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Patrick McMullan, chief operating officer of Three Square Market, says that getting data from c-stores is just one way of thinking outside of the box. "I have an operator who uses a marketing campaign based on c-stores that works really well," he said. "He campaigns that his micro markets are '5x5', meaning that they are five steps from the employee's desk and five cents cheaper than the nearest c-store. And he is constantly check- ing c-store pricing to make sure he stands by that." McMullan also says that operators can get an edge over c-stores by look- ing at the fresh food items they offer and then offering better. "We have another operator who partners with a really popular deli in St. Louis to offer sandwiches, salads, soups and more. He has been able to market the fact that he is bringing the deli to the office," said McMullan. "He is offer- ing a better product than the c-store. It not only has a better appeal but is more successful because it's what the employees want in their breakroom. They wouldn't have been able to get that experience without going to the deli directly." Gain from grocery and restaurants Micro market operators can look out- side of the c-store industry, too. In fact, grocery stores and restaurants — including fast-food — are other viable places to get ideas. Five Star's McCall uses grocery stores to see what products are popular here and now, paying close attention to beverages. "I will watch products in grocery stores and then talk with our distributors to try and get them in our micro markets," he said. Five Star has been successful in getting Sparkling ICE, AriZona Beverages, Bolthouse Farms juices and Sabra Hummus in its micro markets from retail. Other than overall trends, gro- cery offers ideas on loyalty programs and impulse merchandising, too. Searcy recalls one operator of his who places twelve-packs of soda near the exit of the micro market — a con- cept taken from retail. "I know that although it doesn't greatly increase sales for him, offering a twelve-pack is a convenience factor for the cus- tomer so perhaps they don't have to stop at the store on their way home to pick it up," he said. Grocery, while important, caters to a different consumer than micro markets, McCall said. "The grocery customer is going there and spending $300 and planning their visit. In the micro market, it's con- venience and impulse." McCall looks at quick-service restaurants for ideas in marketing. Five Star creates a rib- based promotion around McDonald's McRib limited-time offering. "We use the momentum that surrounds fast-food limited-time offerings," said McCall. The company is currently working to build a breakfast menu paired with coffee, a fast-food trend that is ongoing. There are endless opportunities for micro markets to provide a one- stop shop for customers, but operators need to be willing to think like retail- ers. "Soak up the data and concepts that are applicable to the micro market industry, consider the possible appli- cation to your markets and implement those that make sense," said Bailey. "With micro market competition heat- ing up, having micro markets that use the proven concepts of other related industries is absolutely necessary." When it all comes down to it, micro market operators should focus on the facts, says Joe Hessling, CEO of 365 Retail Markets. "Identifying trends is a vital skill for a successful micro market operator and in vend- ing terms, a trending item will "turn" more than a low performing item, giv- ing the operator more product move- ment. Whether the identification of these trends comes from industry reports or simply walking the aisles of c-stores or grocery stores, research is important." Micro market operators looking outside of the industry have a bet- ter chance of improving their micro markets and providing a complete consumer experience. Looking at your own data There's no doubt that looking internally at your own micro market data is vital. "Operation- al efficiency creates more cash and you know the old saying, 'cash is king'," said Joe Hes- sling, CEO of 365 Retail Mar- kets. "I would pay attention to stock-outs, theft management, fresh food management and pricing. Those alone could add 5 to 10 percent to your bottom line if managed effectively." Elyssa Allahyar-Steiner, VP of sales and marketing at Avanti, stresses that data will tell operators what is selling the most, as well as other im- portant information. "I think some of the most important items to look at are the average ticket spends and the average number of tickets per day," she said. "This is where you should start, but when we talk about products, merchandis- ing, space to sales allocation, it is so critical for operators to analyze the data. The data will tell you what is staling out the most and where you are losing the most of a single product varietal at a given location." She notes that a product could be a top-performing item at many locations, while at 20 percent of locations it doesn't sell. "So it is important to leverage the data to run a more profitable business," she concluded. 28 Automatic Merchandiser VendingMarketWatch.com October/November 2016 M I C R O M A R K E T S