Expert Corner - Get Smart- A Case for Business Intelligence

Have you ever misdiagnosed a problem in your business or life in general? Tried to figure out what was wrong, and how to fix it, only to realize that you didn't know what the real problem was to begin with? Everyone has! View Article

- Some Would Say That Familiar Icons Were Not Retailers

While catching a flight recently, I passed one of the all-too-familiar airport gift shops. Something looking back at me from the shop’s window caught my eye – the famous “three wise monkeys,” also known as the “See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Say No Evil” trio. View Article

- Circle Of Life

The “Circle of Life” is the most remembered song from the award winning movie, “The Lion King.” The chorus, written by Elton John (creator and lyricist), is... View Article

Personnel Touch - High Potential vs. High Performance

I’m asked many times by clients: “What’s the most critical element to store-level execution?” My answer’s always the same: store leadership — be it dealer or manager. Another question I’m asked quite often is: “If you could fix one thing in our company, what would it be?” View Article

- Insignificant

It is my birthday as I write this addition of The Last Word. That fact really does not matter other than when most of my birthdays roll around it reminds me of what my son said several years ago when he called to tell me happy birthday. View Article

Personnel Touch - Give your customers something to talk about

I recently had a birthday, and, no, I’m not going to tell you how old I am. Funny isn’t it? When we’re kids we run around telling anyone willing to listen that it’s our birthday and how old we are. View Article

- Incremental Innovations

BIG changes mean (by their very nature) major revolution. In baseball, home runs (while powerful and defining) are infrequent. They are not the greatest producers of total runs scored; those are achieved by the consistency of individual hits, i.e., singles, doubles and some triples. View Article

Personnel Touch - How to conduct exit interviews

Much like employee opinion surveys, exit interviews are a great opportunity to obtain vital information that can help you reduce your employee turnover in the future. View Article

- The Helpful Hardware

The majority of us can probably finish the above phrase without really even thinking about it. “ACE is the place for the helpful hardware man.” Only one problem — it has been... View Article

Personnel Touch - The Turnover Conundrum

I recently read a survey from CareerBuilder.com regarding employee turnover in the retail industry. They reported that 35 percent of retail workers plan to find a new job this year, citing pay, workload and other career development factors as reasons for seeking employment elsewhere. View Article

- Trying to expand the offering

As it often happens, a customer recently contracted with us to assist them in evaluating some of their stores. The primary reason for the analysis was to create specific data on a store-by-store basis that would assist in making correct management decisions relative to the “product and service mix” provided in each store. View Article

Personnel Touch - How loyal are your customers?

How would you categorize your customers: un-loyal, loyal, or zealots? Most retailers, if they were being honest with themselves, would rate their customers as un-loyal. View Article

- Reinvention

The dictionary provides the definition of “reinvent” as “to create a new version of something, to change radically the appearance, form, or presentation of something or somebody”. “Reinvention” is the noun of the word, the actual accomplishment of such change. View Article

Industry Voices - Dirty little secret

Two recurring themes within the petroleum industry are that the “Big Boys” always get the best fuel deals and high-volume retailers always use fuel as a loss leader. View Article

Personnel Touch - Service culture credos

Does your company have a service credo? You know, those fancy slogans that are printed on pocket-sized cards for each employee to carry around with them, which is designed to help guide their behavior when it comes to taking care of customers and interacting with coworkers. View Article

- A giving industry

Knowing this is the first column for the New Year is reflective in many ways. However, it is being written when there are still more than two weeks remaining before Christmas. View Article

Personnel Touch - New year, new thinking?

