More Than a Cartoon Beaver

The family and I travelled north to see my parents over the Thanksgiving holidays and take a much-needed break. My parents live in Athens, Alabama. It’s just outside the major city of Huntsville, which has countless attractions and things to do that normal small-town life doesn’t offer. So, I was shocked when the FOURTH person excitedly asked me if I’d seen the new gas station yet.

Huh? The… gas station?

Why would people in one of the fastest growing areas of the country be so thrilled about a gas station coming to town? But when my reaction didn’t meet their level of excitement, they launched into a frantic sales pitch: “Oh, it’s amazing! It’s like a mall with hundreds of gas pumps! Be sure and try the BBQ sandwich! You’ve got to take the kids!” Yes, the biggest buzz in North Alabama is a new gas station.

Many of you, especially our Texas crowd, know exactly where I’m going with this. Athens, Alabama is the newest location of Buc-ee’s Travel Centers, which are sweeping across the South. If you aren’t familiar (and think we might have lost our minds down here), Buc-ee’s now has over 40 locations across 8 states. The average location is 53,000 square feet, has 120 gas pumps, includes a full restaurant, and boasts “the cleanest public restrooms in America.” Buc-ee’s also holds multiple world records including The World’s Largest Convenience Store (New Braunfels, Texas) and the World’s Longest Car Wash (Katy, Texas).

But that’s enough about that… let’s get to the numbers that really matter.

An average gas station has 1,000 customers per day with 92% getting fuel (the lowest margin item), paying at the pump, and never coming inside for further shopping. At Buc-ee’s? They average 7,300 shoppers per day, with new locations and holiday travel weekends seeing 10,000+ PER DAY. But here’s the staggering number – 62% of customers come inside the store instead of just getting gas and leaving. Buc-ee’s stores are attracting more people and then getting larger tickets with add-on sales from 54% of them. Buc-ee’s has marketing down pat with a loveable cartoon beaver on everything in the store from candles and spiced pecans to BBQ grills and full-length Sunday dresses.

Yes, I got suckered in. And you know what I realized after taking my family into a store so packed with people you couldn’t move, dropping $60 on lunch and a stuffed cartoon beaver for my kids, then seeing a gas station at the next exit (with cheaper gas, by the way) lay almost empty? They aren’t selling gas prices or even convenience. With that mob of people, it was the most inconvenient convenience store I’ve ever been to. Buc-ee’s has moved beyond that sales pitch. They’re selling the EXPERIENCE… and you can too.

And I know what you’re probably thinking… “People don’t care about making their HVAC system services memorable. That’s just one of life’s mundane things and you can’t make it fun or enjoyable.” You mean like… pumping gas? Think outside the box for a moment and you might just stumble onto a billion-dollar idea like Buc-ee’s has. Just because a task is something we HAVE to do doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it as best we can. Human nature is to crave connection, make lasting memories, and share the positive experiences we have with others no matter what we’re doing.

So, I want you to consider something. How can you make all touches with your current AND prospective customers more memorable and positive? Is there any reason OTHER than price or quality of work (remember, everyone says they’re the best) that a customer would choose you over your competition? And if the answer is no, you’ve become a commodity, and your only hope is to be found listed first on Google.

What’s the attraction to you? No one is asking you to dress up in a mascot costume and dance through your office, although that might improve staff morale. But this time of year is the perfect opportunity to show personality and transparency to your customer base they can really connect with. Invest back into the relationships you have with homeowners who’ve been paying your bills all year long. Send them customer appreciation Christmas cards, enter the town Christmas parade, sponsor a family or two, buy their Christmas presents, and let your customer base know it was THEIR support that made that happen. Throw a few stuffed animals on the truck for your techs to leave at homes with kids. Do the things your competition isn’t doing to ensure homeowners in your service area feel there’s more to their relationship with you than just a transaction.

It all matters, I promise. And the end results are customers who are more loyal to you and are willing to look beyond price comparisons, to the value of the whole customer experience of what they get from you. It’s amazing what retention newsletters, a $1 Christmas card, or other ways of getting a homeowner to go from one appointment to two per year can add to your bottom line.

On our trip we went to a semi-pro hockey game, toured an incredible children’s museum, and my kids got early Christmas presents from family. But do you know what they said was their favorite part of the trip? The stop at Buc-ee’s. If you had asked me earlier if I’d consider my vacation a failure if my kids said their favorite part was getting gas, I’d say yes. But Buc-ee’s is knocking it out of the park. Thousands of gas stations and all these cars that need gas. They’re going the extra mile to make their “mundane service” fun and memorable, and people are responding by driving right past the other options to keeping their 120 pumps (and their pockets) full.

If you need help coming up with creative ways to set your business apart from the rest, simply contact a marketing coach at [email protected].