Using Trends to Improve Customer Satisfaction

NACS revisits “Trendspotting: A Customer’s Perspective” from the 2016 Show in a webinar form.

March 08, 2017

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Staying on top of trends is vital in today’s fast-paced world, but how can retailers manage that effectively? Two of the panelists from a popular NACS Show educational session discussed ways to use trends during yesterday’s NACS Show Speaker Chat: Trendspotting: A Customer’s Perspective.

Kristina Appen, special projects senior manager at RaceTrac, talked about ways to discover solutions to problems her company faces. “Look outside of our industry, outside of the walls of our work, to help you really understand what trends are relevant and how those trends could impact our customers,” she said.

“Look beyond your local footprint and consider retailers in other regions or even across the world,” added Derek Gaskins, chief customer officer at Rutter’s. “Across the globe, retailers can provide best practices that would work in your store.” He also emphasized feedback from internal team members and customers, and leveraging supplier expertise to assist in coming up with solutions and new ideas for your store.

One attendee asked how to bring back customers after a change in fuel branding, which meant that particular credit card would no longer be accepted. “Do specialty drops to nearby customers to encourage more visits and use coded coupons to see which offsite drops worked best,” Appen suggested. Gaskins recommended third party vendors to help narrow the focus, such as a U.S. Postal Service direct mail program.

Another attendee wanted assistance in incorporating a beer cave into her blue collar market store in Pennsylvania, which recently opened the doors for alcohol sales at convenience stores. Gaskins pointed out that data from supplier MillerCoors put the optimal beer cave size at 300 square feet. “You also should consider having doors in your beer cave to allow for easy single sales, as we’ve found that single beer sales account for 50% of our beer profit,” he said.

Gaskins also stressed the importance of consistency across all stores, but that some trends might not be applicable to all sites. “We should think about how we can replicate what resonates with our customer base, but that may vary based on our stores,” he said.

On March 14, tune into NACS Show Speaker Chat: Technical Tools for Data Protection for a chance to ask speakers your questions on ways to keep data safe. NACS Show Speaker Chats will run weekly on Tuesdays at 2:00 pm EST through March 21.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement