By Reagan Steele – Business & Economic Policy Writer

Buc-ee’s is a gas station, but calling it only a gas station is like calling Disneyland a parking lot.

Born in Texas and represented by a smiling beaver in a red hat, Buc-ee’s has become one of the most recognizable roadside businesses in America, and it has an expansion underway that’s taking the country by storm. Its massive stores sell gasoline, barbecue, fudge, jerky, clothing, souvenirs and enough snacks to feed an entire family on a road trip.

The bathrooms are famously clean, and when a new Buc-ee’s opens, people show up in enormous crowds.

Towns are competing fierecely to attract a Buc-ee’s, offering millions of dollars in incentives. Why? The stores represent revenue, good jobs, and an increase in traffic to other nearby businesses.

With so much excitement over a gas station, it’s worth examining what lessons other entrepreneurs can learn from Buc-ee’s.

1. Convenience matters

Buc-ee’s locations are built right along major highways, where tired travelers are already looking for gas, food and a bathroom.

Once people stop, they walk into a huge store filled with products they never planned to buy. They may come in to use the restroom, then smell the barbecue, see the fudge, find a T-shirt or let their kids pick out a stuffed animal.

Buc-ee’s understands that convenience is part of the product. People will often pay more when a business makes life easier.

2. Cleanliness creates trust

People stop at Buc-ee’s because they expect the bathrooms to be clean. That may seem like a small thing, but for travelers, that’s the most important thing. If a gas station has a dirty bathroom, they’ll leave. A clean bathroom creates an immediate feeling of trust.

Meanwhile, if the bathrooms are spotless, customers naturally assume the food is fresh, the employees are competent and the company pays attention to detail.

Every business has an equivalent of the bathroom. It might be a restaurant’s dining room, an insurance office’s paperwork or the way a company answers the phone.

Customers notice the details businesses assume they will ignore.

3. The experience matters

Buc-ee’s does not just sell barbecue. It prepares the food in the middle of the store, where customers can see it being made and smell it while they shop. The food, bright signs, displays and merchandise all make the store feel like a destination instead of a quick pit stop. C-Store Dive

That experience is why people are willing to buy products that may cost more than similar items online.

They are not paying only for the product. They are paying for the convenience, the atmosphere and the experience of being at Buc-ee’s.

That is the bigger lesson for entrepreneurs. What colors are on your walls and furniture? What music do you play? These are part of the sensory experience and contribute to whether people want to buy from you.

Your product matters, but it exists inside an experience. Buc-ee’s became successful by turning a routine gas-station stop into something people actually look forward to.

That is why people keep coming back—and why towns keep rolling out the red carpet for a beaver in a red hat.

Featured image: Photo by Lee Leblanc, “Buc-ee’s in Terrell, Texas,” via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY 2.0.