Innovation Roadmap: Customer Engagement
NATIONAL REPORT — In the convenience channel, everything begins and ends with the customer experience.
Elements of a shopping experience that might have once been considered "nice-to-haves" have evolved into "must-haves." This means a quality and consistent shopping experience through both physical and digital touchpoints.
"Convenience retail leaders have advanced their engagement capabilities significantly in recent years," remarked Mike Templeton, vice president of digital strategy for NexChapter Inc., an Iowa-based convenience store strategic advisory firm. "Loyalty programs have opened up customer understanding, customer data has enabled targeted messaging, and mobile apps have wrapped all these capabilities into a package that customers prefer. The path to building a relationship with customers has never been more clear."
[Read more: Charting an Innovation Roadmap]
Today's c-store shoppers are not only open to interacting with retailers digitally but, in many cases, they expect it. Technology continues to be at the center of delivering a personalized guest experience by scaling hospitality to every customer, every day, at every touchpoint.
"Based on the prevalence of loyalty programs at retail and the resulting information being shared by participants, customers are demanding relevance from the value exchange," said Templeton, who previously served as head of digital at Casey's General Stores.
"Years ago, few retailers were investing in rewarding their customers, so consumers took advantage of the value they could find. Today, there are many choices to consider with compelling value propositions, leading to a much more discerning shopper," he added.
York, Pa.-based Rutter's, which operates convenience stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia, always wants to know the customers it is trying to reach. Shoppers in many different need states visit Rutter's more than 80 c-stores at any given time, so the necessity to understand those consumers and tailor communication accordingly is paramount.
"Utilizing loyalty data is a great way to improve interactions and have the best chance for success, which is something we've focused on in recent years," said Chris Hartman, vice president of fuels, advertising and development at Rutter's. "For example, trying to sell a coffee drinker a noncaffeinated drink in the morning will likely fall flat, but a deal that pairs that coffee with a breakfast item gives us the opportunity for growing the basket in the short- and long-term through trial and habit adoption."
Better personalized interactions have become a customer expectation, and technology has become a huge part of providing a personalized guest experience. Loyalty programs have given retailers the data needed to provide that personal touch.