In partnership with

Hello!

Welcome to the 24th edition of Always Be Convenient, the second of its kind in 2025 and one day later than normal. Did you miss getting this on Monday? Reply and let me know. As always, you can find all previous issues in the archives.

Today’s newsletter is all about brands, building on my series about the primary enablers driving digital engagement with consumers.

And speaking of brands, here are a few I had not heard of before this week:

• Speedy Stop in Texas revolutionizes in-store tech with NCR Voyix

• Nabeel Group of Companies in Georgia installed Dover Fueling Solutions’ first direct-current fast charger (called Wayne PWR)

• Quick Track in Texas is transitioning some of its stores to its LaMa brand

• Casey’s is acquiring a small chain in Kentucky called Wow! Foodmart

Do you have a favorite c-store brand that’s not as well known in the market? Send it my way and I’ll give them a shout in a future newsletter!

Conveniently,
Mike

FROM OUR PARTNERS AT MORNING BREW

The gold standard of business news

Morning Brew is transforming the way working professionals consume business news.

They skip the jargon and lengthy stories, and instead serve up the news impacting your life and career with a hint of wit and humor. This way, you’ll actually enjoy reading the news—and the information sticks.

Best part? Morning Brew’s newsletter is completely free. Sign up in just 10 seconds and if you realize that you prefer long, dense, and boring business news—you can always go back to it.

Join 4.3 Million Readers Now

Your marketing is your brand

Last week we discussed your digital presence as one of the four primary enablers of digital engagement. This week we’ll tackle the second: Omnichannel Marketing.

While most are familiar with marketing, let’s talk about how “omnichannel” has complimented and extended its meaning in today’s digital world. Omnichannel marketing is the external messaging from your brand to consumers across the channels and devices they are using, optimized for relevance to the audiences it reaches.

And if omnichannel marketing is the messaging itself, your brand affects the substance within. Each and every message that appears from you should run through the filter of your brand. It should reflect your values, showcase your promise to the consumer, and carry a consistent theme or proposition that represents who you are.

Your brand shows up on your website, in the colors you use, in your language, and in what you support. Your brand guides the choices you make, the types of stores you run, and the products you sell. Your marketing carries that message.

Looking at most businesses – inside or outside the convenience industry – the company’s brand is generally the only thing that differentiates it from another. That’s because the brand establishes what you look like, how you sound, what you value, how you operate, and where you succeed.

In the world of convenience we sell things you can find anywhere else. Fuel, snacks, beverages, food. Each can be purchased from any number of retailers.

What sets you and your marketing apart is your brand.

Many restaurants sell chicken, but does your brand have “World Famous Chicken” like this Baltimore favorite? It’s fresh, never frozen, and uses a secret recipe.

Lots of places sell pizza, but does your brand use made-from-scratch dough handcrafted with a giant floor mixer? That’s what the fifth-largest pizza chain does.

Several QSRs compete slinging foil-wrapped burritos. Only one brand can call their burrito world-famous (but is it really a chimichanga?).

Are you sensing a theme? 😉 

Once you’ve established your brand, everything else comes to life.

Your marketing shows up wherever your brand goes. And omnichannel marketing goes wherever your customers go.

As you examine everywhere your marketing reaches, consider prioritizing places that allow your brand to stand out.

Visual experiences – like advertising and social media platforms – enable you to put your brand on display with dynamic graphics, music, and motion.

In the digital channels you manage, like your mobile app or push notifications, you can also blend brand messaging with customer data to create personalized marketing.

There is so much opportunity when you go beyond static placements.

But, even in traditional marketing settings, all it takes is a little creativity.