Reflections from a Road Warrior: The Power of Clean Bathrooms and Good Coffee A Distributor Channel Marketing Moment By Desiree Grace Early in my career, I logged a lot of miles in a company car across the Midwest. One of the first lessons I learned was where to stop, and where not to stop, for coffee, fuel, and the inevitable bio break. I quickly became a fan of Casey’s, and there’s a lot we can learn from them. Casey’s understands how to deliver what matters. It’s not just the gas. It’s the clean bathrooms, the fresh hot coffee, the decent beverage selection, and the surprisingly good pizza. For road warriors, those details add up. Some aspects of their customer experience aren’t obvious, but they clearly figured out what their travelers value. Let’s be honest: not all rest stops are created equal. For those of us who prefer a non-unisex bathroom, ample paper products, and reliable soap, Casey’s is a safe bet. I’ve had more than one unpleasant surprise in less-than-sanitary gas...

The original CRM with notes scribbled on the sides of business cards Sales experts have extolled the virtues of building a personal relationship with customers since the invention of dirt. Arguing that sellers devote time and resources on activities not expressly focused on business, they encourage salespeople to learn about the customer’s family, hobbies, personal interests and more. Many years ago, Harvey MacKay developed the MacKay 66 , which was used by many organizations to understand and log customer interests. But that was back in the “olden days” before the internet, Amazon.com, big data, global competition and all the rest. The question really becomes this… In the age of big information does customer friendship matter? Let’s think about three points: 1. Most of us think of ourselves as (or aspire to be) “solution” providers. Why? Because solution sellers are able to command a little higher gross margin than “parts sellers." 2. There is a certain risk to ev...