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University of Petroleum and Energy Studies , Dehradun| 1

A STUDY OF CUSTOMER AWARENESS

ON PETROLEUM LOYALTY CARDS INDEHRADUN REGION.

Dissertation submitted to College of Management & EconomicStudies for the partial Fulfillment of the degree of

INTEGRATED BBA+MBA (OIL&GAS)

Guided by:

FACULTY:

MR. PANKAJ MOHAN PRASAD

Assistant Professor

College of Management & Economic Studies

University of Petroleum & Energy Studies

DEHRADUN248001

Submitted by:

ANKIT AGARWAL

Enrollment No: R 430209029SAP ID: 500009257

College of Management and Economic StudiesUniversity of Petroleum and Energy Studies,

DEHRADUN, UTTRAKHAND INDIAAPRIL, 2012


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Declarat ion

I Ankit Agarwal , hereby declare that the project work entitled A STUDY OF

CUSTOMER AWARENESS ON PETROLEUM LOYALTY CARDS IN DEHRADUN

REGION is an authenticated work carried out by me.Under the guidance of Mr.

Pankaj Mohan Prasad for the partial fulfillment of the award of the degree of

Integerated BBA + MBA (Oil & Gas Marketing) and this work has not been submitted

for similar purpose anywhere else except to University of Petroleum And Energy

Studies, Dehradun.

Date: 19th April, 2012 Ankit Agarwal

R430209029


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TABLE of CONTENT

TITLE

PAGE

NO.

1. LEARNING EXPERIENCE 6

2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 7

3. INTRODUCTION: 8

4. BACKGROUND 9

5. Objectives 10

6. Scope of Research 11

7. Literature Review 12

8. Loyalty Card In Petroleum Sector 17

8.1 Advantages And Disadvantages Of Loyalty Card

8.2 Types of Card

8.3 Loyalty Programs An Integreal Part

8.4 Comparative Study

9. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY& DATA ANALYSIS 28

9.1 Data Source

9.2 Sampling size

9.3 SAMPLING TECHINQUE

9.4 SAMPLING SIZE DETERMINATION

9.5 Research Type

10. RESULT OUTCOME 36

11. FINDINGS AND LIMITATIONS 37

12. SUGGESTIONS 38

13. CONCLUSION 39

14. RECOMMENDATION 40

15. ANNEXURE 41

15.1 QUESTIONNAIRE

15.2 BIBLIOGRAPHY


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LEARNING EXPERIENCE:

This project has been a great learning experience for me. It has provided melearning opportunities about loyalty program. By handling the project under guidance

of my respected mentor I have gained knowledge about market culture and

environment. On the whole, I am able to understand the prospective and current

trends of the market and able to understand the psychology of customers. In the

beginning of the project I was bit uncomfortable as I was unfamiliar about market, but

this project has made me realize that to reach heights of success and position you

have to start from the begining.


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Execut ive Summary:

To retain the customers in this highly competitive world companies come out

with their loyalty programme and show how they could be beneficial to the customers

if they remain with them for a long term. A specific methodology was adapted to work

on the project which included literature review, data collection through retail outlets,

Internet, survey, study of different loyalty programmes. This data was then analyzed

and was implemented as per the methodology. Activities were performed with the

customers at the retail outlet and other parties reveal that there are few problems

and issues, which are both operational and structural, related with the cards. In fact

as I approached customers for cards, it gave us firsthand knowledge of why

acceptance is low.

The major reason for low acceptance amongst customers is lack of proper

communication, around 70% of the customers who are using the card are not aware

about all the benefits of the cards. We tried to train RO attendants, to make them

understand all the aspects related with the programme. We also took some

suggestions from them to improve the programme.

We approached many corporate customers but Cost of the cards was main

factor according to the consumer response. To improve the existing programs

feedback was taken from customers; pump attendants, Dealers and Alliance

partners. Their valuable suggestions were taken in consideration and have been

mentioned in report for further development of the programmes.


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INTRODUCTION:

Project Title: A STUDY OF CUSTOMER AWARENESS ON PETROLEUM LOYLTY

CARDS IN DEHRADUN REGION.

Introduction to the project:

In the present world where there is intense competition, it becomes very necessaryto retain loyal customers. The commercial benefits of loyal customers are well knownby the brand managers. The cost of acquiring a new customer is always more thanretaining an old customer.Loyal customers are also important because they provide the consistency of volumecritical for stocking and managing just in time inventory to maintain the consistencyof customer demand during crisis which is required to run any retail business. Thereare also customers, which are strong advocates of brands and are always willing toforgive an occasional lapse. All of these are compelling reasons that retailers are ona quest for customer loyalty and are increasingly looking at implementing loyaltyprograms or loyalty cards of some form.With increasing oil prices and competition increasing at a rapid pace, many oil-marketing companies are finding it difficult to operate profitably in India. Thus toretain its existing customers, many new imitative have been adopted by the

organizations.


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BACKGROUNDIn the present world where there is intense competition, it becomes very

necessary to retain loyal customers. The commercial benefits of loyal customers are

well-known by the brand managers. The cost of acquiring a new customers is alwaysmore than retaining an old customer.

Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and

therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior (behavior which is potentially of benefit to

the firm). Loyalty cards are a system of the loyalty business card.

Loyalty cards are promotional marketing tools used by many businesses acrossseveral industries. In marketing generally and in retailing more specifically, a loyalty

card, rewards card, points card, advantage card, or club card is a plastic or

paper card, visually similar to a credit card or debit card, that identifies the card

holder as a member in a loyalty program. Businesses usually distribute them in

stores, online or through the mail. The main purpose of loyalty cards is to encourage

repeat purchases from new or existing customers.

Cards typically have a barcode or magstripe that can be easily scanned and some

are even chip cards. Small keyring cards (also known as keytags) which serve as

key fobs are often used for convenience in carrying and ease of access.

It enhances customer loyalty directly by offering rewards as an incentive to shop

regularly at a particular supermarket group. Most loyalty cards also generate

considerable information for supermarkets, including a customers name, address

and purchase preferences. Multiples can use this information to tailor product

offerings, promotions, investment and advertising to the needs of their customers,

thereby indirectly enhancing loyalty.

Loyalty programes are initiated by businesses with two main goals. The primary goal

for most loyalty programs is the acquisition of information relating to their customers,

spending habits, while the secondary goal is to actively cultivate loyalty amongst

customers to ensure day continued patronizing the businesses.


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OBJECTIVES OF THE LOYALTY PROGRAMME:

To study the loyalty program.

To study the loyalty between the local customers and the company.

To study the benefits provided by cards to the customers.

To study how organizations tap local alliance partners for loyalty Cardprogram.

To obtain customer opinions and suggestions.

To study the comparative analysis between the loyalty card benefits of allIndian marketingcompany.

To become known to real market.

To get the customers feedback on the program and know the reason for less

than expected use cards.

To increase awareness about the loyalty programme.

To aware the RO attendants about the cards.


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Scope for Research

For any product to survive in the market, if consumer is not aware with its

characteristics no matter what amount of companies spend on it, will notresult in customer centric approach.

It is necessary to study the pattern of consumer purchasing behavior basedon their product awareness.

Brand preferences will surely play a dominant role for consumer purchasingpower depending upon their awareness, marketing styles of companies andfactors affecting their buying behavior related to their types of automobile andtheir requirements.


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Literature Review:

1. Title: The Impact of Brand Awareness on Consumer Purchase Intention

Author:Dr. Hsin Kuang Chi, Nanhua University, Taiwan

Year:February, 2009

Objective:The purposes of the study are to explore the effects among

brand awareness, perceived quality, brand loyalty and customer purchase

intention and mediating effects of perceived quality and brand loyalty on brand

awareness and purchase intention.

Research Methodology:Brand awareness is the independent variable,

purchase intention is the dependent variable, and perceived quality and brand

loyalty are the mediating variables.

The measurement constructs include brand awareness, perceived quality,

brand loyalty, and purchase intention with a Likert 7-point scale from 7 to 1 to

present extremely agree, agree, a little agree, no opinion, a little disagree,

disagree and very disagree.

