Marketing strategy for lubricants among fleet owner segment
1. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
INTRODUCTION:
In this period of globalization, factors like economic crises, differences in standards of
living, imbalances in income distribution, environmental degradation, political unrest
and a plethora of other social, economic and technological problems tend to increase
the challenges and threats faced by companies and nations. While these factors can be
threats to a business, marketers try continuously to convert them into opportunities.
Thus, marketing plays a significant role in successfully running a business.
Marketing has become an inherent part of our lives and permeates every aspects of
our day- to-day existence. Activities such as watching television, listening to the
radio, reading the news paper, buying grocery items- they are all dependent on
marketing. Marketing focuses on satisfying human and social needs and wants, and
helps companies transform private and social needs into profitability business
opportunities.
Marketers need to deliver value to their customers. They also need to communicate to
their customers the value they are delivering. Complete customer satisfaction is
achieved by understanding customer requirements and delivering superior quality
goods and services. Companies must provide the customers with a continuous flow of
new ides/offers and constantly enhance their service levels to build up satisfaction
among customers.
A marketing program starts with idea generation for a product and ends only when
customer‟s wants have been completely satisfied. It might run well beyond the sale of
the product, to ensure customer satisfaction and encourage repeat business.
STRATEGIC MARKETING PLANNING:
Strategic market planning is the process of communicating and sharing data between
different departments of an organization to collectively formulate future strategies and
implement them with maximum efficiency. Strategy formulation helps the decision
makers of the organization to proactively respond to needs of the market and thus stay
ahead of companies.
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2. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
CORPORATE AND DIVISIONAL STRATEGIC PLANNING:
Strategic planning involves framing corporate and divisional strategies. However,
prior to that the company has to identify its position in the market. Today firms face
global competition. To sustain itself in a global market a company has to adapt to
international standards. The strategic planning process may suffer, if there is an
increased resistance to change within the organization. To deal with such situation,
Igor Ansoff suggested a „managed-resistance or accordion approach‟ in which a firm
can employ coercive strategy when there is a pressing need for change.
MARKETING PROCESS:
The marketing process of a company typically involve identifying the viable and
potential marketing opportunities in the environment, developing strategies to
efficiency utilize these opportunities, evolving suitable marketing strategies and
supervising the implementation of these marketing efforts. Traditionally, marketing
has been done on the basis of production concept, where a product is made and
pushed into the market without considering the consumer perception and attitudes.
But over the years, the marketing process has transformed into an integrated
marketing approach, which is now largely being employed by most organizations
across the globe. The firm must therefore concentrate on formulating strategies to
attract customers based on their value perceptions.
STEPS IN PLANNING PROCESS:
The steps in the marketing planning process are, analyzing the marketing
opportunities, developing marketing strategies, planning marketing programs, and
managing effort.
ANALYZING THE MARKETING OPPURTUNITIES:
Every company has to analyze its marketing opportunities based on its area of
significance, position, and sales in the market. For example, let us say there is a huge
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3. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
market potential for micro mobile phones. Where a small chip can be placed inside
the ear and one can hear and speak through it. Market research has to be conducted to
estimate the market potential for the product, and the segments to be targeted and to
search for appropriate channels and distributors. The company has focus on factors
such as the features and benefits that the customers would expect and the advertising
and promotional strategies that have to be adopted. With such data, the product may
be developed using advanced technology, such as WAP and Bluetooth.
DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGIES:
Marketing strategies have to be designed subsequent to the product development and
the analysis of marketing opportunities. Specific suitable to the target markets have to
be developed, even while the product enters the different stages of its life cycle.
Strategies developed at these stages should be so effective that competitive
advantages developed at these stages should be so effective that a competitive
advantage is always sustained.
PLANNING MARKETING PROGRAMS:
Marketing programs have to be planned in such a way that the strategies formulated
are properly implemented and aid in the achievement of organizational goals. Every
company while planning the marketing programs should consider the marketing mix
variables- product, price, place, and promotion. Each marketing mix variable in turn
has several factors that have to be focused upon. For instance, the product has factors
like features, design, quality, packing, etc. the pricing factor are discounts, credit
limits etc. The place includes factors such as distributors, location, market coverage
etc and finally the promotional factors include advertising, offers, public relations etc.
The budget allocation for different program has to be planned by the manager. The
budget for different marketing programs is often allocated depending upon the
estimated sales of the products.
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4. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
MANAGING THE MARKETING EFFORT:
Managing the marketing effort is a crucial task. After the strategy formulation and the
subsequent development of the marketing plan, necessary steps have to be taken to
control the activities and put them on track. The budget allocated has to be properly
utilized. If any deviations occur at any stage of marketing process, the manager
should efficiently control them. The management of the marketing effort is the
responsibility of the entire organization, as any fault at any stage of product
development process, will affect the scale badly. Therefore due care has to be taken
while selecting the raw materials, stocking them, processing them and so on.
MARKETING PLAN:
Marketing planning involves the development of logical process to establish
marketing goals and plans to achieve these goals. It involves allocating budgets for
different marketing activities and evaluating the target market segment. Marketing
planning may be informal in small organizations while it may be formal process in
large organizations. Experts have identified, developed and implementation of
marketing plans. They are confusion between tactics and strategy, marketing function
and the marketing concept, organizational obstacles, lack of a proper evaluation
process, confusion between operations and output, absence of adequate knowledge,
absence of a structural approach, inappropriate method of sequencing the goals, and
an unfavorable corporate environment. Therefore, the management should take
necessary steps to overcome these barriers to marketing planning and implementation.
The marketing plan of a business firm involves several functions namely, a chart
specifying the content, opportunity and issue analysis, marketing strategy, action
program, project profit and loss statement and control measures.
SWOT ANALYSIS:
The overall evaluation of a company‟s strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats
is called as SWOT analysis. It‟s a way of monitoring the external and internal
marketing environment.
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5. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
STRENGTH’S:
SL STRENGTH’S
NO
01 HPCL has largest base oil refinery in India (produce 360
varieties)
02 A Fortune 500 company, with Navaratna status.
03 2nd largest oil company in India.
04 Low cost of product.
05 Good reach in urban & rural areas.
06 Lal ghoda (HP lube) has highest sales.
07 Strength to decide domestic base oil process; competitive Edge.
WEAKNESS’S:
SL WEAKNESS’S
NO
01 Lack of promotions.
02 R&D Expenditure is comparatively less.
03 Weak logistics.
04 Depend on competitors for Grade ii & iii, base oil‟s.
05 Old refineries.
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6. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
OPPORTUNITIES:
SL OPPORTUNITIES
NO
01 Aviation lubes market; Tie up with MNC.
02 Tie up with private oil companies.
03 Growing economy.
04 Entry to global markets.
05 Opportunities in Export market.
06 Grease: tie up with bearing manufacturer.
THREATS:
SL THREATS
NO
01 Increased drain period.
02 Mineral base lube volume loss to synthesis base lubes.
03 Increasing cost of crude oil.
04 Technology edge of competitors.
05 Alternate energy resources.
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7. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
LUBRICANTS
What are Lubricants?
