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: PETRO+
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…
Salty Snacks Charge Forward
The below article, which includes quotations from W. Capra Executive Consultant Ed Collupy, has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original article can be found here. As more consumers are shifting to healthier and protein-filled salty snacks as meal replacements, c-stores are well positioned to reap the rewards. By Lisa White, Contributing Editor The…
Engaging Consumers to Develop Fuel Brand Loyalty
Differentiation in an Undifferentiated Market Merchants realize that having a loyalty program is a standard requirement and not an added feature in consumer eyes, but the structure of their loyalty offerings can differ between verticals and between merchants operating in the same vertical. In the fuel sector specifically, it can be difficult to create a…
Insights from the Think Tank session
The following has been re-posted from NACS magazine. “Surround yourself with smart people” is career advice that I continue to put into action. At this year’s Conexxus Annual Conference, nearly 160 attendees had the opportunity to do just that during the Think Tank session. Joining me on stage were business leaders Stephen Hines, chief…
Winning with Electronic Invoices
The following has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original post can be found here. Electronic invoices offer clear and measurable benefits and are supported by Conexxus EB2B Working Group, but there’s a need for more supplier engagement. By Ed Collupy Store managers, cross functional retail headquarter teams, merchandise and consumer packaged goods suppliers,…
Cashiering Enters the Mobile Age
The following has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original article can be found here. Hand-held devices aren’t just convenient; they are the secured cash registers of the future. By Ed Collupy Looking back, I always wanted the opportunity to checkout a customer using a brass cash register, not just seeing and admiring…
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…
2017: Observations in Review & What’s to Come
The following was re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. As the year ends, it’s a time for reflection and to look into the future. By Ed Collupy It’s that time of the year when it’s always good to take time to look back, reflect, and muse – where did…
The Lifelong Value of Retail Experience
Run a register before you run a company 13 years ago, I traded in the manager’s keys of my gas station for a computer, a cubicle, and title of Operations Analyst. Many titles and office-based jobs later, I continue to call on the skills and experiences from my job as a retail manager nearly every…
The Expanding Back Office
The following article has been re-posted from Convenience Store Decisions. The original posting can be found here. Cloud and mobile are among the technologies pushing the envelope of internal store systems. By Ed Collupy Recent store visits have often allowed me to spend time in the ‘back office’ and have reaffirmed for me that retail…