Conclusion: The study finds that brand identity and brand recall are

positively related to purchase intention. It signifies that consumers will buy a

familiar and well know product (Keller, 1993; Jacoby & Olson, 1997;

Macdonald & Sharp, 2000). In other words, the higher the brand awareness,

the higher the purchase intention. In addition, the study reveals that action

loyalty and affective loyalty are positively related to purchase intention.


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2.Title:Advertising and Consumer Awareness of a New Product.

Author:Alicia Barroso

Year:March 2008

Objective:The goal of this paper is to evaluate the role of advertising in the

information diffusion of a new product. To address it I develop and estimate a

structural discrete-choice model, in which the consumer is aware of only a

subset of all products (her choice set), and her purchase decisions are only

among the products in her choice set. The choice set evolves according to

the information diffusion process, which is affected by the advertising

expenditure.

I also model the optimal price and advertising decisions of the firm,taking into

account the dynamic effect of advertising on future sales (via an increase in

the proportion of consumers aware of the product).

Research Methodology: The model is estimated for Spanish car market

data. It is an unbalanced panel data on a monthly basis from January 1990 to

December 2000 (132 months), with model as the elementary unit of analysis.

The original sources of the data set are ANFAC (Asociacin Nacional de

Fabricantes de Automviles y Camiones), Gua del comprador de

ochesmagazine and Infoadex. Infoadex is a rm that computes advertising

expenditure, by monitoring communication markets and their prices on a daily

basis.

Conclusion:This paper evaluates the role of advertising in the information

diffusion of a new product. Using a structural model in which consumer

purchase decision is specified with a discrete choice model with variation in

the choice set and a dynamic model of advertising taking into account the

dynamic eect of advertising on future consumer awareness (future sales),

mypaper finds for the Spanish automobile market that advertising significantly

enhances the Information diffusion of new products and reduces the loss of

consumer welfare that comes from the lack of information.


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3.Title: Effects of Brand Preference, Product Attributes, and Marketing Mix

Variables in Technology Product Markets.

Author: S. Sriram

Year: First Version: June 2004

Revised: September 2005

Objective: The proposed model accounts for the effects of brand

preferences, model attributes and marketing mix variables on consumer

choice.

Research Methodology: Given our objectives of evaluating the effects

of product attributes as well as capturing the dynamics in the brand

preferences on consumer choice , our paper is related to three streams of

research.

The first stream pertains to studies that have modeled the effect of product

attributes on consumer choice.

The second stream studies the effect of a firm or a brands product line on its

demand. The third stream corresponds to those that model dynamic or time varying

parameters.

Conclusion: We find that intrinsic brand preferences have a much bigger

effect on the performance of the brand than the inclusive value which reflects

model level prices, product attributes, and the length of the brands product

line. Further, we find that some brands can increase their advertisingexpenditures and still increase their profitability.


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4.Title: The Influence of Advertising on Consumer Brand Preference

Author: Adeolu B. Ayanwale

Year: 9-16 (2005)

Objective: The purpose of this study is to: (i) Examine the influence of

advertising on consumer buying behaviors. (ii) Determine the influence of age

on advertising.

Research Methodology: The data used for this study were obtained from

basically two sources: Primary and Secondary. However, the major data for

the work were collected by means of structured questionnaire. Both

descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data collected.

Conclusion: Brand preference does exist in the food drink industry. Many

consumers do not buy whatever is available or affordable if a product is good

value for its price, it will command brand loyalty. However, advertising helps in

projecting product quality and value before the consumers. This is what is

applicable to Bourn vita presently.


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5.Title: Management Perceptions of the Importance of Brand Awareness as

an Indication of Advertising Effectiveness.

Author: Emma Macdonald and Byron Sharp Year: 1996, 1, 1-15

Objective: This paper discusses recent theoretical developments which

attempt to explain the role which brand awareness plays and then presents

empirical findings concerning how Australian managers utilize brand

awareness as a measure of marketing and advertising effectiveness.

