization onboard new reps more efficiently.”

Greater value, greater velocity

As its sales team demands more tools, like Chatter, to help them work faster and smarter, Vision Critical will be tapping into the Salesforce AppExchange. “The cloud is very powerful. And so too is integration. The value of any new app we deploy comes from its integration with Salesforce,” says Douglas.

Greater integration and richer collaboration has already helped the company increase productivity, agility and consistency. “We have no more spreadsheets, no more reps forgetting to track leads. Everyone can pull up the same data and access the same real time analytics to drive greater value and velocity across our business,” says Smyth.

For Vision Critical, this all means one thing: better customer intelligence. “Customer experience will soon be the only differentiator between companies,” says Douglas. “Combining Salesforce Sales Cloud with our own customer intelligence solutions provides us — and our customers — the visibility we need to make more informed decisions and drive real competitive advantage.”

About Vision Critical

 

Vision Critical provides a cloud-based customer intelligence platform that allows customers to build engaged, secure customer communities. Founded in 2000, it’s one of Canada’s fastest growing software companies, with 750 employees across 16 offices worldwide. Its software helps companies get rapid, trusted customer insight whenever they need it in order to make smarter decisions.

 

 

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