The Poynter Institute Unlocked 10,000+ New Leads With Salesforce Integrations

Missed Connections and Fragmentation

Poynter struggled to unify its data, which hindered its ability to accurately measure success and drive accountability. The team had a great platform in Salesforce but lacked the internal adoption and expertise to maximize its potential.

The main challenges centered on data fragmentation and missed connections:

• Lost Contacts: Thousands of journalists who attended free Zoom-based training—a major funnel—were untapped as a revenue source because there was no connector to add them to Salesforce. Poynter was giving them value but losing the chance for an ongoing relationship.
• Incomplete Analytics: Jessi Navarro, Poynter’s COO and CFO, had to pull performance data from a multitude of different systems, making it nearly impossible for others in the organization to measure their own progress.

Missed Opportunities in Applications: Individuals who spent hours applying to programs but weren’t accepted were not integrated into any of Poynter’s systems, missing an easy path to connect them with a different, more suitable program. This lack of clear data led to frustration and missed opportunities for the team, and critically, shut off a major avenue for growth.

“Being able to have a win in the middle of the project was huge for us. We had something that was going live, and we were working with it, and it was moving, and it felt like, okay, we had done something rather than waiting until the full end…”

-Jessi Navarro COO/CFO

Plative’s clear structure for project handoffs and deadlines set better expectations for all stakeholders, reinforcing that the system was their tool to own once the technology was in place.

From Lost to Found: The Measurable Impact

accurately measure its progress toward its primary goal of teaching more people.

The quantifiable and qualitative impacts include:

• 10,000+ Potential Customers Recovered: Poynter was able to convert over 10,000 free Zoom attendees—previously lost contacts—into individuals that they can now engage with for a deeper, and potentially paid, relationship.
• Enhanced Customer Experience: The integration allows for automated, just-in-time messaging to participants, ensuring they receive the most relevant information at the moment they are most receptive.
• Improved Decision-Making: Poynter now has the tools to measure the frequency of training per person and drive their goal to increase annual training interactions from 1.9 to 3.

The partnership showed Poynter the value of a trusted advisor and helped clarify their technology roadmap.

“With the oversight from the Plative team, we just felt like the work wasn’t going on in this separate corner, but that there was a team keeping an eye on us and helping make sure we were on track. If there were changes that we needed or we felt stuck, they were ready to help us keep up the momentum.”

– Jessi Navarro COO/CFO

Focused on the Future of Training

With a unified platform and clear data, Poynter can now focus on the next phase of its mission: deepening relationships with journalists. The new system will save time by automating manual reporting and creating new internal efficiencies. Poynter has the foundation in place to ensure that every journalist who engages with them—even for a free course—becomes part of an ongoing, valuable, and supportive relationship.

Ready to transform your business platform into a tool for measurable growth? Get in touch today to learn how Plative can simplify your challenges.