Research Methodology: Personal in-depth interviews were carried out

with ten marketing managers initially. The final questionnaire was

administered over the phone to 100 marketing managers in South Australia.

Conclusion: This study helps to explain the attitude of many managers tothe concept of brand awareness. Despite marketing theory which proposesthat high brand awareness can be a very valuable asset to a firm, our findingis that the concept is frequently dismissed by managers as unimportant andcertainly not worthy of monitoring. The authors' interpretation is that amongsta great many managers, gaining brand awareness is regarded as a once-offbattle which must be fought, and once it is won, it can be forgotten. Managersgive little consideration to the idea of maintaining and monitoring brandawareness on continuous basis. While brand awareness offers a great deal ofpotential value to the marketing manager, the difficulty lies in itsmeasurement.


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Loy al ty card in Petroleum Sector:

Now loyalty card in petroleum sector is gaining momentum as all major

companies are focusing on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) so that theycould develop and retain customers.

The immense competition is making loyalty programs an integral program for the

day-to-day functioning of petro-retailing. Of course, right now many such loyalty

programs are being run by the petro-retailers like Smart Fleet (BPCL), XtraPower

(IOCL), Drivetrack (HPCL), Transconnect (Reliance), Petrocard (BPCL) and others.

However, these programs are mainly focused at the bulk consumers and the smallconsumers are left unnoticed more or less. But in present, such differentiation is

minimized and loyalty program is made available for every segment of consumers.

IndianOil's loyalty programmes are designed exclusively to benefit the large number

of its customers who have been patronising the brand for over five decades. In order

to do that IndianOil launched XTRAPOWER fleet card for fleet operators and

corporate for cashless purchase of fuel & lubricants from designated retail outlets

(petrol pumps) of IndianOil through flexible pre-paid and credit facilities,

XTRAREWARDS card is India's first online rewards programme that seeks to

inculcate the habit of redeeming points to develop and retain customer and

XTRAPOWER easy fuel gift card facilitates corporate in paperless gifting of fuels and

lubricants to their employees, customers and other stakeholders, that too from select

IndianOil retail outlets numbering over 6,000.


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Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited introduced"PetroBonus" Programme to

meet the changing needs and desires of the customer. The Programme offers its

members the convenience and rewards while purchasing the fuel using the Petro Card.

The proposition of Earn while you spend articulates BPCLs desire to deliver more value

to its customers. For customers the key benefits of the Petro Card are: cashless

convenience, acceptance at over 4300 outlets across the country, Quality assurance at

Pure for Sure outlets, managing and tracking of fuel spends.

HPCL also introduce many program to maintain loyal customer Drivesmart fleet Card

offers cashless secure payments for fuel purchases across highways at select HPCL

dealer outlets, Drive Track plusfleet card is a pre-paid (debit) card with expurse cum

loyality applications for fleet operators (mainly highway segments).HPCL has introduced

e-purse cum loyalty card CLUB HP Smart1 for the benefit of our prestigious customers at

select Retail Outlets in Metros and Major cities. This Card gets you Convenience in

addition to Rewards which are unmatched to any similar card scheme.


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ADVA NTAGE & D ISADVA NTAGE OF LOYA LTY

CARDS :

A d v a n t a g e s :

Customer Relationship: Loyalty card programs can help retain

customers, increase traffic and improve sales. Exclusive deals, discounts and

incentives attract customers. Loyalty card incentives improvecustomer

service and relationships with customers.

Marketing Campaigns: If a company requires registration to distribute

a loyalty card, it can collect data that will help drive effective marketing

strategies. Keeping records of past purchases can help design better

promotions and advertising campaigns. For example, offering an instant

discount to loyalty card holders can encourage customers to register or make

frequent purchases. In return, the contact information can be used to

advertise directly with customers who are more likely to buy Business Growth: Reduced advertising costs and increased return on

investment (ROI) on marketing campaigns are two main business growth

advantages. Loyalty cards can attract customers to a business and away from

the competition. They also can improve customer lifetime value--the amount a

customer spends during the lifetime of their relationship with the business--

toward consistent business growth
http://www.ehow.com/list_6687907_advantages-_amp_-disadvantages-loyalty-cards.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6687907_advantages-_amp_-disadvantages-loyalty-cards.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6687907_advantages-_amp_-disadvantages-loyalty-cards.htmlhttp://www.ehow.com/list_6687907_advantages-_amp_-disadvantages-loyalty-cards.html


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D i s a d v an t a g e :

Customer Stalking:Loyalty cards potentially endanger business growth

if a company does not develop the correct strategy. Excessive advertisements

can be a turn-off and may be disregarded as junk advertisements.

