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Hello!

Welcome to the 29th edition of Always Be Convenient, the weekly newsletter for convenience leaders who are challenged to remain relevant in an increasingly digital world. All of the previous issues are available in the archives.

For what’s typically a Monday newsletter, a Saturday email isn’t common. Unfortunately this week just got away from me – but it’s not over yet. I’m determined to maintain my weekly publishing streak, now 29 weeks in a row. And especially after my last issue talking about behavior motivation psychology.

Throughout the week I’ve been in client meetings, networking with industry contacts (always up for this!), and preparing for Convenience Retailing University (CRU) in Nashville next week. I also made a little time for play – TETRIS is still one of my go-to games these days – which leads me to this week’s topic.

Without further ado, let’s get into the newsletter!

Conveniently,
Mike

P.S. I’m up to 43 consecutive days of Duolingo lessons in case you’re curious.

FROM OUR PARTNERS AT MOBIVITY

Drive traffic and engagement with games in your app

Mobivity offers retailers an opportunity to capitalize on the popularity of mobile gaming by bringing real-world rewards to their customers’ gameplay experiences.

When retailers implement Mobivity’s Connected Rewards platform, they can offer incentives and rewards to their customers for playing the games they love.

Marketers can be up and running with a Mobivity program fast. Just determine where you want to feature the promotion, set the reward you’re willing to give, and Mobivity takes care of all the rest.

Schedule a meeting with Mobivity to learn more.

The benefits of play

The concept of having an 8-5 job and work-life separation just isn’t reality anymore. We go to work, we work from home, and work comes with us wherever we are.

No one knows this better than the convenience industry. C-stores are open to meet customers’ needs 24/7/365. And our customers depend on us for that.

When work is always available around the corner, it’s important to make room for down time.

Leisure time looks different for everyone – from reading to exercise to spending time with family. Maybe you count reading this newsletter as part of your downtime?

Being outdoors gives us space to stretch our legs. Getting lost in a movie gives us an escape from our own reality.

One pastime becoming increasingly popular in the U.S. – driven by the central nature of devices in our lives – is mobile gaming.

Mobile gaming is the #1 activity on smartphones, chosen by consumers more often than scrolling social media, texting or calling friends and family, reading the news, or answering emails.

And when the average consumer is picking up their device 205 times a day, you can bet they are often turning to games to pass the time.

What’s all this got to do with convenience? There are several things you can learn from the appeal of games that can be applied to your business.

1. Consider how you onboard new “players” – when you launch a new game, first-time players often get a demo, an overview of key features, and easy tasks to complete to draw them in. When was the last time you examined your mobile app’s new onboarding sequence?

2. Make your customers the hero – regardless of the gaming genre, the player is the hero of the story. They may be taking on a challenge, solving a problem, or competing against themselves. In all cases the game revolves around the person playing. We often say business is all about our customers, but how often do you talk about what it means to put the customer in the center?

3. Celebrate the little things – games tap into our psyche and stimulate new desires. We want to reach the next level or achieve a high score. But we also love the motivations along the way. Think about where you can build in small rewards to continue to encourage customers. Those timely motivators will help build toward the long-term behaviors you want to see.

Are you interested in additional ideas about how to fold gaming into your strategy? Reply to this email and we can find time to talk.