The forecourt community is tight knit, sharing business tips and support. But Tom Highland, who owns and operates three petrol stations, is now taking a step further giving behind the scene access to how he runs his business on TikTok.
Highland, managing director of the Highland Group which has sites in Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, has over 500 people following his ‘The Petrol Retailer’ page on the social media platform.
He has been filming himself giving insights into day-to-day progress of the redevelopment of his soon to open fourth site in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. And he is gaining traction from followers outside of the industry even, who say they have become “invested” in him talking about everything from testing the fuel lines, to re-lining the tanks. One follower said he is now “hooked on how to rebuild a petrol station”.
For the seasoned petrol station owner there is content too, with Highland travelling last week to a Birmingham business to look at digital media screens. He told viewers he was interested in electronic menu boards for his in-store serve-over bakeries, and outside advertising boards “to generate a bit of income”. On the way back he popped into Moto’s Rugby services to “steal some ideas”.
And there is likely to be plenty more relevant posts from Highland for the trade in coming months, after he exchanged on a fifth undisclosed forecourt yesterday.
Tom, who was given the accolade of Forecourt Trader’s Special Recognition Award last year aged just 32 at the time, was given the idea to connect his business to TikTok users by his social media adviser, who rents office space at his Childerley Gate flagship forecourt, in Cambridgeshire.
While it has meant that Tom has to engage with the inevitable occasional troll, it has also allowed him to talk directly to customers who have asked what the St Neots shop will be selling when it opens, and overall it is proving a positive experience.
“It’s just a bit of fun really and something for me to look back on over the years. But it could have the spin-off benefit of helping to connect with other businesses, and most importantly our customers,” he says.
A video will be shown of Tom Highland talking about his Childerley Gate forecourt and him winning the special recognition award, at the Forecourt Trader Summit on Tuesday February 25, at Sutton Coldfield. He will also be talking about making sites more sustainable on a panel at the one day conference.