Furthermore, customers may feel offended if they are uncomfortable sharing

sensitive information in order to get the incentives of the program.

Reduced Profit: Overuse of the loyalty card program causes other

marketing campaigns to lose effect. Difficulties arise in attracting more

customers willing to purchase at regular prices. As a result, customers may

refuse make purchases unless there is a reduced price or other incentive. If

the average customer chooses this behavior, the business can suffer a

reduction in long-term and short-term profits.

Decreased Brand Value:When used ineffectively, loyalty card

programs actually can reduce the value of the product or service offered

because customers can make assumptions about the value of brands based

on the price.

Customer Resistance: Some savvy consumers may resist signing up

for customer loyalty cards because they don't want companies collecting

information about their purchases. They view this as an invasion of their

privacy as a consumer. Inc.com reports that more and more customers are

aware of the fact that using their customer loyalty cards help businesses

collect information on their buying behavior that they may use to create future

promotional offers.


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T y p e s o f Ca r d s :

Basically there are three types of cards that are used in loyalty program. These are

as follows: Barcode card

Magnetic stripe card

Chip card

1. Barcode Card: It is a card having a barcode which is an optical machine-

readable representation of data, which shows certain data on certainproducts. Originally, barcodes represented data in the widths (lines) and the

spacing of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1D (1

dimensional) barcodes or symbologies. Barcodes can be read by optical

scanner called barcode readers, or scanned from an image by special

software.

Barcodes are widely used in shop floor control applications software where

employees can scan work orders and enter the time spent on a job.


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2. Magnetic stripe Card:A magnetic stripe card is a type of card capable of

storing data by modifying the magnetism of tiny iron-based magnetic particles

on a band of magnetic material on the card. The magnetic stripe, sometimes

called a magst r ipe, is read by physical contact and swiping past a reading

head. This card is also commonly used in petroleum sector for their loyalty

program.

3. Chip Cards:A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuits card (ICC),is

any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. There are two broad

categories of ICCs. Memory cards contain only non-volatile memory storage

components, and perhaps dedicated security logic. Microprocessor cards

contain volatile memory and microprocessor components.

Smart cards may also provide strong security authentication for single sign-on

within large organizations. It also can provide identification, authentication,

data storage and application processing.


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Loy al ty Programs an Integral Part

The immense competition will make loyalty programs an integral program of the day-to-day functioning of petro-retailing. Of course, right now many such loyaltyprograms are being run by the petro-retailers like Smart Fleet (BPCL), Xtra Power(IOCL), Drive track (HPCL), and Petro card (BPCL). However, these programs aremainly focused at the bulk consumers and the small consumers are left unnoticedmore or less. But in future, there wont be such differentiation and loyalty programswill be there for every segment of consumers.With growing competition in the petro-retailing sector, todays consumer is becomingmore and more demanding. The emergence of new psychographic segments inpetro retail market bears the testimony to this fact. A closer look at these segmentstells us what exactly a consumer is looking for whenever he goes to a fuel station topurchase fuel. He looks for-Quality & Quantity assurance

Quick filling and efficient forecourt serviceRewarding loyaltyPremium fuelsCashless transactionsNon - fuel services.

The immense competition will make loyalty programs an integral program of the day-

to-day functioning of petro-retailing. Of course, right now many such loyalty

programs are being run by the petro-retailers like:


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Com pa r at i v e St u d y :

Sources: Indian Oil and Gas and CRISIL Research- July 2010.

