Exchanging Fans for Friends in Food Retail

Promoting and Advancing Petroleum Marketing, Retail Grocery, and Convenience Stores in West Virginia

Driving Local Business and Community Growth Across West Virginia

Our Purpose and Commitment

OMEGA is a West Virginia-based organization dedicated to supporting and advancing the business interests of the state’s petroleum marketing, retail grocery, and convenience store industries.

As a network of over 225 locally owned businesses, OMEGA actively promotes cooperation, advocates for favorable legislation, and provides education and resources to its members. With over 50,000 employees, OMEGA members significantly contribute to the state’s economy, generating more than 10% of all state taxes and supporting local communities through scholarships, charitable donations, and civic involvement.

OMEGA is committed to fostering industry growth while serving West Virginians with essential services like fuel, food, and convenience.

who frontpage

member frontpage

Join a Community that Champions, Connects, and Elevates!

Your Essential Connection in West Virginia

OMEGA offers three types of membership: Convenience Store Members, Petroleum Marketer Members, and Grocer Members, all of which play a vital role in providing fuel, food, and essentials across West Virginia. As a liaison with state and national agencies, OMEGA works closely with organizations like NACS, PMAA, FMI, and the N.G.A. to advocate on behalf of its members.

We keep members informed through newsletters, legislative updates, an online resource hub, and educational seminars. Additional member benefits include access to the Encova Workers’ Compensation Discount Program and participation in our annual Trade Expo and fundraising efforts for children’s charities. OMEGA is here to support, advocate, and enhance the success of our industry members.

Today, building real relationships is critical to business, especially in food retail. This relates not only to the relationships we form with our customers, but also the relationships we form internally.

By: Amanda Saxton, Manager, Education, Food Marketing Institute <img src="https://www.fmi.org/images/default-source/blog-images/teamwork-383939_1280.tmb-large-350-.jpg?sfvrsn=767706e_1" data-displaymode="Thumbnail" alt="Befriend Your Coworkers" title="Befriend Your Coworkers" style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;" />Earlier this year at the <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/Microsite/financeforum,0">FMI Financial Executive Forum</a> I had the pleasure of hearing from Kevin Paul Scott, co-founder of <a href="http://addo.is/">ADDO Worldwide</a> speak to a group of food retail Chief Financial Officers. Scott’s presentation really resonated with me, and many of the take-a-ways apply to the larger food retail landscape. Scott revealed how the most successful leaders make decisions, engage employees, and connect with customers using what he calls “Essential Exchanges” – what we gain by choosing between good things and even better things. One of Scott’s big points was the idea of “Exchanging Fans for Friends,” which immediately reminded me of social media and the number of followers you have verses the number of people you actively engage with. Because social media presents a hyper reality for users, the true meaning of “friend” has lost its way. Today, building real relationships is critical to business, especially in food retail. This relates not only to the relationships we form with our customers, but also the relationships we form internally. Scott shares that building the right types of internal relationships will establish a level of trust, which may mean showing a level of vulnerability to your co-workers. At the same time, as retailers we need to demonstrate this same level of openness with our customers by offering them the information and answers they seek.   Admittedly, I was a bit surprised by Scott’s remarks, since I was taught that you didn’t come to work to make friends. However, you spend more time with your co-workers than you do your own family and it makes sense that you would form relationships with those you work with. At the same time, it makes sense that forming friendships with our customers would solidify a stronger relationship. Scott’s point is that leaders who establish friendships internally had better work results with those individuals. The same can be true for food retailer’s relationship with customers—the stronger relationship we form the more shopper loyalty we see. How can you exchange those Fans for Friends? What would the internal benefits be? How might your shopper respond differently if they saw you as a true friend? Learn more about the <a href="https://www.fmi.org/forms/meeting/Microsite/financeforum,0">FMI Financial Executive Forum</a> and all of <a href="https://www.fmi.org/events-education/conferences">FMI’s educational events</a>.

Read full article on FMI

Menus

Some of the main menus of the template are now set via the template parameters saving you having to set up menu modules for each menu. From this section you can choose what menus you would like connected with these pre assigned menu areas of the template.

Copyright Information

Enter the copyright information that will appear in the footer area of your template.

Supporting West Virginia Communities

OMEGA members play a vital role in West Virginia, supporting communities through substantial tax contributions and a wide-reaching presence across the state. With over 55% of the population living in border counties, our members are dedicated to serving both local and regional needs. Beyond business, we’re proud to give back, having contributed over $3.1 million to children’s charities since 2003, reflecting our commitment to making a positive difference.