Each new year brings with it a fresh start. Many of us start off our new year with resolutions that are intended to help us make improvements in our life. View Article

- Out with the old

Well, we have a wrap on the annual NACS meeting and virtually all other industry events as this is being written; the only exception that comes to mind is the SIGMA annual meeting, to which I am flying as this is being written. View Article

Personnel Touch - Communicating for results

One of the frustrations we often hear from our clients is the inability to fully execute at the store level. Thoughtful strategies, initiatives and programs are developed at headquarters and communicated down to the various classes of trades: jobbers, dealers and company-operated store managers. View Article

Expert Corner - When Reputation is Everything

Failing to comply with EPA mandates can be expensive for petroleum retailers. Aside from costly fines, proprietors who fail to monitor underground storage tank testing and cleaning risk the expense of having pumps shut down for repairs, contaminated fuel dispensed to patrons and the possibility of a costly environmental cleanup in the event of leaks or spills. View Article

Expert Corner - Ethanol carries renewable fuels torch into the future

Things sure have changed back home on the farm. When I was growing up on a farm in northwest Iowa, I would have never dreamed of all the job opportunities and economic growth that is now happening in a rural farm community. View Article

- Transformation

A couple weeks ago, I was driving on Interstate 70 from Kansas City to Columbia, Mo. Just on the west side of Columbia is a big oversized billboard advertising the location of a retail facility of one of this industry’s icons. View Article

Personnel Touch - Be not afraid

In my January 2005 column titled “Redefine The Playing Field,” I wrote about one of the services my firm offers in our consulting practice, referred to as Scenario Planning. View Article

Expert Corner - Seasons and Cycles

The fuel business is a lot like farming in that it is very seasonal. During winter, marketers are conditioned to live off less volume and smaller margins. View Article

- Remember

As I write this, the country is beginning to participate in the fifth-year anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy that tore at our hearts, our love of our country, our sense of commonality with our fellow citizens and our sense of security, always having believed we live in the most secure country in the history of mankind. View Article

Industry Voices - CVMS: The latest innovation in UST safety

By September 2005, there were 452,041 confirmed leaks in underground storage tank systems across the United States. View Article

Personnel Touch - Roadmap to success

I do a lot of traveling with my company and most of it is to small cities that don’t always appear on the map. So like many of you, especially when you’re planning a vacation, I jump online to Web sites like Yahoo or Mapquest to get my directions. View Article

Expert Corner - Should I call a “Headhunter” Part II

Much depends on the proverbial “low-hanging fruit”—Candidates the search firm has already qualified, and in many cases interviewed, who are available, affordable, and appropriate to your position. View Article

Expert Corner - Should I call a “Headhunter”

You’ve decided to put a key position or group of positions out for search. Perhaps you’ve advertised, posted and networked the position on your own…with little success… View Article

Personnel Touch - Under fire

Working as a sales associate in a convenience store has always been a challenging job. In most cases, they work alone, unsupervised, perform a whole lot of multitasking, and take care of customers, who by and large would rather be someplace else. View Article

- Take me to Radiator Springs

Our vacation destination for 2006 has been discovered: Radiator Springs. Situated right there on historic and beautiful Route 66. Heaven knows, Lightning McQueen discovered it and decided he could not leave. View Article

Personnel Touch - All talk, no action

You hear a lot of companies throwing around phrases like: “our people are our greatest asset,” “employer of choice” and “customer-focused.” View Article

Industry Voices - Petroleum industry storm tracking

Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast and left a wake of considerable destruction. Then, “she” left us alone to clean up the mess. View Article

Personnel Touch - Beating the hypermarkets

There were approximately 3,600 hypermarkets in the United States at the end of 2005, capturing a fuel market share of 8 percent. According to Energy Analysis International, this 8-percent market share is projected to double to nearly 15.5 percent by 2008. View Article

Industry Voices - Trucking: Necessary evil or profit generator?

Without fail, every time I present an educational session on efficiency at a convention seminar, at least one marketer asks my advice on trucking. View Article

Industry Voices - Financing creatively - Funding options for buyers with limited capital

As the economy continues to rebound, merger-and-acquisition activity is experiencing a similar recovery. At the same time, the first of the baby boomers are turning 60 and considering what the next phase of their lives will include. View Article

Expert Corner - Continuous Vacuum Monitoring – The Latest Innovation in the “Underground” Movement to Protect the Environment - Part 2

The latest monitoring method and technology available today is "Continuous Vacuum Monitoring”, commonly referred to by its acronym CVMS. The CVMS establishes a standard vacuum of 20" of water column, (equivalent to <2” of Hg, < 1psi), within the interstices to monitor the integrity of the primary and secondary containment barriers. View Article