It is clear from the chart that IOC is the biggest player in the petroleum

retailing business in India, followed by HPCL, BPCL and other private players.

The statistics available upto 2007-08 suggest that IOC has a market share of

50%. While the share of other PSUs has also shown an increasing trend,

share of the private player has decreased. This is because of the fact thatthey arent given the kind of subsidies and oil bonds issued as in case of

public sector oil companies.

It is clear that IOC is still the biggest player in the market. It is trying hard to

regain its lost share.

As explained above the major player in the petroleum retailing business are

IOC, BPCL, HPCL, IBP, RIL, ESSAR, SHELL.

47%

26.50%

24%

1.50%

Market share

IOCL

HPCL

BPCL

Others


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY& DATA ANALYSIS

To evaluate the level of awareness and its impact on consumer buying decision

following research methodology is utilized in this study.

Data Source:

The data used for this study were obtained from basically two sources

Primary Data

The data collected through questionnaire based survey from the retailers and

customers.Secondary Data

Companys annual reports

Companys journal and magazines

Companys website

Companys leaflets

Companys pamphlets

Products and sales report


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Sampling size:

In total, I will take feedback from 200 people who drive 2-wheeler and 4- wheeler in

DEHRADUN Region.The questionnaire will have open ended questions related to loyalty cards that the

individuals are aware of. Will have close ended questions to know the level of

awareness among them according to their ranking.

Total Population:-Unknown

Population mean: - Unknown

Population Standard Deviation: - Unknown

SAMPLING TECHINQUE:

The sample size is based on Simple Random Sampling.

Population Proportion: - Number of elements in the population belonging to the

category of interest

Total number of elements in the population

Population Proportion: - Number of customer who are aware of loyalty cards/ not

aware of layalty cards

Total Population


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SAMPLING SIZE DETERMINATION:

To calculate the sample size we should answer the following question: -

Q.1. How close do I want my sample estimate to be, to unknown parameters?

Answer is denoted by B (BOUND)

Q.2. What do I want the confidence level to be, so that distance between the

estimate and parameters is less than or equal to B.

Answers is denoted by

Q.3. what is my estimate of the variance (Standard deviation) of the population

Answer is denoted by^2

Minimum required sample size in estimating the population proportion (P) is: -

n= z^2/2 (p q)

B^2

Where q= 1-p

Applying z- test as sample size is more than 30.

CASES in which z test is use are: -

is known & the population is normal. is known & sample size is at least 30.(The population need not be normal)

Now, pilot survey in estimation of population proportion from 10 samples.Aware and UsingCard(A1)

AWARE out of 10 2 Consumer

Aware but not usingcard(A2)


Not aware about thecard(A3)


TOTAL 10 CONSUMERS 10 Consumers


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PILOT SURVEY of 10 CUSTOMERS

Assuming B=10%, B= 0.10

Assuming Confidence level= 95%Assuming z /2 = 1.96(From z table)

P= Population proportion

For, A1 2 consumers are aware from pilot survey

P= 20%, p= 0.20

Putting the value in n= z^2/2 (p q)

B^2

= (1.96) ^2 *0.20*0.20/ (0.10) ^2

= 96.04(Minimum required sample size in estimating

population proportion)

= 96

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

A1 A2 A3 TOTAL

Series 1


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Now, why n=200

According to Central Limit Theorem:

1. When the sample size is large enough. The sampling distribution of samplemean is normal.

2. The expected value of sample mean is .

3. The standard deviation of sample mean is /square root of n.

Standard Deviation = Distance between sample estimate & population estimate.

And as we know that Standard deviation = /square root of n.

As, the value of n increases decreases. As, the standard deviation decreases,

uncertainty decreases and hence accuracy of the estimation increases.

So, n= 200.


