MassMailer

BACKGROUND

Could you briefly describe your organization?

We are primarily involved in the data integration business. It’s kind of niche area. It’s all about migrating data, effectively moving data from one system to another. This encompasses data division, data quality, and anything revolving around data manipulation. I would consider the company quite unique, with a present staff of approximately 2,000 people. I don’t have the exact count. The current market capitalization is close to $3.5 billion.

I work in one of the premier segments of the organization, titled Market Cloud organization. This segment was initiated six or seven years ago. We are doing extremely well at the moment. I work closely with the MassMailer team on their cloud integration product. There are both on-site and off-site MassMailer teams working on the integration. Their primary role is integration with Salesforce.com, but they also provide integration services with other CRM Cloud platforms.

What is your position?

I am the IT Director. My main responsibility is to bring our product into the Cloud and establish Cloud organization. I therefore link products to the Cloud through data integration practices.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

Could you describe the business challenges you were attempting to address when you began the relationship with MassMailer?

It was blocking side, I don’t know about blocks, so you want to know the time. I believe we met them at the annual Salesforce.com meeting: the Brain Force. They shared their experience. They highlighted their current projects, their capabilities, and how their services might benefit us. They began as one of our vendors. We started with one representative from MassMailer and now we’re expanding to eight or ten.

SOLUTION

Could you describe the rationale behind selecting Salesforce as your preferred solution?

We are focusing on data integration and unfortunately my team did not have significant experience with Salesforce.com. We are utilizing Salesforce.com for a number of tasks. One is for customized integration/application with Visualforce, Spade, AppExchange, etc. These were the areas where we required outside expertise. Investing in them was a good decision. We were heavily dependent on their knowledge at the time, because they have significant expertise in our areas of interest. We have worked with a couple of other folks. However, we found MassMailer to have superior quality and value. They were willing to spend extra hours with us and, most importantly, they are helping us finish the process successfully. They were not only committed to us, but to our customers as well. That is why we chose them.

Apart from that, obviously, the cost is another reason. The cost is pretty good. It was not very expensive. Beyond the cost, it’s all about how we are able to win customers successfully. MassMailer helped us with that, even if something goes off-track, they made sure they put the right people, and brought it up to speed. That is a big plus when it comes to working with MassMailer.

We also have a mutually beneficial working relationship. My team and I have worked with the MassMailer team onsite in Bangalore, India, for upwards of two years. That is not the norm. They consistently take the initiative and reach out in order to update us on our project, which is pleasantly surprising. Their work is no longer exclusive to Saleforce.com, either. Their work has moved into other areas, too. Cloud products and applications are emerging so rapidly that it becomes difficult to keep pace. In order to remain competitive, you need many experienced hands. They provide us with the right people, resources, and attitudes to meet our business objectives.

Did they do all the design, development, and support? Or, did you in-house some of it?

They did everything. The entire process is essentially in their hands. They are fully responsible for the design, development, support, and implementation of the solution.

What technologies were used? What kind of programming languages, servers, databases, or other platforms?

As for the operating systems: Windows, Linux, and Unix – these are the basics. Oracle and MS SQL were the databases involved. We also utilize Salesforce.com programming notes using the Force.com platform. We also use them for application knowledge as well, because programming is just one part of it. Overall, they possess a wide array of technical knowledge that we have been able to tap into, which has been extremely beneficial.

How recently was the project finished?

The first component is ongoing. The second component is a joint project, which is also ongoing. Nevertheless, they have probably completed 15- 20 components for us at this point. There are numerous MassMailer projects, making it difficult to count them all. As an estimate, however, I would say they have successfully completed 20 projects, with 10-12 still in progress. The majority of the projects are not large in scale. Some of the projects range from 2-3 months. A fraction of them could take an entire year, but even those are divided in order to make them more manageable.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

In terms of results, could you share any statistics, metrics or anecdotal feedback that would demonstrate the effectiveness of their work?

Nothing bad because otherwise we wouldn’t be using them at all. We are very explicit about that part. Some of my teammates have certainly offered statements of approval and recommendation regarding the project. We are extremely careful in selecting the right people because our success depends upon our customer experience. We then pass that mentality over to them. We work in tandem that way. The functional knowledge, resources and technology have been extraordinary, to say the least.

Since building on Salesforce.com, how do you think Salesforce.com has performed? Do you still feel like you made the right decision by going with Salesforce.com?

Absolutely. We definitely believe that we made the right decision by going with Salesforce.com. It is now expanding across the country. The transition benefits us as much as it benefits our customers. I have been thoroughly impressed by the results.

Overall, how do you feel MassMailer performed?

They usually provide a project manager who takes care of the design, development, logistics, delivery, and implementation. This has been invaluable. They clearly take responsibility for the services they provide. We can call them at any time of day or night. We can always rely upon them to get the job done. That is a huge deal for anyone. I can contact my representative and request assistance with a technical issue and they respond immediately. Because they have a team located in the United States, the are practically always available. In this way we are not constrained by time-zone differentials.

When working with the MassMailer, was there anything unique or special about them that you feel compared to other companies that you may have worked with in the past?

Absolutely. I have worked with a multitude of companies in the past. MassMailer is extremely flexible and responsive. Other companies tend to be preoccupied with the bottom line. MassMailer, on the other hand, is very adaptable. For example, if asked for an additional requirement, they typically agree without reservation. Other companies I have worked with have relatively limited scope, which means additional requirements incur additional charges. MassMailer is extremely accommodating within the scope and range of service they offer. If there is an efficient solution to your problem, they can surely implement it. They espouse a “let’s do it” mentality, which is really quite refreshing.

