This article is brought to you by Upside downmember of the NACS Hunter Club.
ALEXANDRIA, Va.—In today’s economic environment, fuel retailers and convenience stores are looking for new ways to reach customers and stay competitive. Fuel retailers and convenience stores have many options for spending their marketing dollars. These programs, whether they are on-site marketing campaigns, transportation apps, advertising platforms, and more, have different pricing models and also deliver different results.
Most retailers are used to cost-per-impression marketing programs. These programs allow retailers to target, reach and advertise to a large group of existing and potential customers. The problem with these programs is that they cannot reliably validate whether they are generating additional or profitable business.
“With so many challenging market forces happening at once, old marketing strategies just won’t cut it,” said Bryant Getzel, vice president of sales at Upside, a retail technology company. “Savvy, forward-thinking marketers are turning to lightweight personalization technology.”
Upside is a retail technology company that enables fuel and convenience stores, grocery stores and foodservice retailers to expand their customer base through digital initiatives resulting in increased sales and profits. Upside’s top-rated app and network of app partners deliver personalized promotions to millions of consumers, ensuring they shop at participating stations, rather than the competition.
When Upside can prove to a business that it brought them customers or a purchase they didn’t expect, they share the profits from that purchase together. Consumers get cash back for choosing this business, and businesses get more sales. It’s a win-win, and Upside doesn’t get paid until the two make money first.
“We only share profits that we can prove to come from Upside,” Getzel said. “Otherwise, Upside eats the cost of promotion.”
Upside’s goals align with retailer’s goals in a profit-sharing model. Upside’s promotions are always within the margins set by the retailer. Additionally, Upside’s personalization drives customers to higher margin areas of a fuel retailer’s business, such as inside the convenience store, to drive customer spending.
“In times of uncertainty, it’s critical to focus on marketing programs that drive proven benefits, not just impressions,” Getzel said.
Upside said its merchants see an average return on investment of 60% per year after partnering with Upside, and the platform helps its partners sell more than 600 million additional gallons of gasoline each year.
Additionally, retailers who partner with Upside are seeing new customers turn into repeat customers. Upside doubles the frequency of monthly visits for existing customers and increases the monthly spend of existing customers by 2.6 times.
Here’s how to get started with Upside.
This is the second installment in a two-part NACS Daily series on how fuel retailers can use personalized digital promotions to increase profits and loyalty. Read Upside’s latest eBook, “How Fuel Retailers Turn Excess Capacity Into Profit”to learn more.
