PRESENTED BY:

Hello!

Welcome to the first edition of Always Be Convenient, a new type of newsletter for the convenience retail industry.

You won’t come here for the news of the industry, but instead you’ll learn about what to do with it.

In this weekly newsletter I’ll focus on what it takes to make life more convenient for customers, as well as how to leverage digital to do that.

Because if we’re not convenient, in the convenience retail industry, what are we doing?

I can’t tell you I have all the answers. I wish that were true.

But after 15 years operating in the convenience store business, I’ve got plenty to share based on what I’ve seen, heard, learned, and done.

And sharing is exactly what I’ll be doing, on a weekly basis, as we strive together to always be convenient for our customers.

Finally, I want to say thank you, friend, for being among the first to subscribe.

If you’re already here, it means you answered my call to join me on this journey. It means a lot to have your early support!

Conveniently,
Mike

A MESSAGE FROM NEXCHAPTER

Your partner in realizing digital growth in fuel and convenience

NexChapter is a strategic advisory firm focused on accelerating growth in the convenience ecosystem, using technology and digital tools to enable the business ambitions of their clients.

As a team of former convenience operators, they are retail-tested. NexChapter understands the market and what it takes to be successful. And they bring deep digital expertise for their clients to leverage — across loyalty programs, e-commerce, mobile apps, marketing automation, retail media, and more.

Are you ready to advance your standing in the marketplace? Contact NexChapter to learn more about how they can help you achieve your goals.

Bridging to digital

Since the start of my career, even outside the convenience industry, I’ve always been focused on digitization.

Though my background might surprise you.

In my first job out of college I worked for a job board company. They had a website that served as a marketplace for jobs and jobseekers.

It was pre-LinkedIn, and my job was to convince both sides of the market to connect over the internet.

To most it probably seemed crazy.

Why would an industry ‘go online’ when what they had been doing was not broken? Their current approach had served them well for years.

This industry was inherently blue collar, serving the construction market, where work happened in a physical place and people worked with their hands.

Does this sound like any other industry you know? 😉

What I spotted then, and still hold on to today, is that people will do what’s convenient.

No matter how well worn the path, people are always open to something new — if it is easier.

Digital, and digitization as a concept, is the ultimate manifestation of convenience. When something has been transformed by technology, anything analog feels inconvenient in comparison.

Sending a letter. Dialing a phone. Ordering a pizza. All have been digitized by enabling technologies. And as time elapses, convenience takes hold.

What once was familiar to many, today has been forgotten by most.

Can you advertise a job without a newspaper? Can you get from place to place without a taxi? Can you connect with a friend without dialing a phone?

Technology has evolved each of these things. But the underlying need remains. And that is where we must focus.

Meet your customer’s needs and they will care less about how you got there.

Analog versus digital is not the important distinction to the customer. They want what they want when they want it.

The customer of today and tomorrow is increasingly digital as a default. Will you meet them there?

That is our challenge as we bridge to digital.