Industry overview
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
Client background
A lubricants brand, working in India, Indonesia & Egypt. Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.
- Organisation
- A lubricants brand
- Sector
- Petroleum, oil & gas
- Team engaged
- Market Research
- Services
- Quantitative research, Qualitative research, Offline data collection (CAPI)
Client challenge
Independent workshops serviced most two-wheelers and cars in these markets, and mechanics usually decided which oil to use. The brand’s loyalty programmes performed unevenly across countries and it wanted to understand what really drove mechanics’ recommendations.
Research objectives
- Deliver on the brief: understanding how mechanics recommend engine oil.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of mechanics.
- Understand the views, needs and behaviour of retailers.
- Measure how widespread each pattern is, and explain the reasons behind it.
- Give the client evidence it can act on within 10 weeks.
Target audience
The work focused on 2,400 mechanics and 600 retailers.
- mechanics2,400
- retailers600
Audiences we typically reach in petroleum, oil & gas
Fuel customersForecourt staff and dealersMechanics and workshopsFleet ownersCity gas customers
Geographic coverage
Coverage: India, Indonesia & Egypt. Markets: India, Indonesia and Egypt.
- India
- Indonesia
- Egypt
Research methodology
A mixed-method design: structured research measured how widespread each pattern was, and qualitative conversations explained why.
- 1Brief
- 2Workshop interviews
- 3Retailer survey
- 4Insight
Interviewers visited workshops during working hours, speaking with mechanics in local languages about brand choice, counterfeit concerns, margins, customer requests and loyalty schemes. Lubricant retailers were surveyed about stocking and recommendations. The questionnaire was adapted for each country while keeping core measures comparable.
Quantitative researchQualitative researchOffline data collection (CAPI)
Sampling strategy
- mechanics
- 2,400
- retailers
- 600
- Business respondents were screened on role, company size and involvement in the decision before being invited.
- Respondents were selected across India, Indonesia & Egypt 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.
Data collection
- Trained local-language interviewers conducted interviews in person on tablets (CAPI), with time and location recorded for every interview.
- Interviews and discussions were led by experienced moderators using a guide agreed with the client.
Data quality & validation
- 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
Data analysis
- Cross-tabulation by key groups and locations
- Significance testing on the differences that mattered
- Thematic coding of interviews and discussions
- Journey and decision mapping
Key findings
- Fear of counterfeit oil damaging their reputation was a major concern in all three markets, while the value of loyalty rewards differed.
A shared concern across markets allowed one global solution with local reward choices.
Recommendations
- The brand introduced scratch-code authentication everywhere and adjusted rewards to local preferences, such as tools in Indonesia and mobile credit in Egypt.
- Share the findings with the teams closest to customers so they can act quickly.
What we recommended, and the client put into practice
Business impact
- Participation in loyalty programmes increased in all three markets.
Deliverables & next steps
- 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: are outlets following service standards?
Client identity is withheld to protect confidentiality.