Sage CRM is Perfect Blend for
Smoothie King Franchises, Inc.
Back in 1973, Smoothie King’s founder blended up a concoction of fruit and protein powder and started a craze. Headquartered in Covington, Louisiana, the company now has over 430 store locations in 34 states and Seoul, South Korea. Their smoothies please guests with delicious blends of real fruits, pure juices and nutritional supplements available in over 50 flavors.
Challenge
As a franchise operation, Smoothie King’s success depends on communication with potential and existing franchisees. However, the Smoothie King staff was relying on Outlook to store and track their communications, and this lack of a cohesive system was beginning to threaten growth. Joel Meariman, Controller, explains:
"We had more than 50 people—all with multiple e-mail folders pertaining to our franchisees. It was unworkable- we needed a way to centralize this information. Our franchisees might speak to one consultant on Monday and get one answer, and then call again on Tuesday, speak with another consultant, and hear something new."
Management was concerned that inconsistent information was being shared with franchisees.
Solution
After consulting with HELP Solutions, the company realized it needed to implement CRM. Sage CRM supplied the best fit for Smoothie King- a perfect mix of features, functionality, and scalability.
“We need to deliver consistent corporate messages, and record the results of each customer interaction in order to give the best service possible. Sage CRM lets us do that—and much more,” says Meariman.
Results
Sage CRM provides Smoothie King with a centralized database that ensures corporate communication is consistent, resulting in better customer service. Visibility into the sales pipeline helps keep staff accountable and management informed.
AUTOMATED WORKFLOW
Smoothie King leverages Sage CRM’s power of automated processes to manage critical steps that turn a prospect into a franchisee. A capture utility sends requests logged on Smoothie King’s website directly to Sage CRM to begin the qualification process.
“Sage CRM took the guess work out of our sales process,” says Meariman. “With a workflow mapped out, we don’t miss important tasks. And management can see the current status of each prospect at any time.”
PRODUCTIVITY GAINS
Staff can attach financial statements, franchisee agreements, real estate requirements—even photos of the store locations to a contact record in Sage CRM, and make them accessible to other staff members. There is no need to hunt through file drawers- all customer-related documents can be viewed onscreen, printed, or emailed to a customer as requested.
“The productivity gain with Sage CRM is huge,” explains Meariman. “We are no longer yelling down the hall or wasting time trying to locate correspondence held in an individual email message.”
INSIGHT INTO PIPELINE
Smoothie King’s staff uses searches in Sage CRM to isolate groups such as open stores, pending stores, or stores located in certain territories. This ability to rapidly identify subgroups of prospects and customers gives Smoothie King new insight into its operations. Management has access to reports that provide a complete picture of the sales pipeline and where each lead stands. “Before I had to ask every consultant for a list of the leads they were working and the status—Sage CRM has made us more accountable,” says Meariman.
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