Appealing Subject
"Don't put the bananas in the refrigerator!" As c-store retailers add more fresh foods, especially fruits, to their stores, the training manual needs to emphasize this to the staff: Bananas never go in the cooler.
Scanning for Skimmers
While skimming at the pump is getting more sophisticated, there are several signs a fuel retailer can look for to catch a potential incident, said Luke Grant, director of marketing at Gilbarco Veeder-Root. These include a high number of bad card readers or offline dispenser messages, which can indicate the presence of an internal skimmer, or a CRIND reader or PIN pad that is not flush with the dispenser door.
Your Best Marketing Tool
“Word of mouth is your best marketing technique,” said John Goodman, vice chairman of Customer Care Measurement and Consulting. He said a customer who has a good experience at your store will tell two people about it, but if they have a bad experience, they will tell four people.
Sign of the Times
Only one out of 20 customers actually speak up when they have a complaint, Goodman added. So how can retailers accommodate unsatisfied customers who stay quiet? Try drawing their attention with signage. “The best sign I’ve seen is, ‘We can only solve problems that we know about’,” Goodman said.
Talk About It
Avoiding difficult conversations costs business $1,500 and eight hours of wasted time every year, according to Bob Huebner, president of 200Mark Consulting. So instead of saying "I don't want to talk about," Huebner offers four tips for having that difficult conversation:
- pick the right time and place
- listen to the other person
- work together to solve the problem
- be clear and direct
Play time
It’s a good aspiration: to be “bigger than your business card.” Steve Gross, “chief executive optimist” of the Life is Good Kids Foundation, asked NACS Show general session attendees to figure out “How do I grow the good” in whatever I do? Try to make a store a place that customers consider someplace they can “play.”
Serious Product Placement
Overheard on the NACS Show shuttle bus upon passing Dean's minimart, a small c-store painted all around the outside with a red Coke motif and 12-packs stacked around the forecourt: "That's some marketing; the store is wrapped in Coca-Cola," said one retailer. "Hey, why not? Makes total sense here in Atlanta," said his companion.
Large and in Charge
Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are set to become "the new hybrids" and bypass traditional electric vehicles by sales as soon as 2018, said Lisa Jeram, principal research analyst at Navigant Research. Another shift in vehicle technology will happen with "plain vanilla" gasoline-powered vehicles, which will eventually be replaced by those with stop-start engines.
4 Reasons to Add Fresh Foods
- Incremental growth: both foot traffic and sales
- A fresh halo: heightens awareness of the move to more fresh products in the c-store
- Category growth: produce is driving more sales, more profits as a growing category
- Civic duty: supports the move to healthier eating and attracts the coveted millennials and more women
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