Being a marketer often feels like living in a Holiday Inn Express commercial. An employee you’ve never seen before walks up to your desk and offers some advice: “I think you should make the logo bigger and use some glitter.” “I’m sorry, you don’t look familiar. Are you new in the marketing department?” “No, I’m…
Category: CAPRAplus
NACS Show: Innovating Like a Start Up
The following originally appeared in Convenience Store Decisions and features W. Capra Senior Consultant, Jim Duboyce. Sheetz aims to empower an incubator team to strategize new initiatives for Sheetz that will position it for the future. In a Sunday, Oct. 7 educational session on innovating like a start up, Moderator Jim Duboyce, senior consultant, W. Capra Consulting,…
Loyalty Points to Ponder
The following originally appeared in Convenience Store Decisions and is written by W. Capra Executive Consultant, Ed Collupy. When considering a new loyalty program, asking the right questions can help you determine which option is best for your business. Many convenience operators have their own experiences they can rely on related to loyalty programs either from…
How will Blockchain Influence the U.S. Payment Systems?
If time is money, then why do our payments move so slow? In the 21st century, speed is the name of the game – instant communication via email, text and phone calls are critical to our day-to-day lives, social media has changed way we learn about the latest news and keep up with friends, and…
Changing Signature Requirements - How Will You Be Impacted?
Starting last year, the 4 major US card brands – MasterCard, Visa, Amex, and Discover – issued announcements that beginning in April 2018, merchants are no longer be required to collect signatures on card present transactions. Each card brand’s program has different rules and requirements about which transactions are exempt from signature collection, but broadly,…
The Annual Expedition - A Look at NRF's Big Show
The following story is reposted from Convenience Store Decisions and is written by W. Capra Executive Consultant, Ed Collupy. Innovation in 2018 will be about retailer & solution provider collaboration, thinking about not only the new, but extending what’s in place today. It’s a journey that more convenience/petro retailers and service providers, large and small…
A Better Path to Inventorying
The following was re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions and features commentary from Ed Collupy. The original posting can be found here. Gaining control over store inventory is a necessary step to boosting your bottom line. When store operators talk about inventory and cash management I always hear them talk about it in terms of accountability,…
Creating the Frictionless Journey Your Customers Want and Demand
The following article has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. Create a powerful customer experience solution where the customer can easily identify and manage their relationship with your brand. By Ed Collupy These were insights & remarks I prepared for a session on Customer Engagement that I cohosted…
Know Your Decision Makers and Build Your Community of Support
Having trouble getting a project or initiative in motion? Are people your biggest challenge? Regardless of your level or position within a company, you need to gain support for your effort and get the commitment to the next steps. Knowing how people respond to change and how they make decisions is paramount to getting the…
Whitepaper: Managing Risk in Faster Payments Systems
Under direction from the Faster Payments Task Force (FPTF), the United States seeks to modernize its payments infrastructure and develop a new system which can provide safe, ubiquitous, and faster payment capabilities to all stakeholders in the payments value chain. The opportunities created by the instantaneous movement of money around the world create an equal…
Approaching Consumer-Facing Programs: Asking the Right Questions to Deliver Maximum Impact
Earlier this year on CAPRAplus we discussed ensuring that the wants and needs of the consumer are put first when developing any consumer engagement program by asking the question, “Do my consumers really want this?” This time around we will look inward to the merchant to ensure consumer engagement programs fit with the organization and…
Unlocking Security Issues
The following article has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. A multi-faceted approach to store security—from locks and cameras to smart safes and best practices in data security—is necessary to keep c-stores safe from theft in 2017. By Ed Collupy Around-the-clock business like the retail petroleum/convenience store industry…