Liquid Barcodes

Resources

Maxol CEO Is Guest on Loyalty Podcast for Outstanding Loyalty Program

Carolyn Schnare Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes

12/22/2022

Maxol CEO Brian Donaldson guest stars on award-winning loyalty podcast, Let’s Talk Loyalty, with Paula Thomas

Recently, award-winning podcaster, Paula Thomas hosted Maxol’s CEO, Brian Donaldson on her loyalty podcast, Let’s Talk Loyalty. Maxol is a leading fuel, coffee, car wash, and convenience store brand in Ireland, which has been operating at the heart of Irish communities for 102 years.

Maxol had quite an outstanding year in 2022. In June 2022, Maxol achieved international recognition when it was named the European Convenience Retailer of the Year by NACS. And, in April 2022, Maxol launched Ireland’s first-of-its-kind fuel pay app that both unlocks the petrol pump upon activation and allows users to pay directly from their phones.

 

NACS CSE Award Maxol

 

Guest Starring on Award-Winning Loyalty Podcast

Podcast host Paula Thomas remarked how impressed she was with Maxol’s program in such a robust convenience retail market. “Ireland particularly has an exceptional reputation in terms of particularly convenience retail…I just think it’s extraordinary to see Ireland really punching above its weight.”

Brian and his team at Maxol are always looking to the future. He tells Paula, “we’re 102 years in business and we’re a family business, so we always tend to take a more medium- to longer-term view in terms of investments…in the last 10 years, we’ve made significant changes in pivoting our business.”

He continues, “traditionally we would’ve been seen as a quality fuel retailer and what we have pivoted to is now being seen as a quality forecourt convenience retailer with a big focus on coffee, fresh food, and also introducing food franchises and fuel is becoming more secondary, in terms of what we mean for our customers. And I suppose, we are trying to prepare ourselves for the day whenever internal combustion engine vehicles are banned. All new cars within Europe and the UK and Ireland for ICE petrol or diesel are banned from 2030. Hybrids are going to be banned from 2035, so we have to start replacing that last income from fuel and that’s why we have been investing very heavily in terms of our own Maxol shop concept in the Republic of Ireland.”

Let’s Talk Loyalty Episode “#318: Maxol Shares Loyalty Insights as European Convenience Retailer of the Year” aired on December 22, 2022.

Developing a Maxol Loyalty Program

Just prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Maxol developed an app-based loyalty program. Brian cites this fortuitous decision as he remarks, “if we hadn’t made that investment before the Pandemic came in March 2020, it would’ve been very challenging for us to run our business. Because we’d made that investment, we were able to stay. in touch real-time with all of our retailers, we were able to track everything that was happening within our business, and then we were able to make hopefully informed decisions to support our retailers through those very tough times. So technology’s a big part of what we’re going to do going forward and hence why we launched our own loyalty.”

Brian Donaldson

 

Later in the loyalty podcast episode, Brian detailed how a trip to Hong Kong with a NACS event demonstrated the success of Circle K Hong Kong’s app-based loyalty program. He saw first-hand how successful gamification and promotions engaged consumers. He did, however, go in a slightly different implementation direction. “For us, one of the first things we wanted to do was how do we give more convenience for people to pay for their fuel. We were one of the first companies in Ireland to put in pay at pump technology because again, we see that mission or that shopper mission very different to going in the store, says Donaldson.”

In addition to Fuel Pay, Maxol’s loyalty program is designed to reward customers for purchasing fuel, food and beverage items, and other services. What really makes this program unique is the new FuelPay feature that allows contactless payment for fuel purchases directly through the app. Customers can pay for fuel with their smartphones and the process is entirely cashless, fast, and easy. This is the only app in Ireland that offers FuelPay and is now available to all Maxol fuel card customers.

 

Maxol home screens

 

Discussing the Future for Maxol on Loyalty Podcast

Brian and Paula also discussed future plans for the loyalty program on the Let’s Talk Loyalty loyalty podcast episode and Maxol is exploring car wash subscriptions, preparing for a much larger share of electric vehicles, and continuing to focus on providing an outstanding foodservice and coffee offer.

 

About Liquid Barcodes

Liquid Barcodes is a leading global loyalty and digital marketing technology company specializing in the convenience and foodservice industries. The proprietary, cloud-based technology platform allows retailers to create and manage their digital marketing campaigns with a process called the “customer connection cycle’ to engage, promote, and reward customers’ activities in real time across digital and media channels.

Liquid Barcodes loyalty platform is powering loyalty programs for industry leaders across several global markets, by offering unique subscriptionmobile  paymentmachine learningpersonalizationgamificationloyalty, and other capabilities.

Learn more about Liquid Barcodes at LiquidBarcodes.com.

 

About the Author

Carolyn Schnare, Chief Content Officer, Liquid Barcodes

Carolyn Schnare has been involved with the convenience retailing industry for two decades with extensive knowledge of customer engagement and marketing, sustainability, and community outreach. Prior to Liquid Barcodes, Schnare worked at NACS (National Association of Convenience Stores) in a variety of roles from event production to membership and host and producer of the popular industry podcast, Convenience Matters. Schnare currently co-anchors the popular Shop Talk LIVE! video series for the Global Convenience Store Focus media company.

