How C-Stores can fuel customer loyalty with truly convenient in-store and curbside services
Convenience stores that want to stay competitive must seamlessly build meaningful customer relationships across multiple channels and touchpoints.
Because satisfying “fast food” is no longer limited to the traditional drive-thru these days, many C-Stores brands are evolving to offer better and fresher food choices to consumers. However, this increased product offering also creates the need to transform service capabilities to stay competitive and meet growing expectations from time-sensitive and tech-savvy customers. Therefore, C-Store brands that invest in improving the in-store shopping experience and streamlining online ordering and curbside pickup processes can emerge as notable competitors to quick-service restaurants while increasing sales and deepening customer loyalty.
The Challenge: Disconnection limits service & production capabilities
The associates at a leading C-Store were completely disconnected from each other and the enterprise. Even those with access to Motorola two-way radios are limited in functionality and with who they can connect. As a result, team members lacked an efficient way to communicate with each other, access critical enterprise systems, or receive important updates from field leadership or headquarters teams. This disconnection decreased employee engagement, reduced service speed, lowered productivity, and lead to disjointed operational workflows.
After exponential growth in digital orders throughout the pandemic, this C-Store identified several frontline operational challenges to optimize, such as:
- Associates’ inability to quickly reach coworkers or access critical resources.
- Managers’ effectiveness in communicating daily announcements such as health and safety or sales goals.
- Team’s need to use unreliable and costly walkie-talkies.
- Slow response times to assist customers, which often led to missing opportunities to upsell or increase the ‘basket’ of each customer.
- Fragmented communications, disjointed workflows, and ill-informed teams.
- Inefficient, reactive online and curbside order execution that lacked agility and eroded productivity and service.
- Limitations on customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and task completion.
The Solution: Connecting the C-Store frontline with Theatro's Mobile Communication Platform
This leading C-Store brand with over 950 locations partnered with Theatro last year to digitally transform their frontline’s communication with Theatro’s Mobile Communication Platform. Now with every frontline team member outfitted with a voice-powered communication device, their team gained real-time access to each other, experts, managers, and critical enterprise systems. Additionally, their frontline can help improve efficiencies and tackle daily C-Store responsibilities with a host of customizable voice solutions such as:
- Curbside Order Fulfillment & Arrival Apps that trigger alerts containing relevant order information or customer arrival details are sent to the first available team member to expedite order completion. Likewise, team members can push real-time updates about an order’s status to the customer.
- Operational Workflow and Efficiency Apps built to automate workflows and streamline store efficiencies such as requesting register backup, pre-configured daily task reminders, and camera integration alerts.
- Employee Engagement and Recognition Apps designed to connect the workforce better, celebrate employee achievements and improve retention.
The Results: The power of working together as OneTeam in the C-Store
Within mere months, this C-Store brand began experiencing a complete and successful digital transformation throughout the enterprise. Theatro’s easy-to-use Communicators helped empower the frontline to improve collaboration, engagement, and productivity while also connecting them to critical systems and the rest of the enterprise. Leveraging Theatro’s Mobile Communication Platform, the chain is now able to:
- Send targeted communications
- Streamline HQ-to-Store messaging
- Close response loops
- Connect store leaders to all associates
- Reallocate labor based on need
- Improve process automation
The Partnership: Driving ongoing innovation in the C-Store and at the curb
This desire to embrace change, drive productivity and redefine the convenience store experience made this leading C-Store chain and Theatro a perfect fit. Theatro has been at the forefront of technological innovation for frontline associates for years—allowing its customers to innovate, test, and implement new solutions free of risk or development fees. Through this partnership, they can now rapidly innovate and deploy only the most valuable solutions across their enterprise.
For example, they implemented Theatro’s Curbside solution, which expedites online orders from fulfillment through delivery. With Theatro’s in-ear alerts, their employees receive notifications the second a new order is placed to ensure customer orders are fulfilled fast. Once the customer arrives, Theatro’s intelligent assistant will alert targeted employees about essential customer details such as the customer’s name, order number, spot number, and specific order instructions for speedy order delivery at the curb.
With the convenience of this new solution, C-Stores can now deliver fast, efficient, and truly convenient service—allowing them to stand out among competitors in the convenience store industry.
Connect with Theatro!
Theatro’s platform enables organizations to maximize labor efficiency to manage tasks and critical customer service processes to create a differentiated customer shopping experience. By closing communication gaps and enabling frontline team members to collaborate and work efficiently as OneTeam, stores can consistently deliver game-changing customer service experiences that compel customers to return again and again.
If you’re ready to arm your frontline team with the technology they need to be successful and provide best-in-class service, contact us today at info@theatro.com or schedule a demo to experience the difference!
