C-Store operations best practices evolve with experience, technology and creativity. Retail competition is high. Therefore, smart owners and managers seek new ways to serve customers. Naturally, they want to provide new items that are desired. Obviously, they desire higher margins for higher convenience and value.
New products, faster service, cleaner shopping, home delivery, choices, and sometimes just simpler options are all included. Successful C-Store operations best practices make use of hot products as well as long term service excellence. Monitoring results, listening to customers and measuring ROI are all part of choosing the items of value.
In addition to great merchandise and service, operations have a direct impact on results. Operators that achieve high growth, stable margins and increasing loyalty operate well. Technology, management and training drive operations success. Best practices apply to technology selection. Of course, management is critical. Top performers have the same items as the bottom performers. Different cashiers in the same store have different outcomes. Stores are the same. Management and execution make a difference.
C-stores that thrive study best practices. They measure their results with POS scan data analytics and compare themselves internally and externally. The use of data is an objective way to find areas of strength. Of course, objective data will show weakness as well. The key is to know the actual status and focus energy on the priority work that drives sales and provides control.
Managers Forget the Numbers to Fix Problems
C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Store Manager Development
May 25, 2023 —
Managers forget the numbers to fix problems. A store manager cannot make a customer buy anything. They can only address how the store operates. The key is store manager problem solving. They must manage staffing, stocking, inventory, finances, cleanliness, preparation and how the store operates. Their work directly influences the customer experience. Before they fix …
Ten Things I Learned at the CSNews Convenience Food Service Exchange
The presenters at a recent food-service-focused-c-store conference provided a unique perspective on their successes. C-Store operations have already or may soon become primarily focused on food service. The presenters included a single store operator, several top 10 chains, investment bankers, leading vendors and leading consultants in the convenience space. Here are the ten things I …
Five Keys to Grow Food Sales
C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices
April 10, 2023 —
Surveys of c-store managers identify five keys to grow food sales. Food service is critical to the future success of most c-stores. A strong store manager can typically thrive in a store with great food offers as many of the jobs are the same as non-food stores. However, there are key differences. Preparing and supporting …
Management keys for c-store food service utilize existing store manager skills, but require a few important new skillsets to maximize results. C-store managers have a complex job and the demands on their skills continue to grow. C-Store operations’ complexity has increased with a combination of new services, technology, marketing and staffing challenges. The expansion of …
Store manager ROI strategy involves three components. Financial impact, store operations and leadership development drive the return on investment. Some of the more obvious items that are considered that impact investment returns include the ability to increase store sales and improve store operations. The best way to measure and compare however, it not so obvious. …
Owners and operations leaders look for seven key things great c-store managers deliver to maximize their ROI on their store locations. In order to receive the desired c-store leadership, owners and operations leaders must provide the vision and mission. Store managers are responsible to hire, develop and encourage teamwork by building alignment with the purpose …
7 Key Parts to C-Store Loyalty Systems
C-Store Growth | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Guest Columns | Scan Data & Loyalty Program
October 7, 2022 —
Abigail Cerra, ReFuel, discusses 7 key parts to c-store loyalty systems. While the rollout of a loyalty system can be daunting, there are a set of things to consider that can be addressed to successfully achieve the customer loyalty implementation. Based on her experience of implementing several loyalty programs she identifies a few keys to …
Customer Experience Versus Service
C-Store Operations Best Practices | Guest Columns
September 22, 2022 —
Customer experience versus service is the core concept address to maximize customer c-store relationships. In this multi-part series, we will take a dive into the importance of Customer Experience (CX) and how to deliver it to every customer that comes into our convenience store. It is the most important marketing tool there is in our …
How c-store managers avoid overload is an important question for c-store chains. Many operators fear c-store manager burnout so much, they strictly limit changes that impact store managers. They even limit those changes that will make the store manager’s job easier. They often report there are just too many challenges with staffing, supply, regulations, and …
C-Store Management Questions CLEAR the Air
C-Store News & Work Shops | C-Store Operations Best Practices
July 31, 2022 —
C-Store management questions CLEAR the air. Great managers use questions to build teamwork, develop new skills and avoid misunderstandings. Clarify problems Learn how your team thinks Encourage new thinking Appreciate staff knowledge and skill Respect your team Probing Questions Questions help to get answers and share information effectively. The goal of communication is to share …
Pros and Cons of C-Store Managers Using Data Analytics
Given c-store staffing issues and inventory shortages, there are many pros and cons of c-store managers using data analytics. Some argue that there is absolutely no way to ask store managers to do anything except to just keep the doors open. Hence, it can be scary to add another task to store managers for fear …
C-Store Managers Are Facing Challenges
C-Store News & Work Shops | C-Store Operations Best Practices | Managing C-Store Change & Accountability
May 3, 2022 —
C-store managers are facing challenges of shortage, overload and isolation. Customers and vendors create a highly dynamic set of daily, small transactions. Each requires focus and accuracy. This demands a high level of energy to maintain a level of good work all day long. Labor and supply issues force hard decisions and require more management …