 

Test Drive the Maxol Loyalty App with FuelPay

Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes

Maxol

Maxol, Ireland’s largest family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer, announced it has launched a new customer loyalty app with never-before-seen features in the Irish market. Maxol’s new loyalty program is designed to reward customers for purchasing fuel, food and beverage items, and other services. What really makes this program unique is the new FuelPay feature that allows contactless payment for fuel purchases directly through the app.

Liquid Barcodes Liquid Barcodes

Blog post

5 Cs of Summer: Cold Coffee, Clean Cars & Convenience

Subscription programs are a great way to secure long-term customer loyalty and revenue. Whether you are providing a subscription for beverages or car washes, securing recurring monthly revenue is imperative to stay competitive.   Summer is around the corner and retail marketers are crafting sunny campaigns to increase customer traffic to the store. Help those […]

Blog post

Circle K Makes a Splash With Car Wash Subscription Program in Europe

Circle K has extended its highly successful car wash subscription program to Norway after successful implementations in the United States, Canada, Denmark, Sweden and Estonia. Circle K’s vast global network of car washes has digitally transformed operations with its revolutionary car wash subscription program. First launched in Denmark and the U.S. in 2020, the program […]

Blog post

Newly Redesigned Brezelkönig App Accepts Payments and Rewards Loyalty

Swiss foodservice chain Brezelkönig releases app update which offers customers the convenience of earning rewards and paying for products with the app in stores.  The recently-updated Brezelkönig app allows pretzel-loving customers to enjoy recognition and rewards for their loyalty. Additionally, the Brezelkönig app accepts payments to make the customer experience even more convenient.  Brezelkönig is […]

Blog post

Sunshine Gasoline Introduces ACH-Only Mobile Payment for Fuel

Florida convenience retailer releases fuel payment app accepting only ACH payment, saving thousands in payment processing fees for the retailer. Sunshine Gasoline upgraded its Max Carwash App to Sunshine Brand featuring a special fuel pay program, powered by C-StorePay by Liquid Barcodes, which allows consumers to conveniently pay for fuel using the app. Customers simply […]

Blog post

2022: An Outstanding Year for Liquid Barcodes and Our Customers

In 2022, Liquid Barcodes witnessed a year of unprecedented growth with customers, products and team members. Every great business has an inspiring founding story and Liquid Barcodes’ 10-year journey is inspiring the future of loyalty. Beginning as a startup in Norway, the company opened its second office in the United States in early 2022 and […]

Blog post

What Is C-StorePay?

Liquid Barcodes’ proprietary C-StorePay makes paying for fuel, in-store merchandise, and subscription programs convenient for customers, reduces credit card fees for retailers, and integrates easily into existing loyalty programs Announced in October 2022, the revolutionary Liquid Barcodes C-StorePay product rose to the top of retailers’ 2022 wish lists at the NACS Show, even achieving a […]

Blog post

Polish Retail Leader Żabka Launches Coffee Subscription Program

Polish retail giant, Żabka introduces a monthly coffee subscription program across its vast store network. With its new coffee subscription program, Żabka Polska will certainly dominate the beverage category in Poland’s unique convenience market. In July 2022, Dr. Adam Manikowski, Managing Director of Żabka Polska, was featured on the popular Global Convenience Store Focus video […]

Blog post

Loyalty Apps Engage Customers

98% of loyalty app users love using a loyalty app and want more features from it. In September 2022, NACS published a report examining customer engagement with convenience loyalty programs. Unsurprisingly, customers feel most engaged, appreciated and valued by the stores to which they belong in a loyalty or membership program – nearly ¾ of […]

Blog post

Save Thousands in Credit Card Fees With ACH

Visa and Mastercard announced an increase in interchange fees earlier in the year and retailers are taking action and sending a message by migrating their customers to new solutions, including mobile app-based ACH payments, and in the process increasing profits by not only reducing credit card fees but also boosting loyalty via innovative app-based incentive […]

Blog post

Maxol Launches First-of-Its-Kind Loyalty App

Maxol, Ireland’s largest family-owned forecourt and convenience retailer, announced it has launched a new customer loyalty app with never-before-seen features in the Irish market. After more than a century serving Irish customers, Maxol’s 240+ stores and service stations are located throughout Ireland and have enjoyed global recognition for their best-in-class operations, store design and offers. […]

Blog post

Delivering Personalized Content With Machine Learning and Image Recognition

Build personalized customer connections, improve efficiency, and make intelligent, data-driven decisions using machine learning and image recognition.   It’s 7:15 in the morning and a customer – Amy – is on her way to work. She is on the hunt for coffee and breakfast and stops at a convenience store. She opens her store app […]

Blog post

Circle K’s Use of Beacon Technology to Activate Car Wash Subscription Program

Beacon Technology and Car Wash Subscription Programs Beacon technology used in tandem with a customer-facing car wash subscription program revolutionizes the customer experience by providing a quick, convenient experience. Innovation is the key to continued growth and ensuring a frictionless customer experience should be top of mind for any retailer. Circle K’s vast global network […]

Liquid Barcodes

Put a rocket under your loyalty program

With our loyalty platform, we help design and operate world-class, tailor-made subscription and reward programs that make sure your customers always come back.

Book a Demo →

We are trusted by global brands.

Convenience retailers all over the world have engaged and rewarded consumers with our tailor-made loyalty programs.

To our case studies →

Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes

Convenience retailers all over the world have engaged and rewarded consumers with our tailor-made loyalty programs.

To our case studies →

Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes
Liquid Barcodes