Convevo Launches a Loyalty Program

John Lofstock
Mar 06, 2012
Convenience Store Decisions

The Digital Deal is an innovative, turnkey text marketing solution aimed at connecting c-stores with their customers.

Convevo Partners, a leading convenience store consulting firm, has introduced The Digital Deal, the first ever loyalty program designed specifically for multi-unit and single-store operators. The program is built around a text marketing engine that is fully managed by the Digital Deal. It includes an exciting promotional sign package that is customized for each store operator as well as a marketing program to accelerate customer sign up and sales growth. With the Digital Deal, single store and chain operators can deploy a robust text marketing program in a matter of days.

We designed the program specifically to make it affordable and simple for small business owners to connect with customers through their mobile phones, the most common communication devices in the world said Greg Ehrlich, Convevo Partners president, and the former chief operating officer for Columbus, Ohio-based Certified Oil Co. There are over 200 million mobile phone users in the U.S. and 67% are using their phones to text. With a 98% open rate and the shift to unlimited messaging plans, texting is hands down the most cost effective way to connect with consumers wherever they may be.

The Digital Deal requires no technical expertise as Convevo Partners handles account set up and database management for their customers. Establishing a text marketing loyalty program on their own can be challenging and time consuming for small business owners. We have taken our expertise with loyalty, social and mobile marketing and over 25 years of convenience store experience to develop a complete program that makes connecting with customers simpler and less costly than ever before,” Ehrlich said.

Ehrlich sat down for a Q&A with Convenience Store Decisions to discuss The Digital Deal and how it could benefit retailers.

CSD: What impact text messaging having on convenience store marketing?

GE: Text marketing is providing convenience store operators with a cost-effective and simple way to build a customer database that can be used to provide deals to customers wherever they may be. It works on all phones, not just smartphones, so it’s available to most customers. In fact, 96% of Americans aged 18-29 own a cell phone according to the Pew Research Center.

CSD: Why is this program important for convenience store retailers and can smaller convenience store chains be effective with this type marketing?

GE: With unlimited messaging plans, the cost for running a text marketing program is the same whether you have one store or one thousand stores. The Digital Deal program only takes an operator about an hour a month to run, compared to the many hours and specialized knowledge needed to effectively run a Facebook fan page or a card based loyalty program. In addition, the Digital Deal provides promotional analysis to assist its customers to create more successful deals for its customers than they could design on their own.

CSD: How do you measure the ROI of a text marketing program and what kind of ROI can retailers expect from this investment?

GE: ROI is proportional to the number of customers signing up for the text club program and the redemption rates for the weekly deals. A sales increase of just 1% pays is more than enough to pay for this program, however, the greater value is that it gets retailers thinking more creatively to drive their best customers to their stores more frequently.

Furthermore, the Digital Deal enables you to differentiate your company from many competitors that arent leveraging technology, and once you master a text club program, you will be more prepared and more likely to succeed with other technology marketing platforms like e-mail or Facebook.

The Digital Deal is free to start, providing a great opportunity for retailers to test and learn how text marketing can help grow sales and build customer loyalty. More information can be found on Convevos Website at www.convevo.com or by e-mailing info@convevo.com.