Saudi Aramco Marketing Management & Strategy - Masters Level

This report provides a detailed analysis of Saudi Aramco's marketing and business activities in the UAE and the international market. It evaluates current marketing approaches, highlighting customers, suppliers, distributors, marketing positions, and branding strategies. The report assesses the 5C's marketing strategy, SWOT, and PESTLE analysis. It identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and provides marketing suggestions based on the analysis. The report discusses Saudi Aramco's vision, mission, and core values, along with its product offerings and the dynamics of the oil and gas industry, including future development initiatives and challenges. The analysis covers political, economic, socio-cultural, and technological factors impacting Saudi Aramco's operations and competitive landscape.

Running head: MARKETING MANAGEMENT - MASTERS LEVEL
Marketing Management - Masters level
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Content
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Issue 1:.......................................................................................................................................2
Overview of the organization.................................................................................................2
Products of the organization...................................................................................................4
Overview of the industry........................................................................................................4
Issue 2:.......................................................................................................................................5
Analysing each of 5C’s for this organization.........................................................................5
SWOT analysis...........................................................................................................................6
PESTLE..................................................................................................................................8
Porter’s five forces.................................................................................................................9
Issue 3:.....................................................................................................................................11
Issue 4:.....................................................................................................................................12
Choice of target market:.......................................................................................................12
Value proposition for the target market...............................................................................12
Issue 5:.....................................................................................................................................13
Marketing Mix:....................................................................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
References................................................................................................................................15

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Introduction
The following report provides a detailed analysis of the marketing and business
activities of the organization Saudi Aramco- is running the operation in UAE and in the
international market. The Purpose of the report is to evaluate the current marketing
approaches and activities which helps the company to run the operation achieving growth and
competitive advantages. The report particularly highlights the customers, suppliers,
distributors, current marketing positions and promotion as well as branding strategies. In
addition to all these areas, the report particularly assess the 5’C marketing strategy of the
organization. In order to make the analysis critical and reliable, the strength and weakness of
the organization and the approaches used by the organization have also been considered in
the discussion. Based on the findings of the analysis, suitable marketing suggestions have
also been provided to the organization.
Issue 1:
Overview of the organization
Saudi Aramco is a state owned oil and company of the Saud Arabia and it is fully
integrated global as well as global petroleum enterprise. Moreover, the organization is a
world leader with respect to exploration, distribution, marketing, refining and manufacturing
of petrochemical products. It is identified that the organization deals with world’s largest
proven traditional crude oil. In addition, the organization is known as world’s fourth-largest
natural gas reserves of 288.4 trillion. Among other oil and gas organizations, Saud Aramco
holds the top position with respect to producer of natural resource such as and forth position
with respect to natural gas. The headquarter of the organization is located in Dahran in Saudi
Arabia and with its extending operation, the organization employs more than 65,000 staff
worldwide (Saudi Aramco 2018).

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Vision- The major vision of the company is to become world’s leading integrated
energy and Chemicals Company and strengthening its fouls on the long-term future.
Mission- The mission of the organization is to diversify the national economy
beyond oil and establish a thriving private sector which could minimize market reliance on
oil and gas. Tis mission will help the organisation to enable Saudi Aramco to develop the
operation to the next level.
Value Statement: The organization has five different core values such as Excellence,
Safety, integrity, accountability, Citizenship as well as accountability which guides
Aramco’s business conduct and integrate all it operation.
The values contribute to the development of success and control of marketing positions as
one of the most respected organizations in the world.
As put forward by Mearns and Yule (2009), because the global population is
increasing, the economies increase, it is true that standard of living is also increasing and
hence, the energy could continue to become a significant opportunity. Therefore, the
organization is seeking to carry out a large range of strategy to make sure that they are at the
forefront of providing the essential energy now and in the coming figure. When it comes to
marketing, Kim and Mauborgne (2014) mentioned that marketing remains as the art and
science of selecting customers, target market and increasing the consumer base by creating
and delivering an excellent customer value. On the other side, Gronroos (2016) also
mentioned that marketing management relies on the size of the business and the sector in
which the organization is running the operation. Hence, Saudi Aramco believes in the fact
that professional marketing remains as the trademark of its commitment to customers. The
organization achieves its marketing objectives through efficient and innovative techniques
that helps to conduct the market research. The mission and vision statement of the company

