Why households delay switching to piped natural gas

What is shaping petroleum, oil & gas

Oil marketing companies, lubricant brands and city gas distributors compete on forecourt experience, product trust and mechanic recommendations.

• Forecourt experience shapes fuel brand loyalty
• Mechanics drive lubricant brand choice
• City gas adoption depends on safety confidence and convenience

A city gas distribution company, working in Pune & Ahmedabad. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.

Organisation

A city gas distribution company

Sector

Petroleum, oil & gas

Team engaged

Market Research

Services

Quantitative research, Qualitative research, Content marketing

The company had laid pipelines in many neighbourhoods, but conversion of households from LPG cylinders to piped gas remained slow, leaving infrastructure underused. Every unconnected household along existing pipelines represented lost revenue on infrastructure already built.

• Answer the core question: why households delay switching to piped natural gas.
• Understand the views, needs and behaviour of households.
• Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
• Give the client evidence it can act on within 7 weeks.

The work focused on 1,800 households.

• households1,800

Audiences we typically reach in petroleum, oil & gas

Fuel customersForecourt staff and dealersMechanics and workshopsFleet ownersCity gas customers

Coverage: Pune & Ahmedabad. Market: India.

• India

A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.

1. 1Brief
2. 2Household survey in pipeline areas
3. 3Group discussions
4. 4Insight

We surveyed households in areas with available connections about awareness, perceived safety, connection costs, billing concerns and trust. Group discussions explored concerns in depth and tested communication materials explaining safety and savings. Interviews were conducted in Marathi, Gujarati, Hindi and English, with quotas for apartment complexes and independent homes.

Quantitative researchQualitative researchContent marketing

households

1,800

• Respondents were selected across Pune & Ahmedabad using quotas set in advance for each location and respondent type, so no single area or group dominated.
• Qualitative participants were recruited purposively to cover the full range of experiences that mattered, rather than for statistical representation.

discussions

10

• Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person, supervised in the field.
• Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.

• Back-checks on a share of completed interviews
• Time and location checks on field interviews
• Supervisor accompaniment in the field
• Recordings and transcripts for every session
• Re-screening of qualitative recruits
• Logic and range checks on the final data
• Work carried out under our ISO 20252 quality procedures

• Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
• Significance testing on the differences that mattered
• Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
• Journey and decision mapping

• Concerns about safety and the one-time connection fee were the main barriers, and many residents did not know connections were available.

Meeting residents in their own housing societies built trust quickly.

• The company introduced instalment payment for connection fees and society-level safety demonstrations, which accelerated conversions.
• Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.

What we recommended, and the client put into practice

• Housing societies that hosted demonstrations converted noticeably faster than others.

• Insight report and management presentation
• Cleaned data file and data tables
• Interview summaries and key verbatims

• Repeat the measure after changes are in place to track progress.
• A natural follow-on question: how does the forecourt experience compare?