Lubricants are an essential part of
modern machinery. Everything from
computer hard disk drives to the
Airbus A380 requires lubrication of its
moving parts.
A lubricant (colloquially, lube, although this may also refer to personal lubricants) is
a substance (usually a liquid) introduced between two moving surfaces to reduce the
friction and wear between them. A lubricant provides a protective film, which allows
for two touching surfaces to be separated, thus lessening the friction between them.
Lubricants also play a role in cooling, rust prevention and help to avoid deposition of
solids between closely fitting parts. Liquid lubricants are most commonly used, but
for some special situations like extremes of temperature or where renewal of liquid
lubes is difficult, solid lubricants like graphite or molybdenum are used.
Crude oil is an excellent source of lubes because refining can produce a wide range of
liquids with different physical properties. The basic process includes vacuum
distillation and dewaxing to produce the fraction with the right viscosity-temperature
characteristics. Viscosity (*) is the most important characteristic while deciding on
lubes. Changes in viscosity with temperature are of significance and are denoted by
the Viscosity Index *Viscosity is a measure of its thickness or ability to flow.
By use of relatively large amounts of additives it is possible to formulate oil which
may fall within the range of more than one SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
grade. Since all VI improvers increase viscosity, a base oil of low viscosity is used.
Lubes can therefore be classified on the basis of the characteristic as single grade or
multiple grades. Multi grade lubes are superior because of better physical
characteristics and variety of use.
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8. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
Typically lubricants contain 90% base oil (most often petroleum fractions, called
mineral oils) and less than 10% additives. Vegetable oils or synthetic liquids such as
hydrogenated polyolefin‟s; esters, silicone, fluorocarbons and many others are
sometimes used as base oils. Additives deliver reduced friction and wear, increased
viscosity, improved viscosity index, resistance to corrosion and oxidation, aging or
contamination, etc.
Non-liquid lubricants include grease, powders (dry graphite, PTFE, Molybdenum
disulfide, etc.), Teflon tape used in plumbing, air cushion and others. Another
approach to reducing friction and wear is to use bearings such as ball bearings, roller
bearings or air bearings or to use sound, in the case of acoustic lubrication.
Lubricants such as 2-cycle oil are also added to some fuels. Sulfur impurities in fuels
also provide some lubrication properties, which have to be taken in account when
switching to a low-sulfur diesel; biodiesel is a popular diesel fuel additive providing
additional lubricity.
Types of Lubricants:
Liquid including emulsions and suspensions
Solid
Greases
Pastes
Liquid lubricants:
Liquid lubricants may be characterized in many different ways. One of the most
common ways is by the type of base oil used. Following are the most common types.
Water
Mineral oils
Vegetable (natural oil)
Synthetic oils
Others
Solid lubricants
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9. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
Graphite
Molybdenum disulphide
Teflon
Boron nitride
Application by Fluid Types
Automotive
o Engine oils
Petrol (Gasoline) engine oils
Diesel engine oils
o Automotive transmission fluids
o Gearbox fluids
o Brake fluids
o Hydraulic fluids
Other motors
o 2-stroke engine oils
Industrial
o Hydraulic fluids
o Compressor oils
o Gear oils
Aviation
o Gas turbine engine oils
o Piston engine oils
Marine
o Top engine oil
o Crankcase fluids
o Stern tube lubricants
Lube Market in India
The entire lubes market in India can be classified into two key segments, automotive
and industrial. In India, the automotive lubes account for over 60% of the market.
Diesel lubes share is estimated at 70% of the same because it comprises commercial
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10. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
vehicles including trucks. The current Indian market is estimated at Rs55bn in value
and is growing at 5% pa. This translates to a volume of 1.05 mn kl per annum. The
installed capacity is 1.6 mn kl per annum, leading to oversupply.
There are two key markets for lubes in India, namely the original equipment (OE)
segment and retail trade. Given high levels of competition, OE linkages are becoming
important. The channels for replacement market or the retail segment are petrol
pumps and retail outlets. Under the Administered Pricing Mechanism, ownership of
petrol pumps was restricted to the four major oil-marketing companies, i.e. IOCL,
HPCL, BPCL and IBP.
The Indian lubes market was regulated till 1993, with the market dominated by the 4
public sector undertakings including IOCL, BPCL, HPCL and IBP. Following
liberalization, the major policy initiatives taken were
Decanalisation of base oil - Before 1993, base oil, and the key raw material
was imported by IOCL, the sole canalizing agent.
Pricing - Under APM, the lube base oil pricing was regulated. This was
deregulated in a phased manner and now base oil pricing is market
determined.
Quantitative restrictions - Base oil stock was allotted to the users on a quota
basis, which became irrelevant after decanalisation and freer imports.
Reduction in duties - Customs duty on base oil stock was reduced from a peak
of 85% to current levels of 35%.
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11. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
Lubricants at HPCL also known as HP Lubes
HP Lubes is an integral part of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, one of
India's frontline oil majors, committed to providing energy and fuelling growth in
every significant area of development. In pursuit of this vision, there is a sustained
emphasis on environment protection and preserving the cultural heritage of India.
HP Lubricants are borne out of an intense and unrelenting R & D effort, which aims
at producing quality products that enhance automotive performance standards. The
range of HP Lubes is comprehensive and catering to the minutest needs; from new
generation cars to ploughing tractors and industrial machinery. The range conforms
strictly to OEM specifications, often taking the initiative in customization of products.
Staffed with highly qualified scientists and employing the latest state - of - the - art
technologies, the PDC ensures that HP Lubes invariably meet demanding
international standards. Committed to the concern of the Lube industry at large, the
PDC constantly shares useful data with other industry members and technical bodies
through presentations, publications (national and international journals), seminars and
conferences.
The HP Engine Oils product range covers over 300 brands of lubricants, greases and
specialties‟ catering to the automotive as well as industrial sector. With consumers
recognizing the importance of high quality lubricants in ensuring prolonged and
trouble-free operations, the demand for HP engine oils, gear oils, transmission oils,
greases and other specialties have gone up appreciably over the years.