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stated to achieve its success in the coming future in the international market. The
organization is currently exporting its quality products to several nations. In addition to this,
the organisation is also following the B2B strategy. It is a certain fact that petroleum products
are the essential communities which can hardly be branded. Therefore, the price is strictly
regulated by the industry; however, Saudi Aramco is perfectly serving the customers.
Products of the organization
The organization’s network of refineries around the regions manufactures the products which
the customers highly need and the industry which is driving the nation’s economy. The
following are some of major products that company produces to the market
 Gasoline
 Diesel
 Crude oil
 Sulphur
 LPG
 Propane
 Butane
 Natural Gasoline (NG)
 Sales Gas
 Fuel oil
Overview of the industry
It is observed that oil and industry has observed a dynamic scenario, where economy and
political factors plays a great. According to Harhara, Singh and Hussain (2015), much of the
oil and gas industry survived a stiff few years with the weak as well as low price; thereby, the
organizations find it difficult to make effective strategic marketing decision and plan for the

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future. However, in the present time, the sector has started to emerge from its upheaval.
When digging into industry’s current scenario, it has been found out that even though the
price seems to be recovering, the crude was up nearly 90% ii 2016, which is over US$50 for
each barrel (Calixto 2016). On the other side Mitchell and Mitchell (2014) provided a fact
that “post-recession” high water is reached in 2011 and as the consequence, the organization
started to consider to new investment in the development of resource and making it more
attractive. The continuous enhancement in the price could perhaps be slow and the supply
could be restrained by the cutbacks in reserve development project over the last few years.
The major players in the industry are now Abu Dhabi National Oil and Gas Company, Royal
Dutch Shell and British Petroleum (Cordes et al. 2016).
The following are some of the major future development initiatives for oil and gas
organizations.
 The largest oil explore Saud Aramco is determined to invest in the refineries as well
as petrochemicals in the Asian nations because it is planning to make a strategic
partnerships with then nations in Asia such as India
 The foreign investors have the opportunity to invest in oil and gas project which
worth US$300 billion in India because the nation is supposed to cut reliance on the
import of gas and oil (Ruqaishi. and Bashir 2013)
 State-run oil and gas firms are planning to make the investment worth US$111.30
million) in UAE (Mitchell and Mitchell 2014).
Issue 2:
Analysing each of 5C’s for this organization
It has been identified that the strength of Saudi Aramco’s lies in its growing edge of science
and creativity, which helps to make energy that could further be more beneficial; and

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sustainable. The following table determines the actual strength, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats.
SWOT analysis
Strength
 The organization has the ability to
spend on alternative energy and
make investment in the high profile
project
 Aramco’ brand image, which they
have built sustained for more 80
years (Saudi Aramco 2018).
 The physical, technological and
human resource make the
organisation enable to continue the
operation in the global market
(Tavana et al. 2012)
 Aramco is probably the one
organization, which integrates its
business its business across the
hydrocarbon value chain and to
create global impact
 The organization faces lower
barriers in the market entry because
it supplies and crude oil and crude
oil is raw material of all kind of oil,
Weaknesses
 The profit of the company is
decreasing over the years and the
company is declining the
replacement rate in the recent time
(Mohanty et al. 2011)
 The organisation lacks the ability to
compete with the existing
competitors which in turn declines in
sales of redefined products. This
further results in lowering the top
line growth.
 The organization has lack of
presence in promotional and
advertising activities, consequently,
it is not able to create a reputable
image in the global environment
despite running operation in the
global sector (Vennestrøm et al.
2011)
 The company faces the innovation
challenge because the increasing

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petroleum expense of skilled manpower and the
cost of mining and refining crude oil
tends to push up the expense of
innovation
Opportunities
 The increasing state of Asian-pacific
population as well as the expansion
to their economy could lead to larger
demand for energy
 The organization can use the bio-
fuels as well as alternative energy
method
 Emerging market for oil and gas in
different nation or cities
 There is growing demand for crude
oil ; thereby, it can be mentioned
that the growth rate and profitability
can be maximized if Saudi Aramco
could meet the increasing demand
 After the occurrence of Brexit the
economic situation in UK has been
stable and the organization is
welcoming the foreign investors and
likewise, in some Asian nations such
as India is welcoming the foreign
Threats
 The continuous global recession is
making it difficult for the oil and gas
organizations to run the operation in
a smoother way
 The cost of mining and refining is
also increasing and the labour cost is
always a separate concern
 The competition is increasing among
the existing organizations. BP and
Shell have already increased their
market share.

