The Company

Kieffer | Starlite is a national sign company that specializes in manufacturing, service and installation. Since 1956, they have provided quality signs and service to clients across the country, with comprehensive capabilities and solutions to meet the needs of new construction projects as well as upgrades to existing structures.

The Challenge

Kieffer | Starlite has established themselves as a successful and growing sign provider with true national reach, and capabilities that span across all major markets including Financial, Healthcare, Hospitality, Restaurant, Retail and Entertainment. Considering their broad capabilities and multiple offices providing a national presence, they found that their internal proprietary system and use of Excel did not provide complete CRM capabilities, which could potentially limit future growth.

“The lack of a true CRM platform impacted our ability to forecast and track sales opportunities, provide a consistent quoting platform, organize sales contacts and manage sales-related tasks”, noted Kelly David, Marketing Manager, Kieffer | Starlite. With respect to Marketing capabilities, Kelly added that “We needed to leverage an E-Marketing platform with seamless access to current contacts, including the ability to view recipient email engagement activity such as email opens and link-clicks. Integrating true CRM lead capture through our website, including reporting and tracking, was also a challenge.”

Given that Kieffer | Starlite’s sales team operates from multiple geographical locations, relying on local applications and Excel to manage Accounts, Contacts, Leads and Quotes, they determined that CRM could address challenges in their sales process. Account ownership and follow-up lacked transparency, and it was difficult to fully organize and manage contacts. Kelly explained that “We also lacked sales pipeline visibility and robust reporting.”

Excel was relied on heavily for quoting and reporting, which presented the challenge of managing and organizing data from different locations. Significant time was spent asking the sales team to complete reports in Excel, with the risk of missing opportunities due to incomplete data and lack of follow-up.

The Mothernode Solution

Kieffer | Starlite implemented Mothernode CRM’s Sales & Marketing edition in 2018 for their national sales team. Mothernode ensured that their contact, customer and prospect data, all exported from different applications, were loaded seamlessly into one cloud-based account. Most of the sales team used Microsoft Outlook, so Mothernode assisted with the installation and setup of the Mothernode Outlook Plugin, enabling users to sync Outlook email, contacts and calendar events with corresponding Mothernode records, immediately increasing efficiency and productivity.

As the Marketing Manager for Kieffer | Starlite, Kelly successfully leveraged Mothernode’s Marketing module and integration with its CRM functions. Kelly explained that “We are able to implement various marketing activities that create efficiencies and assist our sales team in communicating effectively with current customers and prospects. We can integrate lead forms into our website that feed prospect data directly into Mothernode CRM for easy dispatch and follow-up, as well as tracking so we can measure ROI.” Mothernode’s communication templates and targeted marketing capabilities help enhance her marketing initiatives as well.

Once Kieffer | Starlite successfully implemented Mothernode’s CRM and Marketing functions, they transitioned their quoting process from Excel-based to Mothernode. In addition to ease of quote entry, their team now has immediate access to quotes and quote activity tied to their prospects, customers and contacts. They also automated the quote delivery and approval process by emailing quotes directly from Mothernode and offering electronic approval to their customers and prospects.

Benefits and Results of Using Mothernode

Immediately after fully deploying Mothernode CRM, Kieffer | Starlite saw numerous challenges positively addressed. They report a 100% increase in information accessibility, given their ability to effectively access and manage information across their national locations. Kelly explained that “Mothernode CRM has helped our organization gain transparency as it is easy to access our information anywhere. We can quickly track account information, quotes, customer activity and see if someone has established a relationship with a contact.  It is simple to use and intuitive.”

Kieffer | Starlite has also experienced a 75% improvement in productivity and internal collaboration, as their team is now able to access all of their sales data from a single location, and pull robust sales reports with minimal involvement from the sales team, which can spend more time selling instead of loading report data into spreadsheets. Managing and staying in touch and top-of-mind with their customers is now a faster, easier and more efficient process. Leveraging Mothernode CRM’s Marketing functions, including targeted email campaigns and lead capture forms, has contributed to a 50% improvement in their sales process and revenue.

Partnering with a proven and experienced CRM provider was a critical objective for Kieffer | Starlite from the beginning, including ongoing customer service, training and support. Kelly noted “The support received from Mothernode’s team is by far the best we have experienced with a vendor. They are easy to contact and deliver quick response times with thorough explanations provided each time. They also follow-up to ensure we are doing okay and if we have current support or training needs. Mothernode truly is a partner who wants to make sure their CRM is the best it can be for our organization.”

Benefits and Results (Recap)

• 75% improvement in productivity
• 75% improvement in internal collaboration
• 100% increase in information accessibility
• 50% improvement in the sales process
• 50% improvement in sales conversions