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Now on the basis of feedback from 200 samples we have derived that:

Aware and UsingCard(A1)


Aware but not usingcard(A2)


Not aware about thecard(A3)


TOTAL 200 CONSUMERS 200 Consumers

SURVEY OF 200 CUSTOMERS

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

A1A2

A3

TOTAL

Series 2


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Z= ^P (+-) z /2* Square root of ^p*^q/n

1. For A1: - 40/ 200=20% Consumers

2. For A2: - 80/ 200= 40% Consumers

3. For A3: - 80/200=40% Consumers

Assuming 95% Confidence level

1. Z test for A1p = 20%, q= 80%, z /2=1.96

z= 0.20(+-) 1.96* Square root of 0.20*0.80/200

= 0.20(+-) 0.069

z= 0.481(-), z= 0.619(+)

z= 48.1% & 61.9% for A1.

2. Z test for A2p=40%, q= 60%, z /2=1.96

z=0.40(+-) 1.96* Square root of 0.40*0.60/200

= 0.40(+-)*0.060

= 0.19(-), 0.31(+)

Z= 19%& 31% for A2

3. Z test for A3p=40%, q= 60%, z /2=1.96

z=0.40(+-) 1.96* Square root of 0.40*0.60/200

= 0.40(+-)*0.060

= 0.19(-), 0.31(+)

Z= 19%& 31% for A3


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Research Type:

The research method used is DESCRIPTIVE RESEARCH.

Descriptive research includes surveys and fact finding enquires of differentkinds. With the help of questionnaire.

Describes characteristics of a population or a phenomenon.

Some understanding of the nature of the problem.

Aware of problem. (What features do buyers prefer in our product?)

(What kind of people is buying our product.?)

Qualitative Research:-In my research I need comparison between several

human beings and their awareness behavior. So this based on all qualitativedata. In short, Qualitative research is especially important in the behavioral

sciences where the aim is to discover the underline motives of human behavior.

Through such research we can analyses various factors which motivate to

people to behave in a particular manner or which make people like or dislike

using a loyalty card.


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RESULT OUTCOME

To achieve my objectives: To know the level of awareness among consumer for

different loyalty cards in DEHRADUN region.

With the feedback from customers I got to know that 60% are aware of loyaltycards and 40% are not aware.

From the feed back to know the level of awareness of loyalty cards present in

DEHRADUN region,

With the confidence level of 95% I say that 48.1% to 61.9% of the total population is

aware of layalty cards and using it on the basis of the calculations.

With the confidence level of 95% I say that 19% to 31% of the total population is

aware of loyalty cards but not using loyalty cards on the basis of calculations.With the confidence level of 95% I say that 19% to 31 % of the total population is not

aware of loyalty cards on the basis of calculations.

No

40%

Yes

60%

Awareness


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FINDINGS AND L IMITATIONS Most of the customers were very supporting and welcoming .

Customers who showed interest appreciated the offer provided and were

eager to continue talks. They were also wanted to know more about theprogram.

Some of the prospective customers were not aware of Loyalty Program.Hence they were not interested. Also due to the increase in the oil prices theywere apprehensive a little bit.

Some of the customers facing technical difficulties while using the card sincethey are not able to understand its operations clearly.

Some customers have no clear idea about its benefit and they are happy touse their old traditional way of purchasing oil and lubricant.

Some of the customer considers it as very complex and the benefit is not so

high. Customers most of them are small transporter are not very keen for this

program some of them have purchase the card but the card remains as idleas they have very less transaction and lack of information about the benefits.

Loyalty scheme is not available at all the retail outlet so at a time it createsproblem.

The card swiping machines are not properly maintained at some placesleading to many customer complaints. Some of the machines are very old andthey are need replacement with the new one.

At some places pump attendants are also not interested in providing this

service. There are no pamphlets available at pumps, which could give a brief idea

about the loyalty program.

Pamphlet and booklets are in English; hence most of the people are not ableto understand.

There is no dedicated person for collecting the forms. So, there is a largebacklog of forms.

There is Lack of internet facility at some of the outlets and also problem withpoor network service. .

There is no facility of sms for vehicle tracking and to know detail about

existing balance where other major oil producing company (BPCL) providesthis service to their customers.

There are no any special benefits for customers having larger transaction.

There is no any benefit for customers with small vehicle. Corporate customers are not very interested as there is no any special benefit

for them.


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SUGGESTIONS:

What customer suggest?

