Marketing Plan for British Petroleum: A Case Study

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Marketing Essentials

Executive summary
The assignment analyzes the organizations of British Petroleum and Shell with an emphasis on
the overall marketing function in the context of the UK. A detailed marketing plan has further
been presented that aims to counter the limiting factors that British Petroleum is facing currently
while simultaneously enhancing its financial standpoints and market positions.
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Table of Contents
Activity 1.........................................................................................................................................3
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function and relationship to the wider
organizational context......................................................................................................................3
Analysis of roles and responsibilities of marketing on the context of marketing environment and
interrelationship between marketing and other organizational functions........................................5
Critical analysis and evaluation of the key elements of the marketing function.............................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
Activity 2.......................................................................................................................................10
A comparison of how different organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing planning
process to achieve business objectives and an evaluation of different strategies applied by
organizations to demonstrate how business objectives can be achieved.......................................10
Develop and evaluate a basic marketing plan................................................................................14
References......................................................................................................................................23
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Activity 1
Introduction
The concepts and the cumulative functionality of marketing have been existent within business
enterprises and organizations since a very long time and primarily relate to the various policies
and strategies they undertake in order to make their products or services available to the
consensus within stipulated time frames (Baker and Saren, 2016). The oil and gas industry is one
of the most restricted and competitive industries across the world and effective marketing
strategies are an integral part of it as well. British Petroleum is one of the world’s most
successful oil and gas organizations that have been in operation since 1909, and the company is a
suitable example of how effective certain marketing strategies can be. The company has its
operations in over seventy countries, and senior officials have gone on record multiple times
saying that their marketing and innovative advertising policies have been a crucial factor with
regards to the massive brand awareness and the steady growth in revenue and sales figures.
Key roles and responsibilities of the marketing function and relationship to the wider
organizational context
Marketing concept and the wider organizational context
The overall process of marketing can be categorized into five core concepts. These concepts
include the product concept, production concept, selling concept, marketing concept, and societal
marketing concept.
The concept of production emphasizes on the aspects of making the products affordable and
available to the consensus, and bases itself on the notion that consumers will choose products or
services based on the value they provide while simultaneously gauging how affordable they are
and how easily they can be availed (Moorman and Day, 2016). The concept is largely functional
by nature, and organizations typically must try and avoid focusing solely on the production
concept, as it can significantly deter the operational flow owing to the creation of a tunnel vision.
All major oil and gas companies and ancillary enterprises heavily utilize the production concept,
and this includes British Petroleum as well.
The concept of product with regard to the overall marketing function stresses on the utilitarian
value provided by a specific organizations through its products and services when compared to
the alternatives available within the market (Wymer and Polonsky, 2015). Various factors
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comprise the product concept within marketing, and these essentially relate to how durable or
effective the product is, whether it brings any significant development as compared to existing
alternatives, whether it provides more value for money as compared to substitutes and so on
(Rakic and Rakic, 2015). The product concept is largely based on the targeted accommodation of
consumer tastes and preferences, and British Petroleum has achieved a lot of success in the past
owing to their superior product quality and extensive brand awareness.
The concept of selling with regards to the marketing functionality emphasizes on the figures and
volumes of sales as a priority over the intrinsic value provided by the product or the service. The
selling concept establishes a pull method of marketing, whereby the customers are attracted
towards a product or a service through an artificially created need facilitated by the organization
(Lim, 2016). The selling concept is prevalent within tertiary markets, and does not see significant
usage within primary and secondary markets. British Petroleum has resorted to using the selling
concept in certain campaigns previously with the objective of gaining a competitive edge within
the relatively hostile oil and gas industry (BP global. 2019). Its competitors include global
multinationals like Exxon Mobil, Shell and so on, and naturally, advertising and promotion
become integral parts within the marketing function because of the massive pool of financial
resources available.
The concept of marketing is the most widely used within the overall promotional and advertising
functionality, and British Petroleum has often been regarded highly for their targeted campaigns
and promotional policies that develop a significant appeal among the consensus. This concept
requires organizations to accurately identify the specific tastes and preferences of consumers and
developing and modifying products based on the identification to generate a higher volume of
organic sales (Cegarra-Navarro et al., 2016).
The concept of societal marketing is fundamentally a branch of the overall marketing process,
but a number of organizations including British Petroleum have relied on its policies in a highly
effective and efficient manner to appeal to consumers based on emotions and personalization.