Expert Corner - Continuous Vacuum Monitoring – The Latest Innovation in the “Underground” Movement to Protect the Environment

By September 2005, there were 452,041 confirmed leaks in underground storage tank systems across the United States. This was a significant increase from April 1995 when there were over 287,000 reported and confirmed leaks. View Article

Expert Corner - Petroleum Industry ­— Storm Tracking

Hurricane Katrina blew through the Gulf Coast and left a wake of considerable destruction. Then, “she” left us alone to clean up the mess. Within our own industry, the petroleum business has its own hurricanes albeit with lesser-known names that, unlike Katrina, continue to blow. For us industry watchers, the names are Hurricane Transportation, Hurricane Supply and Hurricane Taxes. View Article

Personnel Touch - Training: The common denominator for success

A few months back, Fortune magazine published its “2005 100 Best Companies To Work For” report. I enjoy analyzing reports like this to find commonalties that link successful organizations. The products and services that these winning organizations offer, while important, are not their key to their success, since most products and services these days are all pretty much alike. View Article

Expert Corner - Out and about the industry: Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places…

Out and about the industry: Looking For Love in All the Wrong Places… View Article

Expert Corner - PCATS develops loyalty transaction information standard

The Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards has begun work on developing a standard for the exchange of loyalty transaction information in an XML format. This work is being undertaken in response to significant interest by PCATS members and others in the industry. View Article

Expert Corner - Is Your UST System Ready For E85?

oxygenate and octane booster in many states, and as the demand for bio fuels increases, higher ratios of ethanol to gasoline will become more common place. The EPA is currently developing rules which will greatly increase the demand for ethanol blended gasolines. View Article

Personnel Touch - Sustaining customer service - Part III

This edition concludes my three-part series of how to build a customer service infrastructure within your organization. In Part I, I outlined what a customer service infrastructure is, why it’s important and the role it plays in facilitating, supporting and sustaining a customer service strategy. In Part II, I introduced the first five components that make up a winning customer service infrastructure: 1. Commitment; 2. Appoint a Champion; 3. Identify your Moments of Truth; 4. Assess your policies and procedures, systems and processes; and 5. Develop meaningful metrics. Here are infrastructure components 6 to 10: View Article

Expert Corner - Fair Return on Fuel Investments – Am I Just Dreaming?, part II

One strategy is to use fuel as a loss leader. The use of a loss leader to drive store traffic is not new. Grocery stores and other retailers traditionally use “specials” or sale items as loss leaders. Typically these “specials” are supported by manufacturer’s allowances that defray the margin loss. Let’s pick Gold Medal Flour to illustrate the viability of using this type of product versus fuel as a lost leader. View Article

Expert Corner - Fair Return on Fuel Investments – Am I Just Dreaming?

Let’s imagine that you own property with a retail store and want to invest $500,000+ to sell an additional product category. The product is readily available, turns over rapidly, and is something that nearly every person above the age of 17 uses daily. And, you have years of experience selling this product. Sound good so far? Well, yes there are some downsides. View Article

Expert Corner - Fair Return on Fuel Investments – Am I Just Dreaming?

Let’s imagine that you own property with a retail store and want to invest $500,000+ to sell an additional product category. The product is readily available, turns over rapidly, and is something that nearly every person above the age of 17 uses daily. And, you have years of experience selling this product. Sound good so far? Well, yes there are some downsides. View Article

Expert Corner - How To Sustain A Customer Service Strategy - It's all about building the infrastructure, Part III

This edition concludes my three-part series of how to build a customer service infrastructure within your organization. In Part I, I outlined what a customer service infrastructure is, why it’s important, and the role it plays in facilitating, supporting and sustaining a customer service strategy. In Part II, I introduced the first five components that make up a winning customer service infrastructure: 1) Commitment, 2) Appoint a champion, 3) Identify your moments of truth, 4) Asses your policies and procedures, systems and processes, and 5) Develop meaningful metrics. Here are infrastructure components 6-10: View Article