The point system is not useful for the two-wheelers or they want a card free orin low cost.

The alliance partners are not that much attractive and moreover the particularshops dont provide discounts on all their items, the discounts are available

only on selective items.

Offers printed on the charge slip at the time of transaction are not noticeableat first sight.

What pump attendant suggests?

They should be given some benefits in terms of incentives for selling cards.

When customer comes back to them with some problem they dont have

anyone to talk directly.

What dealer suggests?

Program the usage of the card should be limited to a particular respectiveretail outlet.

Machine should be checked at regular intervals so that the functioning of the

machines can be properly maintained. Cards should be issued to individual customers also.

Minimum required number of cards should be reduced.

Cost of Single Recharge card should be revised.


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CONCLUSION

It was a great opportunity for me to work for LOYALTY PROGRAM and learn

about loyalty programmes and other organizational operations under the observation

and guidance of my officers. This report gives a brief review about the loyaltyprogramme and its operational process.

As per my experience, existing programmes have a good customer base, service

and infrastructure, and loyalty programmes have proved a major factor in increasing

the sales as well as brand loyalty and preference. To generate more turnovers from

loyalty programmes, some modifications are required in terms and conditions and

operational structure of existing programmes.

I concluded that level of awareness play a dominant role in consumer buying

decision.The impact of awareness will be positive and negative depending on

promotional activities result in more or less sales.

If consumer is more aware he has more product knowledge which helps him to

choose his favorable brand. If he has low awareness he will depend upon factors

like: recommendation, peer pressure, social circle, convinience, Personal Factors

That Affect Peoples Buying Behavior,Psychological Factors That Affect Peoples

Buying Behavior and Societal Factors That Affect Peoples Buying Behavior.

When a product enters the market, a certain proportion of consumers are not

aware of the new product, but this proportion decreases over time with the

diffusion of information resulting in more sales.

The Loyaty Cards in India is one of the few sub-sectors of the petroleum industry in

which we have loyalty cards ofeerings. In the market, whenever a customer goes to

the top up his tank, he is facing many brands of oils, and then customer gets

confused. Sometimes he did not even bother about the brand and buy oil from any of

the outlet. So company has to spend more on promotional schemes, advertisement

campaign and awareness programs to promote there brand image so hat comsumer

become loyal to their brand.


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RECOMMENDAT ION

From the study, it is recommended that the company increase their

marketing to create a better brand awareness for their brand. As such

ta rge ted adve r t i s ing and p romo t ions i s impo r tan t to i nc rease the

awareness thus increase the purchase of oil of their

brand. Since marketing play an important therefore emphasis should also be given by

encouraging the marketing people. Perhaps incentive should be given to marketing people

to promote the brand.


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ANNEXURE

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. NAME

2. GENDERMALE FEMALE

3. AGEa) 20-25 b) 25-30 c)30-35d) 35-40 e) 40 and above

4. DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE LOYALTY CARD ? YES NO

5. DO YOU HAVE A LOYALTY CARD ? YES NO

6. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN LOYALTY CARD SCHEME ? YES NO

7. IF NOT, THEN WHY ?a) COST OF THE CARD IS HIGHb) OFFERS ARE NOT INTERESTINGc) THESE SCHEMES ARE JUST WASTE OF TIMEd) OTHERS SPECIFY


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FOR LOYALTY CARD OWNERS ONLY

1. DO YOU USE THE CARD EVERY TIME WHEN YOU FILL ANY PRODUCT INYOUR VEHICLE? YES NO

2. DO YOU FACE ANY TROUBLE IN USING THE CARD ? YES NO

3. WHAT KIND OF PROBLEM DO YOU GENERALLY ENCOUNTER ?i. CARD RELATEDii. MASHINE RELATED

iii. ATTENDANT RELATEDiv. ALL OF THE ABOVEv. OTHERS SPECIFY

4. DO YOU REGISTER YOUR PROBLEM AT RETAIL OUTLET ? YESNO

5. ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICES AT THE RETAIL AOULETREGADIND LOYALTY CARD? YES NO

SUGESSTIONS :


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