The use of societal marketing specifically focuses on garnering positive press for organisations
and typically relies on an emotional bond between the company and the customer (Sanclemente-
Téllez, 2017).
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Analysis of roles and responsibilities of marketing on the context of marketing
environment and interrelationship between marketing and other organizational functions
The essential roles and responsibilities that comprise the overall marketing functionality
typically include the various processes that the marketing departments within organizations carry
out. They have been discussed below and are as follows.
● Formulating effective strategies is possibly the most important responsibility of
marketing teams across organizations based on the accurately estimated and identifies
tastes and preferences of consumers. Quantifying the performance of these strategies is
also an additional responsibility within the overall marketing functionality.
● Personalized and individualized targeting of customers is another important key role that
the marketing teams are accountable for. No organization can achieve long term success
in a sustainable manner without focusing on specific target customer groups and offering
their products in a general way (Schlegelmilch, 2016).
● Developing robust and strong equity within the brand is of prime importance with regards
to the overall effectiveness of the marketing function. The degrees of brand awareness
and brand reputation is directly correlated to the brand equity that a company enjoys, and
the cumulative presence of the three is essential for any enhancement in the operational
scale or profitability index. The massive competition among industries is a key factor
when considering the brand equity of organizations, and can provide a significant
competitive edge to organizations that have strong equity within their brands as compared
to organizations that do not (Wongleedee, 2015).
Marketing functions can be defined as the process of recognizing, selecting, developing and
accomplishing the needs of the customers and provide them with best quality products at a
pocket-friendly price. All the organisational functions and marketing are interconnected with
each other (Išoraitė, 2016). Basic objectives of the marketing functions are to satisfy the basic
needs of the consumers, maintaining a good relationship with the customers as well as
employees and others. There are various components of marketing functions such as proper
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research, storing data, processing, pricing strategy, buying and many others. The
interrelationship between marketing and other organizational functions are discussed below;
Research and Development
Before launching any new product, it is the responsibility of the research and development
department of any organisation to make thorough research regarding the product. Research and
development department of British petroleum includes defining the specification of the product,
cost of the products and the production timeline (Brennan et al., 2015). Apart from that, the
research and development department of British Petroleum also verifies the needs of the
customers. Moreover, the R&D department also launches new product research, product
development; existing product updates and verifies the quality of the product.
Pricing functions
Pricing strategy and functions are essential in order to enhance the sales of the company. In order
to set the price of the product, the IT department of the British Petroleum make a thorough
research and prepare a report on the status of the market and the price set the competitor. Based
on that report, the marketing department set the price of the product. At the time of setting the
price of the products the marketing department of British Petroleum checks;
● Amount of money required for manufacture the product
● Price set by the competitor
● The demand for the product in the market
● Present market status
Promotional functions
The term promotion can be described as the technique of advertising or launching a new product
in the market. In the case of British Petroleum, they do not follow an aggressive promotional
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technique. With the changing time, the promotional strategy of British Petroleum also changed a
lot. In order to promote the products in the market, British Petroleum used Television, different
websites, social media, billboards, printing and many more. Apart from that, the marketing team
of British Petroleum also uses posters in the gas stations and petrol pumps in order to advertise
products.
Product and service management functions
The term product and service management include acquiring, promoting, sustaining and
enhancing the quality of the product (Gupta et al., 2015). In the case of British petroleum,
production department perform different filtration techniques in order to provide fresh
transmission oils, sideways oils, hydraulic fluid, turbine oils and many more. In order to filter the
products the production department of British Petroleum performs different filtration techniques
like drilling mud, recovery fluid flow, crude oil treatment, water treatment, gas treatment and
others. The main motto behind product filtration is protecting the car engine or diesel engine.
Relationship management functions
Maintaining a good relationship with the customers and employees are important in order to
accomplish the business objectives. Relationship management always plays a vital role in
developing a business. The management and marketing department of British Petroleum
maintains a friendly relationship with the clients as well as the workers. British Petroleum
believes that a good relationship helps to enhance the overall market growth and sales volume.
Moreover, if the clients are happy with products and services then they will come again and
recommend the products to their family and friends.
Critical analysis and evaluation of the key elements of the marketing function
The interrelationship between different marketing functions in a business organisation can be
defined as the process of establishing the connection between the marketing departments with
other functional units for achieving the business objectives. Different functional units of British
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Petroleum are Selling, Buying, Transportation, Risk management, financing, and others (Baker,
2016).