Behind the success of HP Engine Oils lies years and years of research and technical
expertise. They are engineered to meet the rigours of modern automobiles and the
extreme service conditions of highly sophisticated industrial machines. HPCL has six
lube blending plants at Mumbai, Calcutta, Chennai and Silvassa.
Based on extensive market research, the lubes business unit has launched several new
brands, which have become highly successful in the market. A large number of new
industrial grades have also been introduced to meet specific requirements of industrial
consumers.
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12. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
HPCL has also introduced a large number of Exclusive Lube Distributors who are
accessing remote corners of the Bazaar trade. To cater to small volume customers,
HPCL has recently launched CFAs
HPCL market now extends to countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Saudi
Arabia and Malaysia.
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13. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
COMPANY PROFILE
INTRODUCTION:
HPCL was formed in 1974 on nationalization of ESSO India operations. The
operations of Caltex were merged in 1976. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited
today is the second largest integrated oil refining and marketing company in India and
also a fortune 500 company with a turnover of Rs.646.89 billion (US$ 14,709
Millions). The Corporation has already been identified by the Government of India as
a company which has the potential to become a global giant. The company employs
about 11,088 people and has a market value of US $2.73 billion as of 2005. It faces
stiff competition from Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation. It is a mega
Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) with Navaratna status.
HPCL accounts for 20.9 % of the market share and 10.3% of the nation‟s refining
capacity with two coastal refineries, one at Mumbai (West Coast) having a capacity of
5.5 (Million Metric Tonnes Per Annum) MMTPA and the other in Vishakhapatnam
(East Coast) with a capacity of 7.5 MMTPA. HPCL also holds an equity stake of
16.95% in Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a state-of-the-art
refinery at Mangalore with a capacity of 9 MMTPA. HPCL is well on its way towards
setting up another grass root refinery in the state of Punjab, called Guru Gobind Singh
Refineries Limited. HPCL also owns and operates the country‟s largest Lube
Refinery, producing Lube Base Oils of international standards. With the capacity of
3,35,000 Metric Tons. This refinery accounts for over 40% of the country‟s total Lube
Base Oil production. Besides, the Corporation owns 6 Lube Blending Plants (2 in
Mumbai and 1 each at Budge, Ramnagar, Chennai & Silvassa) and a Lube oil pipeline
for evacuation of base oil from Mumbai Refinery. Presently HPCL is producing over
300 grades of lubes, specialties and greases.
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14. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
ORIGIN:
1952: The Company was incorporated in the name of Standard Vacuum Refining
Company of India Limited on July 5, 1952
1962: On 31st March, 1962 the name was changed to ESSO Standard Refining
Company of India Limited.
1974: Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited comes into being after the
takeover and merger of erstwhile Esso Standard and Lube India Limited
1976: Caltex Oil Refining (India) Ltd. - CORIL is taken over by the Government
of India with an Ordinance in 1976, subsequently ratified by an Act in 1977
and merged with HPCL in 1978.
1979: Kosan Gas Company, the concessionaries of HPCL in the domestic LPG
market, are taken over and merged with HPCL.
Products &Services Offered:
Refinery:
HPCL has two Refineries with 10% of the nation‟s refining capacity located in
Mumbai (West Coast) and Visakhapatnam (East Coast) with capacities of 6.5
MMTPA and 7.5 MMTPA respectively complying with the international
quality standard and operated there capacity utilization above 100%.
HPCL also holds an equity stake of 16.95% in Mangalore Refinery &
Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL), a state-of-the-art refinery at Mangalore with a
capacity of 9 MMTPA.
Mumbai Refinery is the largest Lube based refinery in India which amounts
to 40% of the national capacity of Lube Oil production.
The offsite product handling facilities of Refineries at Mumbai and
Visakhapatnam has been automated and facilities upgraded to produce green
fuels like unleaded petrol and low sulphur diesel.
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15. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
Refinery Performance (Last 5 years)
The refineries crude oil production capacity in MMTPA is shown in the Crude
Throughput in MMTPA
18 16.66 16.77
15.8 15.76
16
13.82
14
12
10 9.24 9.41 9.15 8.79
7.57 7.42 7.36
8 6.65 6.97
6.25
6
4
2
0
2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10
MUMBAI REFINERY Series2 Series3
Hindustan Aviation:
Hindustan Petroleum (as Esso and Caltex prior to 1974) has been providing
aviation refueling (Aviation Turbine Fuel – ATF) services at various airports in
India for more than a century through 31 Aviation Services Facilities.
Bulk fuelling:
The Bulk Fuel & Specialties Business unit caters to marketing of Bulk fuels &
petroleum products directly to Industrial consumers like power plants, chemicals,
fertilizers, shipping companies and airlines.
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INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Crude Oil Imports:
The crude oil requirement of two refineries is met partly by Indigenous crude
and balance through imports.
Imported crude oil requirement for our refineries is both sweet and sour
grades, with latter for Mumbai refinery being Lube bearing.
The crude oil import for HPCL‟s refineries is approx. 220 thousand barrels per
day (11.0 million tons per annum).
The requirement is partly met thru term contracts with National Oil
Companies and the balance through spot procurement by tendering process.
Petroleum Product Imports:
HPCL imports products for meeting domestic market requirement.
The products being imported by HPCL are: LPG, Kerosene, Gas Oil,
Gasoline, and Low Sulphur Fuel Oil.
Imports are finalized by tendering. Details regarding cargo size, product
quality, discharge port etc. are covered in the specific tenders.
Parties registered with HPCL only can participate in these tenders.
Petroleum Products Exports:
HPCL exports products and intermediate streams from its refineries.
The products being exported by HPCL are: Fuel Oil, High Sculpture Gas Oil,
Naphtha, Packed Bitumen, food grade Hexane, Lube Oil base stock.
The exports are finalized by tendering. Only parties registered with HPCL can
participate in these tenders.
Details regarding cargo size, product quality, load port etc. are detailed in the
specific tenders.
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17. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
HP Gas:
Hp gas, the HPCL brand of LPG which is bottled at 43 LPG Bottling plants
throughout the country.
Its total capacity is over 2500 thousand metric tons per annum (TMTPA).
HP Gas conforms to IS: 4576-1999 specifications.
WORLD LUBE MARKET:
India - fifth largest in world
INDIA BRAZIL
RUSSIA 4% 3%
JAPAN 4%
5%
CHINA
12% OTHERS
52%
USA
20%
Global lubricant demand is forecast to reach 40.5 million metric tons in 2012.
Gains will be strongest in the Asia/Pacific, Africa/Mideast and Latin
American regions due to ongoing rapid industrialization and rising car
ownership rates.
Engine oils will remain the largest segment while process oils grow the fastest.
