Top brand realises importance of FTG and shopping
UK senior dealer manager Natalie Cattermole has been explaining why choosing to become a bp dealer brings with it many advantages.
What are the benefits of operating a bp forecourt site?
bp is a trusted global brand that has operated in the UK for over 100 years and, with 90% of the UK population living within a 20-minute drive of a bp retail site, it is a name that customers across the country recognise.
bp provides everything that forecourt operators need to establish and grow their business: a dedicated support team with extensive retail expertise; a franchised version of our popular Wild Bean Cafe brand, with barista-quality coffee and delicious pastries; and bp pulse, which gives some forecourt operators access to rapid and ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure.
How does bp set itself apart from its competitors in the field?
We want to be the first choice for customers on the side of the road and, with a network of more than 1,150 retail sites across the UK, we have some great locations. We have two key channels of trade – company-owned and dealer retail sites.
We’re probably best known for our roadside fuel offer, but over half of our customers in the UK now visit us purely to buy food – and that’s why we continue investing in our Wild Bean Cafe and M&S Food offer at our company-owned and operated sites.
The bp brand also gives dealers access to a high-quality fuel and food offer that brings with it loyal BPme and fuel card customers.
New offers include the Wild Bean Cafe micro-market franchise, dealer specific loyalty offers and rapid and ultra-fast EV charging to name a few.
The Wild Bean Cafe micro-market is a self-service unit that can offer coffee, milkshakes and smoothies, and hot food-to-go, as well as take payment. It is modular, so operators can just take the units that will work best in their store.
Our dealer partners also benefit from the market expertise of our field support team, and its experience building strong, enduring relationships with our partners.
Our retail territory manager in Scotland, Gordon McIntyre, has been with bp for 20 years and his previous experience as a store manager has given him extensive insight into the consumer landscape in Scotland.
How can bp support retailers in communicating to their customers that they are still getting a reasonable price?
We aim to provide high-quality fuels, services and attractive sites, with great shopping for our customers, and to price competitively.
As a leading forecourt retailer, demonstrating value for money to our customers is core to our marketing strategy.
We support our dealers both with our BPme loyalty scheme, that allows customers to earn and spend points across fuel and shop, as well as with our TV and radio advertising, which help build trust and awareness with our customers.
How important is the convenience channel to bp?
Convenience is one of bp’s transition growth engines – we’re investing $15billion in convenience and EV charging globally out to 2030.
Customers don’t just come to a forecourt for fuel, they want a high-quality food and drink offer as well. The days of a can of coke and a packet of crisps being the best a forecourt can offer are certainly behind us.
Is there anything that you would like to highlight?
Our priority is on adding value to our dealers’ businesses, bringing great quality sites into the bp network that deliver a good fuel volume and high-quality convenience opportunities.
That’s why our ongoing focus is on rolling out our new Wild Bean Cafe micro-market and dealer loyalty engagement programmes, to help our dealer partners adapt to changing customer needs.
