Kitchen Tune Up - BenchmarkONE
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Jeff Toren

Owner @ Kitchen Tune Up
"BenchmarkONE is sized perfectly for the needs of our franchise. It gives us all the tools we need to grow sales and manage relationships without the overly complex features most tools have."

1.  Tell me about yourself and your business.

During my 20 year career in the high-tech/software world, I have been fortunate to work in sales and executive leadership positions in all types of organizations: from small, privately owned, to pre-IPO, to the largest IT company on earth – IBM.

My diverse background has been instrumental in launching and growing Kitchen Tune-up in the Philadelphia area.  Kitchen Tune-Up is the #1 kitchen & bath franchise with 27 years of experience specializing in affordable kitchen remodeling.  Our services include: 1-day wood reconditioning Tune-Up, cabinet refacing, cabinet redooring, custom cabinetry, granite sealing, and storage solutions.

2.  What were your sales and marketing challenges before you used BenchmarkONE?

The challenge of starting any franchise is that you need to get sales results fast (and it is usually just you running the business).  I knew that in order to stay organized and grow our business we needed a solid sales and marketing process in place – one that didn’t require a ton of employees.  We deployed BenchmarkONE sales and marketing software as part of our launch, knowing it would help us avoid the common pitfalls of running and growing a franchise.

3.  How has BenchmarkONE specifically addressed your challenges?

BenchmarkONE’s simple CRM really helps me to stay organized, segment my contacts, and manage my sales process.  I use automated drip campaigns in each of our key service areas to communicate to new appointments and to reach out to unscheduled leads.

BenchmarkONE also tracks the data that is needed for KTU reporting.  I pull the data out of BenchmarkONE and run a report to give me the marketing insights needed to complete critical KTU reports, saving me hours per month.

A big struggle for most franchises and businesses, especially as they are starting out, is lead generation. The integrated web forms from BenchmarkONE plug right into our RevLocal marketing page, automatically sending leads directly into my CRM.  It saves me hours of manual data entry and more importantly, automatically kicks off an email and mini-campaign for new leads.

4.  What was the big “Ah-Ha!” moment that reassured your decision to try BenchmarkONE?

I knew as soon as I logged in that we had found the right solution for our business. BenchmarkONE is a simple, intuitive, cloud based solution that I could configure myself.  Also, there is tremendous value in having everything in one place. BenchmarkONE’s combined CRM and marketing automation eliminated the need to patch together a bunch of tools.

5.  What are two or three BenchmarkONE features you love?

The tracking on the dashboard is great for keeping on top of all our prospect activities. It’s awesome to see who is opening and clicking our emails, as well as visiting our site in real time.

Once someone is entered into the BenchmarkONE CRM, we start them on a drip campaign, automatically sending helpful information right when they need it. This nurturing process really helps us to have better conversations with prospective and existing customers.

I also love how easy it is to use.  Most CRM and marketing tools out there are built for big businesses.  BenchmarkONE is sized perfectly for the needs of our franchise.  It gives us all the tools we need to grow sales and manage relationships without the overly complex features most tools have.

6.  What measurable results have you seen since you started using BenchmarkONE? 

We had one of the most successful launches in KTU history our first year in business and BenchmarkONE was a big part of that.  We also received the KTU Rising Star award for 2016 and Angie’s List Super Service award for 2016, which is a rare honor for a first year business.

Our Kitchen Tune-Up franchise completed over 75 projects last year. BenchmarkONE helped us stay organized and communicate with every customer along the way.  We could not have had the year we did if I didn’t have BenchmarkONE deployed prior to opening our business.

7.  What is the single biggest reason you would recommend BenchmarkONE to another business?

For any franchise or business, it should be the first software you invest in. Without BenchmarkONE, you really can’t track and run the sales side of your business effectively.  Lead tracking, drip campaigns, and more – I would be lost without BenchmarkONE.

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