According to data of 2009 United States of America leads the World Lube
Market with around 25% of the total market share.
India is the fifth position after Russia.
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Demand of lubricants is illustrated as shown below:
INDIA, 3%
ASIA, 25%
WORLD, 72%
WORLD – 38000 TMT, ASIA – 9500 TMT, INDIA – 1250 TMT
Demand in Asia alone accounts to 28% of the total demand and thus the market is
highly lucrative and profitable.
Leading Lube Market:
Market size is 500 TMTPA and the splitting among the companies is
shown in graph below.
160
130
110
50
40
10
IOCL HPCL BP/CASTROL BPCL IBP OTHERS
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COMPETITORS BASTION
RAILWAYS OTHERS
2% DEFENCE 3%
OE FILL/ SERVICE FILL 1%
5%
BAZZAR
SALES
18%
CORE SECTOR
52%
RETAIL
OUTLETS
19%
HPCL
OTHERS
DEFENCE 10%
OE FILL/ SERVICE FILL 3%
3%
RAILWAYS
4%
CORE SECTOR
BAZZAR SALES 44%
14%
RETAIL
OUTLETS IOCL
22%
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20. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
OTHERS
3%
DEFENCE
RAILWAYS 1%
6%
OE FILL/
SERVICE FILL CORE
12% SECTOR
19%
BAZZAR
SALES RETAIL
21% OUTLETS
38%
BPCL
OTHERS
2%
CORE SECTOR
3%
OE FILL/
SERVICE FILL
15%
BAZZAR SALES
80%
CASTROL
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Market Future Drives:
Base oil requirement shift from group 1 to group 2/3
India – the future hub for automotive industry.
o 3rd largest car market.
o Passenger vehicle segment recorded 35% growth.
o The overall Indian automobile industry recorded increase of 30%
in May 2010 @ 1,208,851 units as compared to 929,917 units in
May 2009.
India moving to BS 2/ BS 4- call for long drain and fuel economy based
Engine, Gear & Hydraulic oils.
GDP growth at 7.4% - so focus should be on the cross sector such as power,
steel, mining and construction industry.
Global level business understanding & trend analysis.
HPCL RETAIL:
At HPCL retail outlets believe in maintenance, not just vehicle but also having
a steady relationship with the consumers and provide better and efficient value
added services.
Keep stock related products like tires, batteries and accessories.
HPCL CARDS
DEBIT CARDS:
Swipe HPCL_ICICI bank debit card on an terminal only and save surcharge on your
fuel purchases i.e. a waiver of 2.5% transaction.
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HP DRIVE TRACK:
Drive track fleet card is a prepaid (debit) card with e-purse cum loyalty application for
fleet operation (mainly highly segment).
CERDIT CARD:
HPCL, Axis Bank and Shriram Transport Finance Company (STFC) have
come together to launch tripartite co-branded credit card.
By using this card incur the 2.5 per cent surcharge attracted on normal credit
cards.
I-MINT:
I-mint is India‟s first multi-partner rewards program on point system having partners
like HPCL, Air India, ICICI Bank (credit cars/debit card), Makemytrip.com, planet
fashion, Gitanjali, bookmyshow.com, ferns petals and many more.
CLUB HP:
It is a high quality personalized “ Vehicle and consumer Care”
A part of HPCL‟s strategic retail marketing initiative different from traditional
fuel retailing is done through select set outlets.
“Club HP” concept aims to provide the assurance of “quick fills” “Expert,
personalized Service” ,”Total Vehicle Management”, and “Consumer
Conveniences”
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JOINT VENTURE:
Crude Refining and Marketing of finished petroleum products is the core area
of the corporation and opportunities are also being explored to accesses new
revenue streams, and augment downstream businesses.
Accordingly, HPCL has ventured in upstream activities (Exploration and
production) and piped gas distribution in major cities.
Some of the joint ventures are with companies like HPCL-Mittal Energy
Ltd.(HMEL), Hindustan Colas (HINCOL), Prize Petroleum company limited
, south Asia LPG co Pvt Ltd .( SALPG), Bhagyanagar Gas Limited (BGL),
Aavanitika Gas Limited , Petro net India Limited (PIL), Petro net MHB
Limited (PMHBL),Mangalore Refineries and petrochemicals Limited
(MRPL), CREDA-HPCL Bio-fuel Limited (CHBL), Sushrut Hospital and
Research centre.
HP LUBES:
HP Lubes is an integrated part of Hindustan petroleum corporation limited,
one of the India‟s frontline oil majors, committed to providing energy and
fueling growth in every significant area of development.
Various grades of HP Lubes Lubricating Oils and Greases have been classified
below based on their end use.
LUBES
INDUSTRIAL
AUTOMOTIVES INDUSTRIAL GREASES
SPECIALITIES
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HP Lubricants are borne out of an intense and unrelenting R&D effort, which
aims at producing quality products that enhance automotive performance
standards.
The range of HP Lubes is comprehensive and catering to the minutest needs,
from new generation cars to plough tractors and industrial machinery.
The range conforms strictly to OEM specifications, often taking the initiative
in customization of products.
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• TURBINE OIL
• BEARING OIL
• COMPRESSOR OIL
• SPINDLE OIL
INDUSTRIAL • OPEN GEAR OIL
GRADS • STEAM CYLINDER OIL
• PNEUMATIC TOOL OIL
• SUGAR MILL ROLL Beraing OIL
• GEAR BOX OIL
• HYDROULIC OIL
• DEFENSIVE
GREASES
• INDUSTRIAL
• ENGINE OIL
• TRANSMISSION OIL
AUTOMOTIVE • GEAR OIL
• AUTO SPECIALITIES
• DEFENCE GRADE
• METAL CUTTING FLUID
• METAL ROLLING OILS
INDUSTRIAL • QUENCHING OILS
SPECIALIST • RUBBER PROCESS OIL
GRADE • RUST PREVENTIVE
• HEAT TRANSFER FLUID
• METAL DRAWING COMPOUND
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COMPANY’S IDEOLOGY
COMPANY’S MISSION:
HPCL, along with its joint ventures, will be fully integrated company
in the hydrocarbons sector of exploration and production, refining and
marketing, focusing on enhancement of productivity, quality and
profitability, caring for customers and employees caring for
environment protection and cultural heritage.
It will also attain scale dimensions by diversifying into other energy
related fields and by taking up transnational operations.
COMPANY’S VISION:
To be a world class energy company known for caring and delighting
the customers with quality products and innovative services across
domestic and international markets with aggressive growth and
delivering superior financial performance.
The company will be a model of excellence in meeting social
commitment, environment, health and safety norms and in employee
welfare and relations.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
HPCL‟s infrastructure is at par with that of the best global
corporations in the hydrocarbons sector.
