Do you want to boost your gas station’s revenue? Just like the famous saying, “First impressions last,” we can affirm that the first impression a customer has directly influences their shopping experience in any segment. This is especially true for gas stations, where competition is fierce. According to studies by the largest design community in Latin America, 93% of people consider the visual aspect when choosing a product or brand. Therefore, the fuel station with the highest revenue will be the one that, in addition to offering fair prices, immediately wins over customers with a modern and welcoming appearance.
Whether on the road or in urban areas, some spots have up to four gas stations side by side. The strategy to increase the revenue of your gas station is to adopt a project that conveys a sense of efficiency, exclusivity, and comfort. What will set your station apart from the competition? Join us as we explore six essential strategies that have the potential to significantly optimize your station’s financial performance, propelling it to new heights of success in the competitive gas station segment.
1. Create a strong visual identity
Building communication and visual identity plays a crucial role in the development of a gas station, combining graphic elements aimed at conveying the company’s essence, values, purposes, and mission to the public. Here, the question is what visually sets you apart and makes you not only different but better than your competitor. It’s necessary to develop a visual identity involving elements such as:
- Logo and slogan
- Standardized uniforms and fleet
- Attractive and personalized fascia
- Strategically placed and illuminated totems
- Standardized pump communicators
- Design of facilities
- Billboards
- Promotional materials, such as flyers
- Customized signage for the station
To establish a robust visual identity, it’s crucial to adopt modern, professional, and exclusive communication. This ensures a strong brand presence in every interaction, allowing new customers to become loyal ones. This loyalty directly contributes to increasing your gas station’s revenue. Here at Petrol Group, we excel in these types of services. Petrol Design creates your personalized visual identity, helping you boost your financial gains.
2. Invest in a good architecture and design project
Have you ever come across an architectural project that, thanks to an organized yard, well-thought-out structures, and unique design, captured your attention? At a gas station, this aspect alone could be enough to win over a customer, especially when compared to a simpler station with similar prices. The same research highlighting that 93% of people consider the visual aspect when choosing a product or brand also suggests that 85% of customers are impacted by the colors of the environment. Quality construction and attention to detail not only convey confidence but also reflect excellence in service.
Moreover, a poorly maintained location with dirty, peeling paint, unusable bathrooms, and poorly lit areas can drive away new customers and lose loyal ones one by one. Investing in maintenance, design innovations, and renovations can make the difference between significantly decreasing or increasing your revenue.
A well-designed architecture project is the precursor to a construction or renovation that will not only represent your station’s face but also define how it is perceived and experienced by customers. Proper space planning ensures that every element is strategically positioned. Your architecture should focus on highlighting the most important parts and making the best use of space. A good architecture project guarantees accessibility, practicality for customers, and planning for future expansions.
3. Keep your gas station organized
The starting point for establishing an organization is implementing proper signage. Always prioritizing safety, it’s crucial that vehicle entry and exit areas, as well as pedestrian zones, are properly marked. Entering a station where objects are scattered along the way and the maneuvering space is overloaded with signs leaves a terrible impression on customers. Therefore, it’s essential to designate a specific area for visual communication and reserve another space, away from vehicle routes, to store barrels and materials not used near the pumps.
Although it may not be immediately apparent, regulations and efficient resource management also play a crucial role in organization, contributing to building your business’s credibility. Complying with regulations ensures conformity and directly impacts cost reduction. Environmental fines, for instance, are often substantial and can damage the station’s reputation.
4. Provide excellent customer service
Excellent service should make the customer feel heard and attended to, making each interaction unique. Therefore, it’s crucial that the team is properly trained, ensuring excellent service that can lead to satisfied and returning customers.
Have you ever experienced being in an establishment where the service not only conveyed security but also made you want to make more purchases? This is what we call excellence. An attendant who exceeds expectations, acts consultatively, and offers solutions to problems the customer didn’t even know they had ensures not only immediate satisfaction but also future customer loyalty.
In addition to technical knowledge and the ability to present solid arguments, being friendly, courteous, and enthusiastic is equally crucial. Positive energy in service is contagious, encouraging the customer to make more purchases. A well-trained and capable team becomes the main driving force to elevate sales to previously unimaginable levels, especially due to the spontaneous loyalty process that is established, increasing the gas station’s revenue.
5. Know and engage with your audience
The first step to engaging with your target audience is to find out who these people are. Conducting satisfaction surveys and understanding the region’s dynamics are excellent strategies to gain insights on the best approaches for that specific area. With your audience’s data in hand, it becomes possible to create more targeted and assertive actions not only for existing customers but also for those not yet reached by your products and services.
Using seasonal decoration is an effective way to highlight your closeness to customers. Holidays like Mother’s Day and New Year, for example, deserve special decoration. Adding natural elements to the environment, even if it’s just a small lawn, also has a positive effect. A decoration and ornamentation aligned with the location are exceptional for providing lightness and comfort to customers.
Additionally, implementing attractive promotions and loyalty programs encourages customers to make purchases more frequently. As customers make more purchases, they accumulate more points, resulting in additional benefits. In this context, everyone is satisfied: the customer feels valued for their frequency, and the gas station increases its revenue.
6. Leverage your convenience store
The convenience store is the main direct contact point with customers at the station. A modern, well-organized store with a varied stock can function as a business card, boosting your fuel station’s profits. To attract customers who are refueling, a good convenience store facade will certainly catch the attention of those inside and outside the station, especially when driven by the promotion of offering the right products in a location easily accessible to drivers and nearby residents.
The idea is to emphasize the convenience of having products close to home or work, surpassing considerations about item prices or benefits. The essence of convenience lies in being an organized and functional space that directly influences customer behavior. It provides an opportunity to increase sales through other services and impulse purchases. The convenience store must be attractive, modern, well-organized, and comfortable. The more it attracts customers looking for additional purchases, considering that most patrons of such establishments end up using other services of the station, the higher the gas station’s revenue and profit.
Want to turn your convenience store into a success? Count on the support of the only business group dedicated exclusively to the fuel station sector in Brazil, with over 25 years of expertise and offering personalized consultancy. Contact us for more information! With Petrol Group, you have everything for your fuel station in one place!
Learn More: Strategies to increase traffic at your gas station