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investors (Ramiah, Pham and Moosa
2017).
Table 1: SWOT analysis of Saudi Aramco
(Source: Ramiah, Pham and Moosa 2017)
PESTLE
Political factor- As out forward by Mohanty et al. (2011), governments have a strong
control over the operation of oil and gas and the reserve of hydrocarbon which has a
significant impact on OPEC which controls almost 76.4% of world reserves. On the other
side, it is also identified that instability, exploration, nationalization of terrorisms, civil
conflicts, strikes and wars have a solid adverse impact on the operation (Ruqaishi and Bashir
2013). The government in UK increased the tariff cost of exporting oil and gas products to
UK (Sovacool 2010). Likewise, the recent demonetization under NDA government in India
has a strong impact on the global economy. Consequently, many Indian distributors refused
to import the products from the foreign nations. The entire scenario has a strong impact on
the oil and gas industry.
Economic factor- Downfall of World Bank, Brexit and demonization in India have
broadly affected the world economy, which has a strong influence on Saudi Aramco’s
operation and even in the entire oil and gas industry (Mohanty et al. 2011). Due to this
constant economic inflation, the supply and distribution of oil and gas products were entirely
messed up.
Socio-cultural impact: People in each nation have become increasingly concerned
about the environmental degradation. Therefore, besides the oil and gas operation, the
organization will also have to implement some social responsibility. The organizations in the
sector will have to support sustainable natural and human development. Observing the

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response of the citizens, the governments of UK, UAE and Australia have started pushing the
organizations to show their CSR roles (Ford, Steen and Verreynne 2014).
Figure 1: PESTLE analysis
(Source: Made by Student)
Technology: The oil and gas operation is entirely based on technology, which means
the technology drives the entire operation both in upstream and downstream operations. The
organizations are thinking of more effective recovery of hydrocarbons from the reserves. On
the other side, Kong and Ohadi (2010) mentioned that technology is rapidly developing, and
thereby, the organizations in the sector might not have to face the challenge of refineries and
distribution or nay other operation. Nonetheless, the industry requires more advanced
technology for deep impact on the long-term responsibility.
Porter’s five forces
Competitive rivalry – Moderate: It has been identified that Saudi Aramco does not have to
face any high state of competitive rivalry because the organization is state owned player and
Political
Environmental
Social
Technological

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they will get the preference when making a major deal in the area of expansion and refining.
However, for the finished goods such as hydrocarbon products, the organization will
probably have to deal with a significant competition because there are large domestic players
such as SABIC, ADNOC, Shell and British Petroleum (Shuen, Feiler and Teece 2014).
Nonetheless, it can mentioned that the organization acquires a broad oil reserve in the
domestic market which further provides a series of competitive advantages.
Threats of new entrants: Low- The operation of oil and gas requires broad initiatives.
Digging in the oil fields, establishing production and distribution network require time and
huge amount of effort, which further requires large investment (Mitchell, Marcel and
Mitchell 2012). Moreover, to run operation in the oil and gas industry, the organization it
have support of the government or any other regulatory bodies, Therefore, it can be
mentioned that Saudi Aramco may not have to deal with the threats of new entrants presently
in the sector. In this context, Hatakenaka et al. (2011) mentioned that multinational oil
organization may enter the market in future if the government of the nation welcome the
foreign investors but there is no threat from the small and medium size organizations.
Competitiverivalry–ModerateThreatsofnewentrants:LowThreatsofsubstituteproducts:LowBargainingpowerofthecustomers:ModerateBargainingpowerofcustomersBargainingpowerofcustomers

