“Scary” — that was the word that dominated presentations at the latest NACStech event in late spring.
The threat that social engineers pose to your company’s future, potentially destroying your business in a single day — scary. Concern over PCI compliance issues, from the resources required to get compliant to the consequences of a breach — scary. What your employees think of change, especially when it involves technology — scary.
And while these issues are indeed scary, the real story at NACStech was how technology is giving retailers new ways to communicate with their customers and employees, capture essential sales data, streamline back-office operations and get customers in and out of the store quickly and efficiently.
More than 1,000 attendees participated in the three-day NACStech conference and exposition, which took place in May at the Gaylord Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas.
At the first NACStech in the 1990s, the emphasis was on back-office solutions, with IT professionals as the audience. Today, “IT is still a big part of NACStech, but the fastest-growing category of attendees is now marketing and category management,” said NACStech Chair Jenny Bullard, noting that attendees aren’t just IT professionals, but also company presidents, CEOs and COOs. “We see more executives here because at its heart, technology is about communication — technology makes it easier to talk to each other and get things done.”
Bullard, who is CIO at Waycross, Georgia-based Flash Foods, shared with attendees how “spirited roundtable discussions” with staff about technology led to an unprecedented cultural change at Flash Foods, and facilitated overall communication. “They weren’t always fun, but these conversations brought about a unity that helped us define the future of our company,” she said.
BJ Fogg, Stanford University professor and an Opening General Session speaker, shared how communicating a desired behavior, with the intent to “persuade” someone to act on that behavior, doesn’t have be complicated — in fact, it’s most effective when it’s kept simple.
“Amazon.com showed that computers can persuade,” said Fogg, citing the company’s ability to make recommendations to customers based on their searches. But that doesn’t mean that you have to be the size and scope of Amazon.com to use technology to persuade customers. “Everything big on the Internet started small,” said Fogg, stressing that simplifying things for customers makes them more likely to act the way you want them to.
In a highly entertaining and interactive presentation, Fogg discussed how businesses can get customers to do what they want by knowing what affects change.
“Think small,” stressed Fogg, urging simplicity. And for businesses, simplicity is about identifying customers’ scarcest resource — time, money or physical effort — and eliminating it as a barrier to change.
Fogg also shared a video that he posted on Facebook — “the number-one persuasive technology of all-time” — which demonstrated how taking something simple (such as eating lettuce) could persuade others to do something (“Go ahead and eat a vegetable too!”).
Meanwhile, Closing General Session speaker, practical futurist Michael Rogers, explored how emerging technologies are starting to enhance how we depend on the virtual world to communicate and conduct business.
“The continued virtualization of America is just beginning now in cyberspace,” he said. “Sooner or later, we will have our identities on the Internet, either made by you or someone else.”
In terms of what trends people can expect to see in the coming years, Rogers said that much will hinge upon what consumers decide will become their personal digital assistants: smart phones or laptops.
“We’re all practical futurists,” said Rogers. “We need to place bets on what the future might look like.” And he urged attendees to think long term. “When you adopt a new technology, shoot ahead of the duck. Look at what you do today in terms of longer trends — five, eight, 10 years out.”
Given the state of the economy, consumers watching their wallets and looking for deals, loyalty continues to be a hot topic at NACStech.
“With the economic situation changing customers buying habits, retailers are looking for innovative ways to learn more about customers so we can mold their spending to increase our sales and gross margins,” said Bullard.
She noted that Flash Foods’ “Rewards in a Flash” customer loyalty program allows the company “to better define our offer to customers and give them more value for their money while increasing sales.” And as Flash Foods seeks new ways to enhance its loyalty program, NACStech provided a venue for the company to meet with its loyalty application provider to share ideas, as well as network with other retailers who also have loyalty programs.
And a loyalty program doesn’t have to be cost-intensive, explained Pat Lewis, partner at Oasis Stop ’N Go and CEO of Kick Back Rewards (and a NACS Board member), and Josh Petty, loyalty program manager at Tetco Stores, during the workshop, “The Economics of Loyalty Marketing: Can You Afford It?”
Lewis and Petty helped attendees answer the question: “How do I get a good return on investment?” They also dismissed the notion that loyalty programs are “too expensive to implement.”
More details on this very interesting session — and a formula for determining the return on investment for loyalty programs — can be found in the August issue of NACS Magazine.