Expert Corner - How To Sustain A Customer Service Strategy - Part II

In the last edition of NPN MarketPulse, I began a three-part series on how to create a successful customer service infrastructure within your organization. There are 10 key infrastructure components that are required in order to facilitate, support and sustain a long-term customer service strategy. Notice I used the words "long-term" and "sustain," not "short-term" and "program." View Article

Personnel Touch - Sustaining customer service - Part II

Last month, I began a three-part series on how to create a successful customer service infrastructure within your organization. There are 10 key infrastructure components that are required in order to facilitate, support and sustain a long-term customer service strategy. Noticed I used the words “long-term” and “sustain,” not “short-term” and “program.” As I wrote last month, most initiatives are program-oriented, meaning they have a start and end date. View Article

- Where have the cows gone?

“Just as the sand passes through the hourglass, so do the days of our lives” — a familiar tagline that has been around a long time. In some ways, the waist/throat of the hourglass represents change, challenge, modification and/or reversal of direction. It serves to depict how tenuous a position it is to base current success on taking the status quo into the future without considering what changes, modifications, etc. must be made to ensure that relevance will exist within the environment of the future itself; a very specific recipe for failure. View Article

Expert Corner - How To Sustain A Customer Service Strategy Part I

Ever wonder why so many customer service strategies are either short-lived or fail before they even get started? I mean think about it: How many retailers do you patronize where you consistently (the operative word here is "consistently") receive a positive and memorable buying experience? View Article

Expert Corner - CAN A REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST HELP YOU - Part II

Disadvantages Tax Myth. Unless properly drafted, a revocable living trust won't save you a dime in estate taxes. For many wealthy individuals, their priority is reducing estate taxes, not just probate. View Article

Expert Corner - CAN A REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST HELP YOU

In recent years, revocable living trusts have been touted as a simple, cheap supplement to wills. But are they? It's called a living trust because you set it up and put some or all of your assets into it during your lifetime. View Article

Expert Corner - Will you know when opportunity is knocking?, part II

Where is there opportunity? Following the factors that drive price volatility and influence local markets becomes key to formulating a successful strategy. By staying in sync with these factors, savvy marketers can stay ahead of the competition. Having a jump on price changes both before and when they are happening gives fuel buyers and sellers a distinct advantage. When local markets are beginning to move in either direction, fuel buyers can anticipate changes before they happen and easily incorporate enough time to react. View Article

Personnel Touch - How To Sustain A Customer Service Strategy - Part I

Ever wonder why so many customer service strategies are either short-lived or fail before they even get started? I mean think about it: How many retailers do you patronize where you consistently (the operative word here is “consistently”) receive a positive and memorable buying experience? View Article

- Alpha Dogs

I just recently completed a week-long business trip that consisted of completing projects throughout one of the largest metropolitan areas (third largest, however, I do not want to name names) of our country. One of the repetitive facts that continually slapped me up-side the head was the absolute sameness of the retail offerings from our industry segment that existed within the overall market. View Article

Expert Corner - Will you know when opportunity is knocking?

It’s surprising how few gasoline marketers may actually be listening. Is your company one of those that waits to see what will happen next before making the next fuel buying decision, or are you actively seeking opportunities to protect and even strengthen your fuel margin? Nimble gasoline marketers are looking for – and finding – better ways to manage their fuel buying strategy. View Article

Expert Corner - It saves to be Green, Part II

A benefit of reclaim that is hard to put a monetary figure to is the environmental aspect. Being green is not only politically correct, it is environmentally correct. Positive publicity for water conservation and reclamation efforts can not be underestimated. Car wash operators who market their conservation efforts and emphasize the benefits to the environment will undoubtedly be well respected by their communities. View Article

Expert Corner - It saves to be Green

Water: It's wonderful stuff. Everybody needs it. Most people have it, but they probably don't have as much as they would like. It may be dirty, contaminated or colored. View Article

Personnel Touch - In Touch

Like many of you, I traveled back home for the holidays to be with family. It’s always good to catch up face to face with what’s going on in everyone’s lives. The most interesting and insightful conversation I had was with my 21-year old nephew and his 19-year old sister. View Article

- I Think I Can

Most of us remember the 1930 classic children’s story The Little Engine That Could. During the next few paragraphs I would like to share a story with you that echoes the forthrightness and visionary thinking that embodies all the principles the Little Engine emblazoned in all of us. View Article

Expert Corner - Do You Need Disability Income Insurance?