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Figure 2: Porter’s five forces
(Source: Made by Student)
Threats of substitute products: Low- As put forward by Yusuf et al. (2014), the depletion of
the oil research created the urge for using the substitutes such as bio fuels, solar power, and
nuclear power. El-Diasty and Ragab (2013) argued and mentioned the fact that the
technology is not developed properly to a level where these sources could be utilized to use
the substitute the petro products. In future, the organization must have to use substantial
products.
Bargaining power of the customers: Moderate-it is identified that as Saudi Aramco is the
one single organization supported by government, it takes advantage of the monopolistic
acquisition. Saudi Aramco controls the market and gains a significant hold over the
customers. On the other side, Saudi Aramco is the member of OPEC’ thereby, it can control
the oil and the global price. However, Hatakenaka et al. (2011) argued that the customers also
have other options such as BP, Shell, and ABNOC.
Bargaining power of customers: Saudi Aramco does not have to deal with any supplier
because the organization is its own supplier.
Issue 3:
In order to identify the customer needs, a detailed market analysis has been performed by
conducting a survey. The survey has been conducted involving a particular area of the market
By Collecting the email address of the customers, a set of 10 questions about the quality of
products and services have been sent to the customers and then the responses have been
gathered and analysed. Likewise, to learn about the competitors’ threats such as BP’s
aggressive marketing strategy, data has been collected from the industry benchmarking report
produced by the third party organisation such as PWC and Deloitte. In addition, the

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information about the dynamic business environment have been collected from the industry
research and statistical report provided by Australian Bureau of National Statistics. The
information about the collaborators such as the partnership with government has been
collected from the annual report and the corporate site of the organization.
Issue 4:
Choice of target market:
In order to strengthen the market positions and increase the market share, the
organization Saudi Aramco will have to choose a market where customer responses are high.
For example, the firm can pay attention to Asian market such as India because in the recent
time, the NDA government in India is approaching the foreign investors. This welcoming
news confirms that Saudi Aramco could receive governmental support once it enters the
market. India is a broad market, the organization will have a large customer base.
Value proposition for the target market
The value proposition for the target market –India will be based on two different segments
such as Efficiency and consumers intimacy
Efficiency:
The organization must have to understand the fact that India is a price sensitive market;
thereby to place, Saudi Aramco has to produce its oil and gas products at the better price than
the competitors (Brohi, Pooladi-Darvish and Aguilera 2011). The quality of product must
reach the industry benchmark and the price should be affordable and better the current oil and
gas organization.
Consumer intimacy: The organization must have to develop a close relationship with the
customers by providing them additional grocery coupons or voucher code and using the coup,
the consumer can buy grocery products at the mall (Wahito 2011). This will create a huge

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impact on the customers when because a when customer receive an additional value with the
product which there can use further, they prefer to choose the same brand to avail the offer.
Positioning statement for the target market
“If you are looking for the best energy solution within the affordability, Saudi Aramco is
the solution- providing customers with highest value”.
Issue 5:
Marketing Mix:
Product: Saudi Aramco needs to trade some its core products such oil, petrochemicals,
gasoline in the target market-India because there is a growing demand of petrochemical
products in the chosen market (Cader and Al Tenaiji 2013).
Price: As discussed above, India is a price sensitive market, therefore, to acquire this broad
new market, the organization should develop penetrative pricing strategy which enable the
company to charge low price for the product to increase customer base (Mohanty et al. 2011).
This means, when the price of the product is low, the customers will prefer to buy because in
gas and oil products, people rather prefer to choose the option that saves their money.
Place: To place the product, the firm has to select four major location such as the
metropolitan cities of India where the use of two wheelers and vehicles are high than the
suburban areas. The organization can approach or hire the local distributors to place the
product.
Promotion: Now, to promote the product, the organization should implement the digital
marketing channels which would help them to reach the customer because in the recent time,
Indian government started paying attention to technology and internet development. In
addition, the consumption of internet is currently in India is 71% which is 9% higher than the

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previous year (Statista.com 2018). So considering this growth in internet consumption, Saudi
Aramco needs to use the social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, Music app
(Savn) in which the rated of visitors is high. Social media channels will be appropriate for
the organization for promotion those tools report the highest users active rate in India. Thus,
customers can learn about the brand and their products and services without even searching
further in the internet.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be mentioned that Saudi Aramco must implement the expansion
initiative effectively because running performance in the domestic market for long makes the
future doomed. This is because the oil and gas market has become dynamic with respect to
needs, refinery process, regulations. Thus, to deal with those dynamic trends, the organization
must have to maximize its strength and efficiency which can be done by increasing the
market share and paying attention to technology. This report can be further extended by
conducting a more detailed market research including digital marketing activities and market
segmentation strategies.

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