Company History

Vision’s company history is a model narration of repeated reinvention and redefinition. The founder, Mr. Burton, has relied on innovation and a progressive mentality from Vision Service Group’s incorporation in 2003. Through the process of growing, expanding and defining itself, Vision has been able to successfully develop its reputation for quality services and products.

After recognizing a need among automotive dealerships within the business community to attract and absorb an ever-increasing volume of consumer inquiry and management, Vision was initially designed to support the marketing efforts of the retail automotive industry. Vision worked to develop marketing systems and design pieces for dealerships to support their advertising and marketing campaigns.

The year 2005 marks several significant changes to the structure of Vision. First of all, Vision began exploring options to lower operating costs by procuring equipment to handle every phase of design, printing & mailing in order to eliminate all need of outsourcing these services. As a result, Rainier Media, Inc. was developed December 2005. Created as a printing and mailing division, Rainier Media, Inc. worked to compliment the energy and efficiency that was required by Vision’s expanding efforts. This reduced costs significantly at the time. However, Rainier Media, Inc. was absorbed into Vision Service Group in 2007, effectively eliminating peripheral costs associated with operating two separate businesses.

Prior to 2005, Mr. Burton was not involved in the day-to-day operations of Vision. Nonetheless, in 2005, Mr. Burton identified the need for major restructuring. Because of the volatile nature of the automotive industry in conjunction with the then current business model, Vision was not generating reoccurring monthly revenue and therefore not meeting absorption objectives. In essence, because Vision catered to only one industry, it had neither depth nor breadth in its product and client base. As a result, Mr. Burton maintained Vision’s production rates while undertaking the development of Vision AMS.

Reinvention

From the advent of Vision AMS, Vision has since expanded its applicability to encompass the universal marketing needs of any and all industries. In 2005, Mr. Burton acknowledged that every industry has a need for marketing but also recognized that the current Customer Relationship Management technology was simply not effective. His experience in the retail automotive industry told him that no matter the process, incentives or systems that were purchased or set in place, the actual act of following up on leads and sales rarely took place among his own sales force. Mr. Burton recognized that the simple lack of follow up and ongoing prospecting constitutes a massive problem for businesses.

Recent surveys by Warne, a Toronto marketing company, support his finding even today. The results of the surveys indicated that of the over 3,500 people who inquired to blue-chip advertisers, two in ten people want to buy "now" while four others that want to buy "later" — or about six prospects for every ten queries. However, the surveys found that sales reps followed up on less than 17% of all inquiries. As described in the Product and Service section of this business plan, Vision AMS addresses that problem by fully automating the follow up process.

Vision AMS is the product of decades of trial and error and practical experience, but the actual intellectual development of Vision AMS took approximately a year and a half. From the white board outlines and brainstorming sessions to the practical development of the software, Mr. Burton worked through each step with an eye on practical application and end user sensibilities. Using a local software developer to implement the design, the prototype development and debugging of Vision AMS was perhaps the more meticulous aspect of developing the software. Vision AMS went through a beta test phase with local companies. It has become a polished, universally applicable, fully automated marketing solution. Vision remains dedicated to the end user position requiring ease in the function and use of the system. No matter how complex the technology becomes as Vision AMS stays abreast of contemporary trends and technology, the user interface will continue to appeal to the receptivity and practicality of Vision’s client base.

The complete reinvention of Vision through the development of Vision AMS has led to elevated production and sales. Most importantly, it successfully addressed the issue of monthly revenue generation. Additionally, Vision Service Group can now cater to the needs of a vast number of industries.

In 2007, both Mr. Ness and Mr. Barnett stepped into Vice President roles to support the expansion of Vision Service Group. The company considers its people to be the core factors in the success and profitability of Vision AMS. Already considered to be a leader in customer relationship management, Vision looks to enjoy rapid growth and success during its next chapter of its development.