No one likes to think about becoming disabled. But it happens far more often than you may think. According to the Social Security Administration, a 20-year-old worker has a three-in-ten chance of becoming disabled before reaching retirement age. The most recent Census counted 49.7 million people with some type of long-lasting health condition or disability. That’s nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population over the age of four. View Article

Expert Corner - The Truth About Debit Holds - Part II

Unlike credit and signature-based debit sales, with pay-at-the-pump “online” (PIN-based) debit transactions, in which the cardholder enters his or her personal identification number (PIN) in order to complete the transaction, the merchant has flexibility in setting the pre-authorization amount for that transaction. View Article

- Inside The Box

Always an interesting column to read each week is Craig Wilson’s The Final Word usually in the Wednesday or Thursday edition of USA Today. An interesting departure from the daily news that appears in this newspaper, the column usually deals with subjects that are light and witty that hit very close to home for each of us. The week’s column, which I just finished reading, is no exception, and it triggered the idea to write this The Last Word column. View Article

Personnel Touch - Meeting the Challenges

In 2005, my firm spoke at 48 state associations’ annual conventions and trade shows. We polled our audiences and asked this question: “What are the top three-business challenges you’re currently facing?” Here are the results: View Article

Expert Corner - The Truth About Debit Holds - Part I

So much has been reported in the media about debit holds, the practice of holding funds on a person’s bank account for a pre-authorized amount, typically when purchasing gasoline in a “pay-at-the-pump” setting. This article is intended to help distinguish fact from fiction regarding debit holds. View Article

Expert Corner - PEOs are the Remedy for Business Woes Part 2

During a slow economy, a PEO (Professional Employer Organization) can help control benefit costs through its large group buying power and enable the business owner to tighten up expenses. In addition, a softer economy may allow business owners to be more particular in hiring, as the labor pool becomes larger and more diverse. PEOs can help business owners locate, attract and retain high quality employees through competitive benefits packaging. View Article

Expert Corner - PEOs are the Remedy for Business Woes

Launching a new business takes guts and creativity. Growing the business can be a great challenge. Being able to efficiently focus on the “art of the business” while managing the critical administrative details can be overwhelming. However, the addition of a Professional Employer Organization to the small business mix can help to keep growth plans on track. A PEO can manage the administrative demands of payroll, workers’ compensation claims, unemployment insurance, health benefits and much more. View Article

Expert Corner - Inside The Box — Ensuring success by updating the box

Always an interesting column to read each week is Craig Wilson's The Final Word usually in the Wednesday or Thursday edition of USA Today. An interesting departure from the daily news that appears in this newspaper, the column usually deals with subjects that are light and witty that hit very close to home for each of us. The week's column, which I just finished reading, is no exception, and it triggered the idea to write this The Last Word column (the titles of these two columns I find interesting in their own right). View Article

Expert Corner - Strategy: Product vs. People

As 2005 winds to a close, most organizations will hold year-end management meetings to assess the effectiveness of this year's marketing strategies. A great amount of planning and analysis will be undertaken to determine if the strategies achieved their objectives, such as increasing sales and profitability, improving customer service levels, improving retailing standards and growing the business. View Article

- It’s A Wrap - 2005 was certainly a year to remember

It is believed that 2005 has definitely proven to be a pivotal year in several regards that will be remembered for many years. It started fast, right out-of-box and has continued on its torrid pace as this is being written. It has proven to be a significant year in both personal and business perspectives for all of us. View Article

Personnel Touch - Brand management

What does your brand stand for? More importantly, how would your customers answer that question, since brands don’t create wealth, customers do. Brand positioning starts with a frame of reference, which signals to consumers the goal they can expect to achieve. Customers have expectations that they attach to brands. Over time those expectations change and it’s up to a brand to change accordingly. View Article

Expert Corner - It's a wrap — 2005 was certainly a year to remember

It is believed th