There was one thing the rural and motorway entrants to the Forecourt Trader of the Year Awards 2009 had in common very high standards. Yet again the sites that stood out showed that the retailers knew their market and were prepared to change, grow and do all they could to cater for this market.

In the rural category, retailers said it was important to be seen as part of the community as this helped attract local customers as well as transient ones.

This included offering plenty of fresh and chilled lines as well as popular products and services such as the National Lottery.

In the motorway category, teaming up with recognisable names such as Costa Coffee and Esso’s On The Run was still proving vitally important.

Meanwhile, drivers have been responding positively to a reward scheme with a cashback deal to entice them back for a repeat visit. And finally, when it came to attracting and retaining customers for 2010, excellent customer service remained top of everyone’s list.