Conduct an MBA Project Study on How to Capture 15 -20 % Market Share in Indian Lubricants Market

In this MBA project work on Marketing Management, the Brand considered for study is Shell Lubricants India and the brand’s ambition to capture a 15-20 % market-share within the next two years shall be under study.  As a brand, Shell has been present in India for over 100 years now. However, the brand earlier had a joint venture with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL). Now the brand has been a wholly dedicated, independent company for the last seven-eight years.

Next phase of growth for Shell in India

The key is to continue building brand awareness and brand preference. Shell also needs to keep expanding its product portfolio across the space. The company has launched the Helix HX8 for its B2C portfolio. For B2B, they have recently launched a new range of hydraulic oils. Moreover, the company will keep expanding its market footprint in terms of distribution and expansion to Tier II and III cities. They are also looking at deepening relationships with original equipment manufacturers. For example, Shell just celebrated its 10-year relationship with Hyundai, and extended its contract with them for another three years. Apart from this, they will continue to expand relationships with other auto brands like Maruti Suzuki; not just in the area of automobiles, but for trucks, as well. Again, in the B2B space, while globally they have contracts with Komatsu and John Deere, are also working on building relationships with local players. Increasing its digital capability is yet another focus area. Finally, Shell has been investing heavily in people and recruiting steadily. The Shell Group now has over 6,000 people employed in India, with a strong emphasis on gender diversity and equal opportunity for all. Therefore, the growth strategy of Shell in the Indian Lubricants market can surely be studied for the MBA Project work.

Product Portfolio of Shell in India

Last year, Shell launched a brand promise, ‘Together Anything is Possible’ for its B2B offerings, which make up a large part of the business. The ‘Power of Partnerships’ is an evolution of that brand promise. Shell launched Helix, a synthetic motor oil. The brand has been outperforming expectations so far and have reached almost 150 % of sales target for the product. The motorbikes market in India is huge and growing rapidly. Also witnessing good growth in other segments like scooters, which is pushing the popularity of Shell Advance. Moreover, since the automobile market is also witnessing steady growth, Shell Helix is doing well. The number of cars as well as their longevity is on the rise, aiding the growth. Besides, they also have products which help consumers increase fuel efficiency and improve air quality. Using a premium product means less emissions, which is a priority in most markets.

 

 

Shell’s Indian arm in the global scheme

India is a vital market for Shell. The company is already the market leader in the US, which is the largest market for them, besides being the number one international oil company in China, which is the second largest market. India has now surpassed Russia to become Shell’s third largest market, the company having a 5 % market-share. It’s a highly competitive market with some big national oil companies. The company is witnessing good growth which has been hard fought for. However, the aim is to capture 15-20 % market share within the next two years. Therefore, the growth strategy of Shell can surely be studied for MBA project work in marketing.

 

How difficult is it to market lubricants to customers?

Shell’s business is split into B2C and B2B. In B2C, it’s easier because people using cars or motorbikes understand the brand and know about the products like Shell Advanced and Helix. In B2B, the company has products like Shell Tellus, which is a market leader in hydraulic oils globally. However, it’s not just about the products. In the B2B business, a company needs to talk to consumers about more than just products. This was a key insight which led to a change in our approach a few years ago. The company realized that it was more about framing the communication from the consumer’s point of view, which is what marketing is all about. In fact, they have just completed a big customer insight study globally, which includes India. One insight for the construction sector from that study is that extending the life of equipment is what keeps consumers awake at night. 

 

Conclusion

A detailed study on the marketing strategies adopted by Shell for increasing market share in India needs to be carried out as part of MBA project work on marketing management so that the marketing strategy of the company can be followed by other players.

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