In 2005, NACStech held its first PCI compliance workshop as an introduction to what the topic could mean to convenience stores. Fours years later, PCI compliance has infiltrated the industry, but with all of the updates, deadlines and confusion over responsibility, NACStech set out to help retailers overcome the complexities involved with becoming — and maintaining — PCI compliance.
One myth debunked at NACStech: You only need to be PCI compliant once. Workshop panelists stressed that maintaining compliance, keeping up with security upgrades and ongoing PCI standards is a process that involves an entire organization; one that continues long after a merchant becomes PCI compliant. Retailers cannot depend on their service providers for compliance; it’s the merchant’s responsibility to maintain security.
PCI compliance is more a journey than a destination. It’s about maintaining security, commented American Technology President Shekar Swamy, a moderator of one of the PCI workshops.
And although PCI compliance should be a priority for retailers, there are additional concerns, as state governments seek to develop mandates for compliance, or punish retailers in noncompliance. “Be more afraid of the state attorneys general than PCI,” said NACS consultant Gray Taylor. “Visa’s the least of your worries if you get breached.”
And, of course, the credit card companies that developed PCI DSS — Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express and JCB International — will continue to dictate the rules of engagement because, well, they can.
“They make up the rules,” said Taylor. “It’s like playing chess with a three-year-old.”
Technology is essential to monitoring theft, shrink and identifying category trends — and all at the point of sale.
Point-of-sale (POS) software solutions and scan data used by retailers such as WILCOHESS in North Carolina are helping the company reduce theft, particularly employee theft. Susan Flynn McLoughlin, senior systems analyst, shared during the workshop “Using Your POS to Control Theft, Shrink” that the company uses a “trend book” feature of its POS software that captures key register information generated by the cashier during a shift. Over a period of time, store managers can follow the performance of cashiers and identify trends in key categories that may indicate a training deficiency or employee theft.
At Flash Foods, a POS solution helped it dramatically reduce gasoline theft. Dale Williams, director of quality assurance and internal control, shared how the company has reduced gasoline theft by 78 percent since 2006, a savings of almost $575,000 in just two years.
The POS software allows Flash Foods to see a detailed report of each pump, the times of day theft occurred and how frequently, including which sales associate was on duty. The company’s “Rewards in a Flash” loyalty program also allows customers to fuel up and then pay, including those who pay with cash. So if a customer drives off, whether intentionally or not, Flash Foods has the customer’s information through the loyalty card.
Security expert Ira Winkler, NACStech early riser breakfast speaker, is known as a “modern-day James Bond” for his exploits in breaking into companies’ security systems and helping them identify weaknesses. The biggest weakness, he explained, is not the technology in place, but people.
“People will eventually fail,” Winkler said, noting that it’s common to find passwords on Post-It notes attached to monitors, and that people unknowingly give information to thieves under the guise of being friendly and helpful.
Winkler urged attendees to create simple system alerts, such as a plan for handling a so-called “repair man” who comes into the store to fix a card reader at the pump. He also advised attendees to train employees on why such policies are in place. “Common knowledge leads to common sense,” he stressed.
From fuel dispensers to security cameras, to point of sale kiosks to fire-proof safes, the NACStech expo showcased the newest technologies to help a convenience store thrive in today’s tough economic climate. This year’s event featured 92 exhibiting companies, 19 of which were new to NACStech.
For exhibiting companies such as Skyline Products, NACStech is a great venue for conducting business. “We generate not only new customers but also have meetings with our active customers,” said Aaron McHugh, business development and software development manager at Skyline, noting that three days at NACStech saves his company about six weeks worth of travel time and costs.
Can one good idea spell success? For some NACStech attendees, more than one good idea emerged, as well as strong leads for fostering business relationships.
“If I leave a conference with one good idea that I can implement, then it was a good show and worth the investment of time and money,” said Lewis. “This year, NACStech gave me about a dozen things that will find their way into my business.”
“Technology isn’t limited to just one functional area. It is everywhere within our companies. I think one of our biggest successes has been how we have changed the perception of technology,” said Gabe Olives, vice president of IT/petroleum at Turkey Hill and 2010 NACStech chair, in the Closing General Session. “Take advantage of the importance that your company’s leaders put in technology. By developing meaningful, open communications throughout your organizations about technology, you can move colleagues from terrified to tech savvy.”
We look forward to seeing you next year at NACStech, May 5 to 7 in New Orleans.
