One of my favorite retailers competes in an industry not exactly known for differentiated offerings.
No, it's not a bank; it's a convenience store along an interstate.
As much as I like sharing some of the best practices of bigger, well-known companies with banker groups, I get a real kick out of sharing this particular store's differentiation strategy.
This store, located along the highway between Houston and San Antonio, is part of a small chain named Buc-ee's. I became aware of the store several years ago, when I read one of its billboards boldly touting "Amazing Restrooms."
Something about that phrase made me chuckle. It had to be a joke, right? I realized they meant it when I read several more humorous billboards along the interstate about its rest rooms.
A convenience store rest room does not exactly evoke pleasant images to most folks, but these guys apparently were making it their calling card.
On a subsequent trip along that route, I needed to fuel up my car. I figured I'd stop at Buc-ee's and see what kind of rest rooms warranted top billing on so many billboards.
What I found blew me away. Instead of being simply a little better than the rest rooms folks would expect from this industry, these were, well … amazing. They were huge and reminded me of a hotel lobby, with Spanish tile and Western art. They were also remarkably clean, with a dedicated attendant on hand keeping things that way.
I looked around for a tip jar. It was that impressive. Truth be told, I bought about $10 of stuff (besides gas) before leaving out of appreciation for their gesture.
The store itself was equally clean and offered a surprising assortment of products. I saw people shopping for everything from beef jerky to Western paintings worth several hundred dollars.
When I returned from that trip, the only thing I wanted to talk about was the rest rooms. Since that first visit, we have never made that particular drive without stopping there. It is always buzzing with customers. I have even purchased Buc-ee's T-shirts for my kids.
The thing I particularly like about sharing this example with bankers is that it is from a small player in a very competitive industry where companies sell the same products and even advertise the prices of their highest-volume ones on large signs for all the world, including rivals, to see. Their value proposition also historically has been tied directly to how convenient their sites were.
And over the past 10 years store traffic for most of these companies has shrunk considerably as a result of industry-changing (pay-at-the-pump) technology.
Faced with these realities, this small operator identified a "service" (clean rest rooms) it knew would strike a nerve with customers. And instead of simply trying to get over the pretty low bar set by competitors, it redefined what customers expect from these businesses.
Its prices are not noticeably different from those of its competitors, but its store traffic definitely is.
Some bankers who hear this example immediately begin thinking of possible changes they could make in their own facilities. Visions of coffee bars, reading areas, and Internet access dance in their heads. Sure, these are nice, and in some markets, they are buzz-worthy features.
However, in some markets, these features are already provided by places like, well … coffee shops and bookstores.
Ideally, a truly differentiating feature provides a service or experience that resonates with customers and that they are not receiving from another retailer, much less a bank. Maybe it's branch dependent. Maybe it isn't.
In an increasingly technology-driven industry, many customers prefer not visiting a branch at all. What if a bank (or branch) provided IT support, even for nonbank-related issues, to customers who fit a certain profile? The thought sounds impractical or impossible to many. Maybe it is, but the ideas that seem unreasonable at first most likely hold the most potential to produce "amazed" customers.
I'm not suggesting that providing a version of "Geek Squad" to customers is the way to go. The best differentiator for a bank or branch could be scores of different things for different institutions.
But if a convenience store can build a competitive advantage beyond simply be convenient, surely we can, as well.
What billboard-worthy, differentiating features can you and your team focus on offering that are noticeably — maybe even amazingly — better than what your competitors offer? Maybe they will be big things. But it is just as likely that they will be small things executed in a big way.
