At the age when some companies willingly destroy their brands and some others cling to the brand as their only differentiator, it seems like a good time to talk about the true differentiators.

This rambling is caused by the lawsuit filed by a respected member of the convenience-store community, a mighty Texan Buc-ee’s, against a single-location Duckees, from Kimberling City, MO.

We won’t get into the legal twists of the copyright and trademark laws. We won’t try to decide if one logo is similar to another or not.

It really should not be an issue.

Buc-ee’s may have a cute beaver on its storefront, but all those visitors aren’t attracted by the logo. They are pulled in, off the highway, by the smell of Buc-ee’s delicious Texas-style barbecue, by the prospect of visiting Buc-ee’s exceptionally clean and spacious bathrooms, and maybe they would want to fill up the tank before hitting the road again.

Nobody – yes, nobody – can take that away from Buc-ee’s. They can stop worrying. Period.

But for the rest of you, convenience store operators, big and small, no matter how legendary your logo is, you should remember that the visitors come to you for something that smells great – be it freshly cooked food or sparklingly clean bathrooms.

In the service business, it all boils down to just three letters: KYC. Or three words: Know Your Customer. If you know who they are, you can figure out what they want, and give it to them.

It sounds easy on paper, but in real life it’s quite a lot of work, involving thorough analysis of traffic patterns, travel times, points of origin, and a myriad of demographic parameters…

It takes a fully staffed analytics department to deal with data of this complexity.

It costs a lot.

Or so it was, until Ticon came up with an easy, affordable solution to this important but challenging task. Ticon’s traffic counts and demographic analysis can be ordered online in a matter of minutes, and received in a matter of days. No need to enter into lengthy agreements or paying hefty user fees. You only pay for what you need, when you need it.

The door to Knowing Your Customer, at any place across America, is now open to you.

Enter!