Last fall, Texas Born – more commonly known as TXB – unveiled its new app and loyalty program. The enhanced offering features broader rewards and more deals for customers, and the chain was excited to get everyone on board.

“It has so many awesome features,” said Anna Felz, brand and marketing director for TXB. “But how do we get that out? We can put it on signs, but the best way to let people know about these things is to engage with them.”

So that’s what the company did.

TXB has created a brand ambassador program for its convenience stores, to help people make the shift. These employees will be on site to explain how to join the program, as well as to help with a number of other technical issues customers might have. 

That includes “helping them download the app or enroll an account, or troubleshooting any issues... if they had any login issues or any problems updating to the new program,” said Felz. 

C-stores are having a tough time getting customers engaged with loyalty programs. Despite many companies launching and relaunching loyalty apps, rewards and more over the past few years, participation in such programs was actually down 16% from 2019 to 2021, according to a report from customer experience vendor Paytronix.

But as experts point out, one of the problems is that c-stores don’t talk enough about their loyalty programs to their customers. The brand ambassador program aims to help TXB avoid that pitfall.

The program not only helps the customers who are having a hard time, but it also helps keep things inside the store running more smoothly. 

“I need someone that can have dedicated time with my guests, because I can't have a cashier spending five minutes to help someone if there's a line of people behind them,” Felz said. 

Building the TBX brand ambassador program

TXB is in the middle of constructing its teams — one each for North Texas, Central Texas and South Texas, with stores in Oklahoma falling under the North Texas team’s purview. Each team will be comprised of two people, with plans for each pair to visit one store in their territory on a rotating basis, to make sure they spend some time at all stores.

They’re aiming to be at each store during peak hours in order to reach as many customers as possible. 

Felz said the program was based in part on a similar program from one of her previous jobs. 

“Similar industry, different company,” said Felz. “But we had launched a new program, and we essentially staffed an ambassador at each store during peak hours. And we saw major spikes in our app, downloads, traffic and use.” 

The teams will visit both TXB-branded stores and Kwik Chek locations, though the chain’s newest stores will not receive visits. 

“We actually have a person that is staffed at each new store for it,” Felz said. “They are very focused on the app, but they're also there to help sample food, to help show people around.”

So far, only the South Texas team has been hired and gone through training to get out into the field. Felz said that staffing problems – a problem across the c-store industry – have slowed rollout in the other two areas. To spur interest in the roles, TXB is offering a bonus of $1 per new signup after ambassadors get 25 people to enroll in the new app, and $2 per signup after they hit 75, according to a recent job listing.

The initial plan is for the brand ambassador program to run for three to six months, but that’s not a hard deadline, Felz noted. 

“I see it being a temporary program to start initially,” Felz said. “ What kind of feedback we're receiving will help us determine how long to run this program.”

Spreading the good news

Part of the reason TXB wants employees to talk about its new loyalty program in person is that the previous loyalty program was card-based. Some people had multiple cards, while others may have lost their cards or forgot they ever had a card. Those people might need extra help getting their accounts merged or restarting their accounts, Felz said. 

The old loyalty program also wasn’t nearly as robust, so making sure customers understand how much additional value they can get from the new app is important. Where the previous program had only offered points on certain items, the new one gives customers points on nearly every transaction, excluding things like gift cards and lotto tickets. Points also accrue with every gas purchase, and can be spent either at the pump or in store, or donated to one of 13 charities — an option Felz said customers are already utilizing. 

The app also includes TXB’s Chug Club, a $14.99 unlimited drink subscription program. As the app matures and adds more features, it’s going to be important to continue getting the word out.

“Now we're looking at possibly doing a car wash [subscription], and maybe even a tacos or a food subscription,” Felz said. 

TXB’s goal for the brand ambassador program is both to see more people signing up for the loyalty program and increase engagement with members. If it’s successful, “we should see a higher percentage of transactions being through rewards,” said Felz.

“As a chain as a whole, we would like to have a capture rate of 30% of all transactions going through loyalty,” she noted.

At a time when many retailers rely on social media, email and other digital channels to boost their loyalty programs, TXB’s ambassador program underscores the potential value of person-to-person interaction. 

“How can we knock people's socks off with this and get them to download [the app] and use it and have a really great experience?” Felz said. “Let's just put someone in each store to be able to assist with that.”