For over a quarter century now , HPCL has been consistently
breaking new grounds in production and marketing.
A glimpse of the vast marketing network already developed is given
below in the table.
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27. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
Marketing network:
2008- 2007- 2006- 2005- 2004-
09 08 07 06 05
Regional office 90 91 86 85 85
Terminal/Installations/Tops 42 42 37 36 36
Deposits 100 93 93 92 100
LPG Bottling Plants 43 43 42 41 40
ASF’s 21 16 13 13 10
Retail Outlets 8539 8329 7909 7313 6667
SKO/LDO Dealers 1638 1648 1648 1648 1648
LPG Distributors 2250 2232 2238 2202 2153
LPG Customers(in cores) 2.698 2.52 2.39 2.28 2.17
The strengthening of the marketing network over the years has lead to dominance in
the market reflected in its growth and leading to best quality of service.
HPCL was one of the first companies to understand the nation‟s energy requirements
and take necessary measures to fulfill the expectations. Its increasing infrastructure
facilities are due to the successful realization of set targets and sustained quality of
service and customer relations.
HPCL presently owns and operates two coastal refineries at Mumbai and
Vishakhapatnam along with a joint refinery at Mangalore. Another refinery of 9
MMTPA is under construction in bhatinda, Punjab by HMEL, a joint venture with
Mittal Energy Investment Pvt Ltd. A massive infrastructure comprising two cross
country pipelines and an extensive network of terminals, deposits, LPG Bottling
Plants, Lube Filling Plants and Aviation Service Facilities (ASF) contributes t o
India‟s growth every year.
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28. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
VAST MARKETING NETWORK:
4 Zonal Offices
34 Zonal Offices( including 10 LPG Regional Offices)
22 terminals
31 LPG Bottling Plants
9 Aviation Service Stations
4 Lube blending plants & a lube pipeline for base oil evacuation from the
refinery
90 Inland relay depots
4327 Retail outlets
1622 SKO/LDO dealerships
1463 LTG distributorship
In addition to the above, two pipelines i.e. the 161 long kms long Mumbai-Pune
product, pipeline of 3.67 MMTPA capacity and the recently commissioned 350 kms
long Vishakhapatnam- Vijayawada pipeline of 4.1 MMTPA capacity, are used for
transportation of MS, SKO, HSD and LDO.
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29. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
RESEARCH DESIGN
A research design is the plan, structure and strategy of investigation conceived so it is
obtain answer to research questions and to control variance. Exploratory research is
concerned into discovering the general nature of the problem and variables that relate
to it.
Research design is needed because it facilitates the smooth sailing of the various
research operations, thereby making research as efficient as possible yielding
maximal information with minimal expenditure of effort, time and money. Just as for
better, economical and attractive construction of house, we need a blue print well
throughout and prepared by an expert architect, similarly we need a research design or
plan in advance of data collection and analysis for our research design or plan in
advance of data collection and analysis for our research project. Research design
stands for advance planning of the methods to be adopted for collecting the relevant
data and the techniques to be used in their analysis, keeping in view the objective of
the research and availability of time and money.
TITLE OF THE PROJECT:
A STUDY ON “MARKETING STRATEGY FOR LUBRICANTS
AMONG FLEET OWNER SEGMENT”
OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:
To know the marketing strategy for lubricants among fleet owner segment.
To know the perception of Fleet owners about HPCL lubes.
To create brand awareness and to build brand image of HPCL among the Fleet
owners.
To know the buying behavior of lubricants among a Fleet owner segment.
To know the taste and preference of the Fleet owners.
To know the Fleet owners expectation towards the Lubricants.
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30. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
WHAT IS THE STUDY ABOUT?
The study is an attempt to
To know the marketing strategy for lubricants among a fleet owner segment.
To know the buying behavior of lubricants among the fleet owners.
To know the strategies of fleet owners for buying the lubricants.
This study shall conclude with few strategies recommended to uplift the sales figure.
It is done in Bangalore.
This study shall make use of primary data which is collected through custom made
questionnaire.
TIME PERIOD:
The study was done from the period of 2nd January 2011 to 12th march 2011.
SAMPLE DESIGN:
Relational of sampling:
This study is done under the HPCL Direct sales regional office, K.R.Puram,
Bangalore.
The main target groups of the study are the FLEET owner segment.
This study is thus done in the regional area under the Bangalore office. Fleet owners
are the main carrier of lubes in market. They are the best to know about the market
dynamics. Fleet owner are main in deciding the lubes for their vehicles.
SAMPLE SIZE:
Sample size consists of total of 50 Fleet Owners.
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31. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
METHOD OF SAMPLING:
The method used for sampling is a Non Random Sampling Method – Judgment
Sampling, the sample was suggested and approved by the executive sales officer
HPCL office Bangalore.
SAMPLE CATEGORIZATION:
STRUCTURED SURVEY USING FORMATTED QUESTIONNAIRE
FLEET OWNERS:
A fleet owner is a person who has got control over a number of
buses, aircrafts etc.
Fleet owner are decision makers for buying the lubricants.
Focus was on the Fleet owners segment because they can give us the clear
picture of how they by the lubricants and what‟s the preference for buying the
lubricants and the strategies they adopt to buy the lubricants.
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION:
To understand the market stand of HP lubricants,
To understand the Fleet owner‟s view towards lubricants.
To find out what can be the solution to improve sales.
SCOPE OF THE STUDY:
The study will be done with the aim of getting acquainted with the
functioning of the company.
One of the major scopes of the study was to get an exposure to the
working environment of the company.
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32. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION:
The Source of the data in this project was collected on a primary basis.
Analysis and interpretation was also made on the basis of primary data
collected.
Questionnaire method has been used to elite response from the
respondents. The questionnaire has been prepared keeping in mind the
Ares specified by the marketing and sales department.
Secondary data was collected from news papers, company websites and
other general publications. For capturing the secondary data few of the
data collection instruments were used. E.g. HPCL journals, magazines, etc
The questionnaire has been designed for the Fleet Owners to know the
marketing strategies for lubricants among the fleet owner segment i.e. the
buying behavior of lubricants among the fleet owners.
This questionnaire consists of 17 queries.
Questions are combination of open ended and closed ended questions.
Secondary data related to this topic is obtained through Internet and books.
For details please refer the bibliography.
SPECIFIC RESEARCH TECHNIQUE USED:
The main objective of this project is to study about marketing strategies for lubricants
among a Fleet owner segment, so exploratory and descriptive research is mainly used.
a. EXPLORATORY RESEARCH:
This study aimed to gain familiarity with problem and to generate ideas to formulate
the problem. A survey was conducted among few Fleet owners to know the actual
problem and then a final questionnaire was prepared.
