Outsite: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us about your loyalty program. It appears your program is going very well.
Greg Lassus: We’re in our third year and are still excited about the program. We try to massage the program to keep it fresh… It’s working for us. We have never second-guessed our choice of partnering with Outsite Networks and continue to be grateful to have Outsite Networks as a long term business partner.
Outsite: What are some of the secrets to your success?
Greg Lassus: You really have to drive a program from the bottom up and build ownership throughout the organization. We make sure everyone knows the objectives. We continue to train as we change things up and bring on new staff. We make sure the whole staff understands the program.
We try to keep things simple and easy for the customer, and not interrupt their transactions. We sell, but do not offend them. We’ve also worked hard to develop partnerships. We have a strong vendor program. We meet each October to set the promotional calendar for the year. We discuss what’s working for them and what we’ve done to make it successful.
Outsite: What are some of the features of the program that have a big impact for you?
Greg Lassus: The targeted audio at the pump has been a very important factor for us. We have very aggressive promotions with good talent, and good production. It does a good job at both pulling in people off the street for incremental growth and building loyalty among our own members. We do some of the audio here with staff. We hire professional talent for big promotions. We also use the Vendors creative as well. It’s important to have fresh audio each month. We add 4 to 6 new messages. It’s important to keep it fresh and new. Of course we try to use my father’s voice. He’s a local personality.
We also have our “Charity of Choice” where members at registration can select a charity from a number of local charities. Their choice determines how our partner foundation gives back to charity. We’re locally owned and operated…the hometown c-store…and need to be involved and give back through the rewards program.
Note: In 2004, the Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce recognized Lassus Brothers Oil Inc. for its company growth and community involvement with its Large Business of the Year Award.
Outsite: Is there anything else you feel is important to your program’s success?
Greg Lassus: We have about ten to fifteen clubs that offer rewards…We have a standard fountain club, coffee club, bread and milk clubs. We also promote vendor products through clubs, like a Skoal club, Grizzly club, 20oz clubs with Coca Cola. We focus on building clubs with top sellers. It’s important to promote those clubs. We use an easel posted at each of the registers and insert that into the easel. We also have up to an eight cent discount on gas as a fuel incentive. And also, we deliver fast and friendly service.
Outsite: Where are you headed next with your program?
Greg Lassus: We’re looking at some of the non-frequent users and are attempting to add some incentives to bring them more actively into the rewards program. And we have an initiative to collect and mine more data.
Store #20 employees celebrated winning a cash prize reward for having achieved on-going high levels of overall % loyalty transactions. This store in Auburn, IN maintained a % loyalty transaction rate at or above 20% every month from June 2008 to February 2009! And they are still going strong. In April store #20 moved up 8 slots higher to the seventh highest position in a % loyalty transactions ranking of all Lassus Brother stores. The Lassus Handy Dandy Hometown Rewards program is certainly seeing the fruits of employees focused on promoting their loyalty program. Congratulations!
