By Scott Oakes
Remember the days of visiting the same corner gas station with your parents? I remember my dad never paid cash for gas; he used one of his two gas cards. In the 1980s we visited an unattended fleet fueling station that billed us monthly and was supposedly the “best deal.” The world has really changed over the years; or has it? Today according to a recent survey by Convenience Store News Market Research 2011, the top two factors dictating a buyer’s purchase was Price and Convenience (Brand was in third place).
What drives you to stop at a certain store? Their coffee? Maybe. Their food? Possibly. Their location? Absolutely!! Especially if you are like me and you drive your car until the low fuel indicator light comes on. The whole concept of customer loyalty has become a maelstrom of activity with everyone trying to get their card in your wallet. They promise free coffee, free sandwiches, and of course cheaper gas.
Have the days of being the community gas station gone away? Knowing the cashier by name has been replaced by quick lines, self-serve kiosks, and more pumps on the gas island. Can family-run convenience stores survive in the loyalty-driven mentality where a penny per gallon can lose a customer forever? The good news for many of these smaller community locations is that most of the Point of Sale vendors and major oil networks are investing in scalable solutions that allow them to compete with the “big box” c-stores. I know it’s hard to resist the smell of new paint, free food, and Hollywood style grand openings, but eventually customers become numb to these efforts.
Some smaller retailers have continued to offer clean bathrooms, good lighting, and a reasonable loyalty program that allow their customer to feel they get a good deal every time they visit their store. Some are offering discounted fuel for buying a car wash, some are driving their customers to use alternate payment methods, like branded fuel cards, prepaid cash cards, and ACH processed cards. Some successful retailers continue to offer discounts to local businesses through organized local fleet programs.
Many major oil marketers have adopted grocery programs. Some have become huge equalizers where customers view saving on gas above their double coupons on groceries. For grocery chains who are involved, they get an upper hand on their competitors who either have their own gas islands or do not have a convenience store partner. Over the past few years, I have spoken with some very creative people who have used a wide variety of methods to maintain their presence as the local convenience store – the kind my dad would still like to visit every week.
For more on creative loyalty techniques go to the following places to read more about some great ideas see below: Other Recent Articles on Loyalty
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