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33. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
b. DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH:
Descriptive research gives more insight into particular problem. Descriptive research
was used for this study to understand the marketing strategies adopted by the
company in Bangalore region. It also provides a clear insight into the perception of
people towards HPCL lubes.
METHOD OF ANALYSIS:
Question to Fleet owners are mostly open-ended and are analyses by
quantifying them with pie charts and other graphical representations.
A simple method of analysis has been used .Each question has been evaluated
with the help of tables and graphs expressed in percentage terms.
Likert scale is being used where necessary.
The number of responses is written in absolute terms.
LIMATATAION OF THE STUDY:
HPCL lubes are sold all over India but the study was limited to the Bangalore
only.
The complete access to some of the information of the company was not
available due to confidentiality.
Non-cooperation and personal bias made it difficult to get the specific answer.
Few of the Fleet owners were not interested in giving their response.
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34. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE 1:
TABLE SHOWING LUBRICANT CURRENTLY USED BY THE
FLEET OWNERS.
Sl No Companies Respondents Percentage
01 CASTROL 25 50%
02 SERVO 06 12%
03 GULF 03 6%
04 HPCL 09 18%
05 BALMOROL 01 2%
06 ELF 02 4%
07 VEEDOL 01 2%
08 SHELL 03 6%
ANALYSIS:
50% of the respondents choose Castrol.
12% of the respondents choose Servo.
6% of the respondents choose Gulf.
18% of the respondents choose HPCL.
2% of respondents choose Balmoral.
4% of respondents choose Elf.
2% of respondents choose Veedol.
6% of respondents choose Shell.
INFERENCE:
Major of the fleet owners according to the survey preferred Castrol lubricants.
HP lubricants stand in the 2nd position as per the survey.
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35. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH 1:
CHART SHOWING, THE LUBRICANT CURRENTLY USED BY
THE FLEET OWNERS.
Sales
VEEDOL
ELF 2%
4% SHELL
BALMAROL
6%
2%
HPCL
18% CASTROL
50%
GULF
6%
SERVO
12%
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36. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE 2:
TABLE SHOWING QUANTITY OF LUBES USED DAILY
Quantity 0-10 lt. 10-20 lt. 20-35 lt. >50 lt.
(Lt’s)
Frequency 29 11 8 2
(No. of
respondents)
ANALYSIS:
68% of the fleet owners use 0-10 liters of lubes daily as per the survey.
22% of the fleet owners use 10-20 liters of lubes daily as per the survey.
16 % of the fleet owners use 20-35 liters of lubes daily as per the survey.
4% of the fleet owners use more than 50 liters of lubes daily as per the survey.
INFERENCE:
Major of the Fleet owners use 0-10 liters of lubes for their vehicles as per the
survey.
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37. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 2
CHART SHOWING QUANTITY OF LUBES USED DAILY.
35
30
25
Frequency
20
15
10
5
0
0-10 lt. 10-20 lt. 20-35 lt. >50 lt.
Quantity
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38. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 3
CHART SHOWING FROM WHOM THEY PURCHASE
LUBRICANTS
DISTRIBUTORS DEALERS COMPANY RETAILERS
SALES PERSON
7 28 8 7
ANALYSIS:
14% of the Fleet owners buy their lubes from the Distributors.
56% of the Fleet owners buy their lubes from the dealers.
16% of the Fleet owners buy their lubes from the company sales persons.
14% of the Fleet owners buy their lubes from the retailers
INFERENCE:
Major of the Fleet owners buy their lubricants from the Dealers
Company salespersons stands in the 2nd position as per the survey
Distributors stand in the third position as per the survey.
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39. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 3
CHART SHOWING FROM WHOM THEY PURCHASE
LUBRICANTS.
FROM WHOM THEY PURCHASE
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
DISTRIBUTOR DEALER COMPANY RETAILERS
SALES PERSON
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40. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 4
TABLE SHOWING HOW OFTEN THEY BUY LUBRICANT PACK.
REGULAR ONCE IN ONCE IN ONCE IN A
WEEK TWO WEEKS MONTH
11 10 5 24
ANALYSIS:
22% of the Fleet owners buy the lubes regularly as per the survey.
20% of the Fleet owners buy the lubes once in a week as per the survey.
10% of the Fleet owners buy the lubes once in two weeks as per the survey.
48% of the Fleet owners buy ht lubes once in a month as per the survey.
INFERENCE:
Major of the Fleet owners buy the lubes once in a month as per the survey.
Regular purchase of lubes stands in the second position as per the survey.
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41. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 4
CHART SHOWING HOW OFTEN THEY BUY LUBRICANT PACK.
purchase
25
20
15
10
5
0
REGULAR ONCE IN A ONCE IN TWO ONCE IN A
WEEK WEEKS MONTH
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42. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 5(1)
TABLE SHOWING ATTRIBUTE WHEN SELECTING A
LUBRICANT.
1: BRAND NAME
RATING 5 4 3 2 1
NO. OF 30 14 06 00 00
RESPONDENTS
ANALYSIS:
60% of the Fleet owners gave 5 rating for the brand name.
24% of the Fleet owners gave 4 rating for the brand name.
12% of the Fleet owners gave 3 rating for the brand name.
INFERENCE:
60% of the Fleet owners gave more rating and preference for the brand
name.
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43. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 5 (1)
CHART SHOWING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS “BRAND NAME”OF
LUBRICANTS.
BRAND NAME
30
30
25
20
15 14
10
6
5
0
0
0
5
4
3
2
1
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44. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 5(2)
TABLE SHOWING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS “QUALITY” OF
LUBRICANTS.
2: QUALITY
RATING 5 4 3 2 1
NO. OF 41 07 02 00 00
RESPONDENTS
ANALYSIS:
82% of the Fleet owners gave 5 rating to the Quality.
14% of the Fleet owners gave 4 rating for the quality.
4% of the Fleet owners gave 3 rating for the quality.
INFERENCE:
82% of the Fleet owners gave more rating and preference for the quality.
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45. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 5(2)
CHART SHOWING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS “QUALITY” OF
LUBRICANTS.
QUALITY
50
40
30
20
10
0
5
4
3
2
1
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46. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 5(3)
SHOWING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS “PRICE” OF LUBRICANTS.
RATING 5 4 3 2 1
NO. OF 5 11 25 9 00
RESPONDENTS
ANALYSIS:
10% of the Fleet owners gave 5 rating for the price as per survey.
22% of the Fleet owners gave 4 rating for the price as per survey.