Responsibility of the marketing department of any business firm is to understand and gather all
the relevant data regarding the present market status and competitive market. In the case of
British Petroleum, the company tries to fulfil the basic demands of the customers by improving
its services and products. The main motto of British Petroleum is to sustain in the market for a
long time. For understanding the present scenario of the competitor, British Petroleum analyse
the competitive market and make strategies to enhance business growth. Moreover, one of the
most important tasks for increasing the sales volume is setting the product price. In the case of
British Petroleum, the marketing management team set the price of the product after analyzing
the whole market. To analyze the whole market, it is important to check the status of the
competitor, examine the demand for the product need to be done by the marketing team using
advanced management strategies. The main objective of British Petroleum is to set the price of
the product in such a way that the consumers can afford it.
On the other hand, suppliers also play an essential role in order to maintain the internal condition
of the business organisation. In the case of British Petroleum, when they need any help regarding
the inventory management at that time, the suppliers of British Petroleum manage it internally.
Apart from that, at the end of every month, the marketing team of British Petroleum also make
an analysis report regarding the functionality of the supplier. From the above discussion, it can
be stated that all the management functions are interconnected to each other and all are essential
in order to execute the organisational objectives of British Petroleum.
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Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be stated that both marketing functions and techniques play an important
role in every organisation. Moreover, the study also focuses on different key roles and
responsibilities of the different marketing functions performed in British Petroleum.
Additionally, it also highlights various marketing functions and how they are associated with
other functional units of the company.
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Activity 2
A comparison of how different organizations apply the marketing mix to the marketing
planning process to achieve business objectives and an evaluation of different strategies
applied by organizations to demonstrate how business objectives can be achieved
Marketing mix
Marketing mix can be defined as the functional business which helps the organisations to
implement various procedures in order to accomplish the marketing objectives (Kucuk, 2016). A
marketing mix consists of 7 basic elements such as place, promotion, product, price, process,
people and physical evidence. It is useful in order to estimate different business activities for
developing the market situation and improves profit.
Comparison of the different elements of the marketing mix for British Petroleum and Shell
Product
British Petroleum has a wide range of products such as BP petroleum and derived products BP
service stations, Air BP Aviation Fuels, Castrol motor oil, and others. Apart from that, there are
many other products that are manufactured by British Petroleum Aclind BP 5 gel, Arginine 1000
Mg 120’s tablets for heart disease. Brands of British Petroleum include Castrol, ARAL, ampm,
Amoco, Wild Bean Cafe and many more. British Petroleum operates more than 70 countries
across the globe along with more than 1000 products (BP global, 2019).
On the other hand, in the case of Shell, offered products including Power engine oil, compressor
oil, electrical coils, greases, bearing and circulating oils, stationary gas engine oils, gear oils,
process oils, Axle and transmission oils, sideways oils, hydraulic fluid, turbine oils and many
more (Shell.com, 2019). A wide variety of products is provided by the organization. However,
Shell has less number of products than British Petroleum.
Price
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Different price distribution techniques have been taken by British Petroleum. In this particular
procedure, the organisation set different prices according to the products. However, the
organisation sets high prices to their products corresponded with Shell. Price set by British
Petroleum is completely based on the requirements of the consumer. This particular statement
stated that British Petroleum set low prices for the products which have less demand in the
market in order to increase sales.
On the other hand, Shell takes optimized as well as an advanced pricing strategy in which the
organisation sets a comparatively high price for different products. Due to high price consumers
sometimes do not want to buy the products.
Promotion
As there is no such target market for British Petroleum so the marketing team follows different
promotional strategies like advertising their products in different social media platforms and
electronic media such as TV, radio, and digital media as well as the websites of the company.
Even British Petroleum also uses different printing media in order to promote the product.
On the other hand, Shell uses various marketing mediums like TV, print, online as well as offline
advertisements, use 360-degree branding for advertising. The main motto of Shell is to promote
the products in such a way that consumers can understand the different products offered by them.
Place
British Petroleum operates over 70 countries across the globe and maintains its market for more
than 100 years. Moreover, the distribution network of the company is very wide. Moreover, the
company also provides its products to the wholesale retailers and distributors of the supermarket.
Additionally, an efficient Supply Chain Management technique helps the company in order to
save the costs as well as the additional resources.
On the other hand, products offered by Shell are also available in more than 70 countries and
they target almost every industry in order to provide the best quality products to them. Proper
distribution strategy of Shell helps the company in order to create and maintain a proper
relationship and network in the petroleum industry. On the other hand, in order to help the
customers, along with the offline stores, Shell also provides online services as well.
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