Perspective on 2009

The challenges we experienced here were primarily driven by the recession and although we had officially been in the recession long before 2009 began, VisionPoint Marketing didn’t feel the pinch until January. With state budget freezes across the country, many of our higher education clients were in limbo through the spring months. And as we all know, every sector of our economy was adversely affected in one way or another which led to cut backs and spending freezes across all the industries that our clients work in. But through hard work and strategic moves (and a healthy dose of optimism), we’re very proud to say that we were able to work with our clients and meet their needs through these leaner times. In fact, we were able to continue to exceed expectations and deliver positive results for everyone we serve. For example, our work with NCSU Jenkins MBA program over the past couple of years produced record enrollment growth this year. Of course, our focus is to maintain this level of success for them (and all of our clients) through 2010 and beyond.

In addition to really exciting new and existing client work, I am thrilled with how our team and culture in VisionPoint have grown and developed over the past year. A few notables are:

• Ashlee Little advanced from a temporary intern position to a full time Project Manager and has become the central hub of production activity in the company.
• As always, we can count on Turner to get the job done, work efficiently, and challenge the “way things are done”.
• Since he joined in late November, JP has already advanced our processes for pay per click and SEO programs significantly ahead.
• Gail continues to run a very tight, efficient ship through her administrative prowess and yet she manages to keep us all in line with a smile on her face.
• David assumed his role as a leader in the organization and really shined in many ways including his production leadership as well as strategic consultation with clients.
• And last but not least, Tony has done a stellar job of continually refining our processes, leading many of our major client relationships, and supporting our business development efforts.

So despite all of the challenges that VisionPoint faced in 2009, I believe it to be one of our very best years in our nine year history. And due to the successes with clients (new and long standing) and the growth of our team, I am forecasting big things for us in 2010. This upcoming year is going to bring us more opportunities than ever before, and I have the ultimate confidence in our team to be extremely successful.