There are no escalations and no hierarchies being set. If a task or objective is going to take a while to complete, they inform us in advance in order to attenuate any issues.

Looking back on the project, was there anything that you feel that they could improve on or that you would have them do differently?

No, definitely not. When it comes to Salesforce.com, they are the standard. The possess a vast amount of expertise, which is unrivaled, in my opinion. They also have considerable resources at their disposal. This has made the project move at a fluid pace without significant barriers along the way. When issues do arise, they promptly take the necessary steps in order to correct the situation as soon and as efficiently as possible. That’s a huge plus. I really can’t identify any areas that could use improvement. We have worked in close collaboration with them for nearly two years and they have always exceeded our performance expectations.

BACKGROUND

Can you provide a brief description of your company for background information?

We are an independent investment firm. We have high net-worth clients that we do discretionary management for stocks and bonds for. Our company size is about 35 people, 15 of whom will be using Salesforce. We’re located in Winnipeg, Canada.

What is your position within the company and primary responsibilities?

Technically, I’m a business development assistant. I do a lot of marketing, and a lot of data entry. I do daily tasks dealing with client issues, and a lot of sponsorship activity.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What were your company’s business goals or reasons for undertaking the project with MassMailer?

My firm wanted to implement Salesforce for the business development team. We wanted to be able to have access to client information on the road, which we can do through Salesforce Mobile, and they have used MassMailer to help set that up. We also currently use a system called Advent - APX. We needed MassMailer to help set up the transfer of information so that both systems were accurate, both systems were running live, and that we could push information back and forth during the day.

SOLUTION

What was the process for selecting MassMailer?

MassMailer was recommended by Salesforce and Advent as they had a mutual client who used them already. We decided on MassMailer through that. We also knew they had the capability to provide us with pipeline reporting and individual reporting.

Why did you decide to build your application on Salesforce, or go along with that platform instead of a different platform or application?

Salesforce had been recommended to us by a number of advisers that we worked with. We know a couple of companies that are already using the system.

Can you just tell me a little bit more about the scope of the project? Did it include the design, development, and support?

MassMailer has been a part of the whole project right from the very beginning. They came out and discussed what our needs were right at the beginning of the project. We’ve used them to design, to help administrate in the initial setup. We’ve had their support since. They’ve done everything.

Were any parts of the project in-housed?

MassMailer hasn’t done anything in-house with us. It’s all been done through the phone. We’ve been doing a lot of calls. I’ve been administrating the project from here, so I’ve been dealing with our MassMailer rep back and forth.

What other technologies were used?

We’ve used Advent. We’ve used Portfolio Center. We run our own website, or I run our own website already. Programming language is stuff we’ve never really used. We have an IT company who comes in and takes care of daily requests.

Can you just give me a sense of the size of the initiative in dollar terms?

I could tell you that as it stands now, we’ve spent an additional $50,000 with MassMailer in terms of the work that they do. I think the initial budget was roughly $200,000.

It’s still ongoing?

Yes, it’s still ongoing.

How recent was the last project finished?

We have been testing the Advent activities going into Salesforce, and the new clients and contacts going into Salesforce automatically since the 15th of April, so just over a week. We’re also doing like a manual push.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What have been the results of the project? Have you seen any specific improvements in efficiencies or effectiveness?

The employees are starting to use the system more often. We’re finding that prospects reporting have been a lot easier. Management or my direct boss has found that following leads, knowing what her employees are doing on a regular basis is much easier for her to find out. There are still some kinks in terms of efficiencies. We’re looking at having those sorted out shortly.

Since building the application, has the platform performed well, and do you still feel like you made the right decision by picking Salesforce?

Yes. We haven’t had any errors or any major hiccups with Salesforce as a platform. It’s always running. The fact that it’s Web-based works really well for us. As long as we have Internet, we’re good to use it. I think that so far, so good. We’re happy with it. We haven’t run into anything that we can’t do yet.

How do you describe their overall performance?

They’ve performed fairly well. I think the scope of the project has gone larger as we realized what we needed exactly. They’ve adapted to that. Sometimes, the timing just between us and where our MassMailer rep is located means that the time change doesn’t allow us to get things done quite as quickly. I think he’s only an hour or two ahead of us, but that means that if we answer an email, his day may already be done. Or sometimes, he’s busy working on another client, we don’t get a response right away. But we do know that we’re not the only client he’s working with.

When working with the MassMailer reps, was there anything unique or special that you feel about them compared to other companies that you may have worked with in the past?

I think we’ve just developed a relationship with our rep. We get along really well. Now, it’s just become friendly – it’s nice to have that personal relationship as opposed to calling online and always getting a different person. To know that we can just call him specifically makes a big difference.

Looking back on the project, was there anything that you feel MassMailer could improve on or that you would have them do differently?

No, I think everything was done really well. I think that it would have been easier had maybe they started from our offices– had they really worked with Advent previously, just some naming conventions and stuff or had somebody that they could call. I maybe would have liked to have had our MassMailer rep come up one more time even for a day, just to sit in with our whole team and getting all this feedback from all different directions, just spend eight or 10 hours with him working on Advent, so we had a better understanding of how we use that system. It may have saved us a lot of emailing back and forth or a lot of conference calls. It may have been worth our time to have done that. But, other than that, I think that they’ve worked within the situation really well.