Item: VanillaSoft
Rating: 8
Author: Elizabeth Hislop

Overall Satisfaction with VanillaSoft

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

VanillaSoft is used by the Bucknell student-calling program for managing the university's alumni information and giving records. It is being used by that department to address the problem of repeatedly calling alumni, disorganized record keeping, and call marking for research and managing alumni relationships / collecting alumni/parent feedback effectively. It is also used to manage credit-card versus pledge-letter funds and keeping an accurate record of conversations had with alumni/parents.

Pros and Cons

Pros

There are many accurate explanation options for why a call must be researched, which helps managers resolve issues effectively. There are also a lot of valuable resources available as in scripts and the ability to send more information--these tools really come in handy.
The option to write comments for calls and general notes gives me the opportunity to thoroughly explain and clarify what went well in the call, or what went wrong as to why someone did not give. This reduces discrepancies between managers and callers and highlights achievements as well as areas for improvement--helps in training.

Cons

After I choose a number to call, I have to double-click a white confirmation button in the top, center of the screen to go through to the call itself. This step is tedious and a hassle when I am trying to call as many contacts as possible.
I do not understand why I have to double-comment when there is a badge for something like "no number" on the right-hand side. Why can't I just click that and move on? Why do I have to also comment "no number"?

Return on Investment

This definitely increased productivity
Better prospect visibility

Alternatives Considered

VanillaSoft

None. I have been using VanillaSoft and VConnect for over 3 years in the job I am in now as a student development officer. I have raised over $25k for the University using VanillaSoft.

Key Insights

Do you think VanillaSoft delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with VanillaSoft's feature set?

Yes

Did VanillaSoft live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of VanillaSoft go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy VanillaSoft again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Infor CloudSuite Expense Management, Infor Customer Experience Suite, Infor HR Service Delivery

Likelihood to Recommend

VanillaSoft is well suited for CRM for a university because we have the ability to alter notes about the parents and alumni in real time, which saves the supervisors time and ensures that the next time the prospect is called the caller has fresh information to go on and can have a more meaningful conversation / demonstrate that we are invested in knowing more about them. We can even see the activities they were involved with while they were a student here, which leads to a lot of commonalities in conversation.

Comments

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A detailed review from a student development officer (caller of the semester!).