VisionSpring Sustains Growth by Focusing Its Business with Salesforce CRM

Challenge

• VisionSpring, a nonprofit organization that reduces poverty and generates economic opportunities through the sale of affordable glasses in the developing world, needed a CRM solution to help manage growth.
• The organization wanted to replace its existing Quickbooks and Excel-based system with a more flexible and robust solution that would help it easily track and analyze sales and market data.
• VisionSpring needed a solution so simple to use that even new computer users can quickly learn how to use it and feel comfortable with it. As a non-profit, VisionSpring desired a low-cost solution.
• The organization, with operations in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and North America, also required support for multiple languages and currencies.

Solution

• VisionSpring chose Salesforce CRM Enterprise Edition for its usability and delivery model, which eliminates the need for costly IT investments and infrastructure.
• Salesforce CRM was deployed to more than 60 users across the globe, including Franchise Partners and VisionSpring field staff and management. Salesforce.com partner Open Intelligence provides ongoing support for the implementation.
• Salesforce CRM brings together information on entrepreneurs, franchise partners, and donors; dashboards provide fast access to key business metrics.
• Custom tabs track individual Vision Entrepreneur and campaign metrics, including attendance and conversion rates. Integration with country census information lets entrepreneurs analyze market penetration and opportunities.
• With Force.com's offline options, employees in field offices can continue to work within Salesforce CRM when Internet access is unavailable.
• Salesforce CRM automates marketing efforts; Web-to-lead capabilities help capture data on prospective donors and franchise partners. 
• VisionSpring uses Salesforce CRM to track the style, color, and magnification of glasses sold for improved inventory forecasting and business analysis. 
• Force.com's connect for Microsoft Outlook helps VisionSpring track customer and partner communications and keep them in sync.

Results

• Ease of use and the delivery model enable even beginner computer users to utilize Salesforce CRM, resulting in improved data quality and business planning.
• Easy access to real-time information saves significant time in data entry and compilation, and increases accuracy.
• The centralized data system enables more advanced analytics and business planning; sales coordinators can measure performance against overall goals and headquarters can make more strategic decisions.
• Using Salesforce CRM makes it easy for VisionSpring employees and partners to share and access information, and greatly reduces costs and administrative overhead.