50% of the Fleet owners gave 3 rating for the price as per survey.
INFERENCE:
Only 10% of the Fleet owners give preference to the price of the lubricants as
per the survey.
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47. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 5(3)
CHART SHOWING ATTRIBUTES TOWARDS “PRICE” OF
LUBRICANTS
PRICE
1
2
RATING
3
4
5
0 5 10 15 20 25
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
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48. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 6
SHOWING HAVE YOU CHANGED THE BRAND OF LUBE USED
IN PAST ONE YEAR.
YES NO
08 42
ANALYSIS:
16% of the Fleet owners have switched to other lubricants as per the survey.
84% of the Fleet owners have not switched from the lubricants as per the
survey
INFERENCE:
84% of the Fleet owners are HARDCORE LOYALS.
Hardcore loyal are loyal to one particular type of products and they are
satisfied with that product.
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49. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 6
CHART SHOWING HAVE YOU CHANGED THE BRAND OF LUBE
USED IN PAST ONE YEAR.
YES
16%
NO
84%
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50. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 7
SHOWING HOW IS THE SUPPLY OF LUBES TO YOU.
GOOD AVERAGE BAD
41 09 00
ANALYSIS:
82% of the supply of lubes to Fleet owners is GOOD as per the survey.
18% of the supply of lubes to Fleet owners is AVERAGE as per the survey.
INFERENCE:
Nearly 82% of the lubes supply to Fleet owners is GOOD as per the survey.
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51. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 7
CHART SHOWING THE SUPPLY OF LUBES
SUPPLY OF LUBES
45
40
NO OF RESPONDENTS
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
GOOD
AVERAGE
BAD
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52. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 8
SHOWING SIZE OF LUBRICANTS PACK THEY BUY.
5 lt. 10lt. 50lt. Barrel
11 8 3 28
ANALYSIS:
56% of the Fleet owners buy lubricants in barrel as per the survey.
22% of the Fleet owners buy lubricants in 5 liter packs as per the survey.
16% of the Fleet owners buy lubricants in 10 liter packs as per the survey.
INFERENCE:
Major of the Fleet owners buy the lubricants in barrels.
5 liters lubricants pack stands in 2nd position as per the survey.
10liters lubes pack stands in 3rd position followed by 50 liters pack as per the
survey.
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53. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 8
CHART SHOWING THE SIZE OF LUBRICANTS THEY BUY.
size of lubricants they buy
5 lt.
22%
Barrel
56%
10 lt.
16%
50 lt.
6%
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54. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 9
SHOWING STOCK THEY KEEP AT A POINT OF TIME.
No stock 20-50 50-150 150-200 >200
11 5 10 8 16
ANALYSIS:
32% of the Fleet owners keep stock more than 200 liters at a point of time.
22% of the Fleet owners keep NO stock at a point of time.
20% of the Fleet owners keep 50-150liters of stock at a point of time.
16% of the Fleet owners keep 150-200liters of Stock at a point of time.
10% of the Fleet owners keep 20-50liters of the stock at a point of time
INFERENCE:
If the vehicles are more than the Fleet owner will keep more stock at a point of
time.
Major of the Fleet owners keep stock more than 200 liters as per the survey.
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55. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 9
CHART SHOWING STOCK THEY KEEP AT A POINT OF TIME.
STOCK LEVEL AT A POINT OF TIME
>200
150-200
50-150
20-50
No stock
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
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56. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 10
SHOWING WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE HPCL PRODUCTS AT
COMPLETIVE RATES?
YES NO
15 35
ANALYSIS:
70% of the Fleet owners are Hardcore loyal.
30% of the Fleet owners are soft core loyal.
INFERENCE:
Major of the Fleet owners are hardcore loyal, hence they won‟t like
to switch from one lube to other.
70% of the Fleet owners are not interested to switch their lubricant
brand.
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57. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 10
CHART SHOWING WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE HPCL PRODUCTS
AT COMPLETIVE RATES?
35
30
25
20
35
15
10 15
5
0
YES
NO
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58. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
TABLE: 11
SHOWINGS ARE YOU AWARE OF HPCL PRODUCTS.
YES NO
13 37
ANALYSIS:
74% of the Fleet owners are not aware of the HP lubricants as per the survey.
26% of the Fleet owners are aware of the lubricants of HP as per the survey.
INFERENCE:
Major of the Fleet owners are not aware of HP products.
74% OF The Fleet owners are aware of the HP products hence the awareness
of the products of HP to Fleet owners are necessary
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59. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
GRAPH: 11
CHART SHOWINGS ARE YOU AWARE OF HPCL PRODUCTS.
37
NO
13
YES
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
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60. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
FINDINGS:
The study was conducted on “Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet
owner segment” by distributing the questionnaire to the Fleet owners and the analysis
was done. Following are the main findings from the survey conducted.
1. Brand image plays an important role in fleet owner‟s buying decision.
2. Some fleet owner‟s had common complaints that no HPCL sales persons
had visited them.
3. Fleet owners care for their vehicles so much that they give full importance
to quality and relatively lower preference to price.
4. It is found that only 26% of the Fleet owners are aware of HPCL
lubricants.
5. It is found that 70% of the Fleet owners are not interested to switch their
brand of lubricants.
6. As per the survey, major of the Fleet owners are using lubricants of
Castrol, followed by HPCL.
7. It was found that 68% of the fleet owners use 0-10 liters of lubes daily as
per the survey.
8. It was found that 56% of the Fleet owners buy their lubes from the dealers
9. It was found that 48% of the Fleet owners buy lubes once in a month as
per the survey.
10. It is found that 82% of the Fleet owners gave 5 rating to the Quality as per
the survey.
11. It is found that 84% of the Fleet owners have not switched from the
lubricants as per the survey.
12. It was found that only 16% of the Fleet owners have switched their brand
of lubricants from past one year.
13. It was found that 82% of the supply of lubes to Fleet owners is GOOD as
per the survey.
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61. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
14. It was found 56% of the Fleet owners buy lubricants in barrel as per the
survey.
15. It was found that 32% of the Fleet owners keep stock more than 200 liters
at a point of time.
16. Fleet owners were not ready to revel there business secretes.
17. Fleet owners afraid to switch the lubricant because it may affect the
vehicle as their perception.
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62. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
SUGGESTION’S:
During the course of my project, I have been able to identify some of the factors
which need to be considered for the further upliftment and progress of the company.
Create awareness about HPCL lubes for Fleet owners by conducting
Lube seminars
Update Fleet owners on new brands/ Technology.
The quality of products is currently satisfied but still the company has to look
to increase in kilometers in the motors.
Very few of the HPCL products are intensively promoted; where as other
products are not equally promoted. Thus focus should be on products equally.
The company executives have to meet the Fleet owners and present them a
small presentation about the HPCL lubes and products.
Gift coupons should be given to the customers and Fleet owners regularly.
This motives them to buy the products.
HPCL has to create a free oil change camp or free service campaign.
Brand awareness like; display boards, advertising, should be eye catching, so
that they can draw the attention of the customers and the Fleet owners.
As the price is pretty less as compared to other competitors, this made a
negative perception in the mind of customers. They dubbed the products as an
inferior quality product. So HPCL should promote both (high priced and
low priced product) simultaneously.
HPCL must try and increase Fleet owner‟s satisfaction by providing them with
better schemes.
HPCL should adopt different strategies in different market area according to
their demand and buying pattern.
More than the schemes and offers fleet owners expect a higher credit period
from the distributors. If the company could provide it, the fleet owner would
be more happy and stock more HPCL products.
HPCL has to concentrate more on increasing their brand awareness.
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63. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
CONCLUSION:
The Indian lubricants industry is currently crowded with lot of players
and few more players are expected to enter the market. All players are fighting hard to
get a maximum share in which even 1% means 55 cross sales. So the main weapon of
all players is effective marketing strategy. HPCL has adopted many marketing
strategy and create awareness to capture the market level but still it is not able to
come in the top brands in country in the lubricant segment.
The main factor that influences purchasing decision of all fleet owner‟s
and consumers is the quality and the brand name of a product. Castrol has been
successful in doing that by going all out in advertisements. HPCL now has a good
awareness with the fleet owner but still they are hesitant to go ahead with the brand in
a big way.
The main reason for this being is lack of customer demand awareness.
More than gifts the dealers are expecting good support from the fleet owners, expect
good relationship with the company and some price discounts.
It can be conclude by saying that if HPCL goes on with promotional
activities at local level and have a good relationship with the Fleet owners and provide
them with adequate support it can capture a huge portion of market. So HPCL must
concentrate on building a huge brand for product which will serve as best marketing
tool for lot many years to come.
It can be conclude by saying that if HPCL goes on with promotional
activities at local level and have a good relationship with the fleet owner providing
them with support it can capture a huge portion of market. So HPCL must concentrate
it building a huge brand for its product which will serve as the best marketing tool for
lot many years to come.
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64. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. BOOKS:
Marketing Management
- ICFAI
- PHLIP KOTLAR
Modern Marketing
- R.S.N.PILLAI BAGAVAT
Research Design
- Tata McGraw-Hill publications
2. NEWS PAPER REFFERED:
Ramesh, Kumar. “HPCL lubricants can capture 30%
market share.” Business Line
3. ARTICLES:
- Mittal may buy HPCL refinery
stake
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65. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
4. WEB SITES:
http://www.google.com
http://www.en.wikipedia.org
http://www.myhpcl.com
http://www.catrol.com
http://www.bpcl.com
http://www.shell.com
http://www.indialubes.com
http://www.hpcl.com
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66. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
STUDY ON MARKETING STRATEGY FOR LUBRICANTS
AMONG FLEET OWNER SEGMENT.
NOBLE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, BANGALORE
QUESTIONNAIRE FOR FLEET OWNERS
Dear Sir/Madam,
I am a VI B.B.M. student representing NSB-BANGALORE. I am doing my project
as a part of course in HPCL Regional office, Bangalore under Mr.Gyan Prakash,
Executive sales officer. I am assigned a project on “MARKETING STRATEGY
FOR LUBRICANTS AMONG FLEET OWNER SEGMENT”. I will be obliged if
you spare your time to fill up this questionnaire.
1. Name:
2. Address:
3. Choose the lubricant that you are currently using
[ ] HPCL [ ] Valvoline [ ] Veedol [ ] Pennzoil [ ] Castrol [ ] Shell
[ ] Servo [ ] Elf [ ] MAK [ ] Any other specify
________________________________________________
4. Name the product brand you use
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67. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
5. Quantity of lubes used daily
[ ] 0-10 liters [ ] 10-20 liters [ ] 20-35 liters [ ] 35-50 liters [ ] more than 50
liters
6. From whom do you purchase this lubricant pack?
[ ] Distributors [ ] Dealers [ ] Company‟s salesperson
7. What is the size of the lubricant pack that you frequently buy?
[ ] 5liters [ ] 10liters [ ] 20liters [ ] barrel [ ] Any other
specify___________________
8. How often do you purchase this lubricant pack?
[ ] Once in a week [ ] Once in two weeks [ ] Once every month
9. Rate the importance of the following attributes when selecting a lubricant
Brand name: Very high 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___ Very low
Quality: Very high 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___ Very low
Price: Very high 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___ Very low
Credit: Very high 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___ Very low
If any other, specify_________________________________
10. Have you come across promotional programs like trainings, workshop
meets, new product launch etc, of any of the below listed lubricant
companies.
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68. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
[ ] HPCL [ ] Valvoline [ ] Veedol [ ] Pennzoil [ ] Castrol
[ ]Shell [ ] servo [ ] Elf [ ] MAK [ ] Any other specify
______________________________________________________________
11. What do you expect from a lubricant company?
Most preferred _____________________ least preferred
Certificate training programs: 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___
To help in business growth: 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___
Brand association
(Paintings and display boards) 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___
Educational needs for family 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___
Health related needs(insurance): 5___ 4___ 3___ 2___ 1___
Specify your other wants:______________________________
12. Have you come across representative of any of these lubricants companies
in the past six months
[ ] HPCL [ ] Valvoline [ ] Veedol [ ] Pennzoil [ ] Castrol [ ]
Shell [ ] servo [ ] Elf [ ] MAK [ ] Any other
specify _______________________________________________
13. Have you changed the brand of lubricant used in past 1 year?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
If yes, which brand?
If no, how long have you been using it:____________
14. How much stock do you keep at any point of time?
[ ] 20-50 liters [ ] 50-150 liters [ ] 150-200 liters [ ] More than 200 liters
Noble School of Business 68
69. Marketing strategy for lubricants among Fleet owner segment
15. How is supply of lubes to you?
[ ] Good [ ] Average [ ] Bad
16. WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE HPCL PRODUCTS IF THE SAME IS MADE
AVAILABLE TO YOU AT HIGHLY COMPLETIVE RATES?
[ ] Yes [ ] No
17. Are you aware of HPCL lubricants?
[ ] YES [ ] No
Remarks:____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Thank you for your co-operation YOURS SINCERELY
[RAGHAVENDRA.GS]
Noble School of Business 69