VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The basic objective/title of the project is TO EVALUATE THE MARKETING AND COMPETENCE OF XTRA POWER FLEET CARDS
This main objective was sub divided into THREE SUB-OBJECTIVES in order to achieve the main title. To understand the norms of the company for Xtra-care Retail Outlets. To Study the Customer Satisfaction Level about the Xtra-Care Retail Outlets.

To recommend strategies for improvement in IOCL.

RESEARCH DESIGN
The research was a DESCRIPTIVE research design wherein I used NOMINAL SCALE, for capturing the responses of the customers i.e. transporters.

SAMPLING
The fundamental idea of sampling is that by selecting a few elements from a population, we can make conclusion about the whole population. A group of people randomly or systematically picked up from the population is called a SAMPLE.

SAMPLE SIZE
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

The sample size was 93 transporters from Transport Nagar Sec. 28 Chandigarh.These transporters were visited and their responses were captured.

COLLECTION OF SECONDARY DATA

Sources of secondary data are : 1. Old contact book of transporters provided by our respected mentor. 2. IOCL website.

COLLECTION OF PRIMARY DATA

Sources of primary data are: 1. Transporters visited.

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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

DATA ANALYSIS

1. DO YOU VISIT THE IOCL PUMP REGULARLY?

TRANSPORTERS REPLY

Out of 93 transporters , more than 50% said that consumption of diesel depends upon drivers will. Only 28% of the transporters were regular customers of IOCL . While approximately 22% were either irregular customers or were not the customers of IOCL.

2.

WHAT IS THE USUAL MODE OF PAYMENT?

Transporters reply
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

FINDINGS

It was found that ,out of 93 transporters, 48 bought the diesel on credit;24 bought on cash And moreover buying the diesel on credit was one of the main conditions of the transporter to select any petrol pump.

3.

Do you know about the Xtra Power fleet card?

Transporters reply Out of 93 transporters, 71 already knew about xtra power fleet cards..rest of 22 transporters didnt know about fleet card. 4. From where did you come to know about the fleet card program?

38 transporters got to know about xtra power fleet card through advertisements; 39 through events organized by IOCL; 2 through various journals or magazines ,and rest of the 14 through IOCL RETAIL OUTLETS.
Its suggested that as any customer will have to wait at a petrol pump for 7-8 minutes till his truck gets fuelled, so the company must concentrate more on adding billboards and hoardings at petrol pumps promoting fleet cards.

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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

5. HOW MANY VEHICLES/TRUCKS DO YOU HAVE?

TRANSPORTERS REPLY
Only 63 transporters replied to this question. Out of those 63 transporters ; 31 transporters had less than 20 trucks;13 people had trucks in between no. of 20 and 40; 12 transporters had trucks in between 40 and 60 and rest of them had more than 60 trucks.

6. Are you satisfied with the service of fleet card?

TRANSPORTERS REPLY

More than 60% of the people were unsatisfied with the cards.. with very low percentage of satisfied people. Various suggestions given were a) Implementing any similar kind of scheme in which driver need not carry fleet cards and the reward points may be automatically upgraded. b) Special provisions at petrol pumps for truck drivers like good rest rooms, provisions for bathing n all at the petrol pumps located at highways
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

7. Do you use your fleet card regularly? TRANSPORTERS REPLY

Most of the transporters(60%) used fleet cards regularly;About 40% of the transporters who had fleet cards were either irregular or did not use fleet cards.

8. Do you redeem your Xtra points regularly?

TRANSPORTERS REPLY

9. What improvements do you want in the fleet card loyalty program?

Transporters reply
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

71 transporters participated for this question out of which nearly 50% went on with suggesting that better services must be provided to people having these fleet cards. Approximately 25% suggested giving more attractive offers like giving more points on every unit of diesel fuelled.

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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

FINDING S
1. Most of the customers were very supporting and welcoming .They had Good will for IOC. 2. Customers who showed interest appreciated the offer provided and were eager to continue talks with IOC. They were also wanted to know more about the program. 3. Some of the prospective customers were not aware of India Oil Xtra Power Fleet Card Loyalty Program. Hence they were not interested. Also due to the increase in the oil prices they were apprehensive a little bit. 4. Some of the customers facing technical difficulties while using the card since they are not able to understand its operations clearly. 5. Some customers had no clear idea about its benefit and they are happy to use their old traditional way of purchasing oil and lubricant. 6. Some of the customer considers it as very complex and the benefit is not so high. 7. 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 idle as they have very less transaction and lack of information about the benefits. 8. Xtra power scheme is not available at all the retail outlet of Indian oil in so at a time it creates problem. 9. The card swiping machines are not properly maintained at some places leading to many customer complaints. Some of the machines are very old and they are need replacement with the new one. 10. At some places pump attendants are also not interested in providing this service. 11. There are no pamphlets available at pumps, which could give a brief idea about the loyalty program. 12. Pamphlet and booklets are in English; hence most of the people are not able to understand. 13. There is no dedicated person for collecting the forms. So, there is a large backlog of forms. 14. There is Lack of internet facility at some of the outlets and also problem with poor network service. 15. Website of Xtra power (www.iocxtrapower.com) is not regularly updated.
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

16. There is no facility of sms for vehicle tracking and to know detail about existing balance where other major oil producing company (BPCL) provides this service to their customers. 17. Sundaram finance is the only partner for providing credit to the card Owner. 18. There are no any special benefits for customers having larger transaction. 19. There is no any benefit for customers with small vehicle. 20. Corporate customers are not very interested as there is no any special benefit for them.

RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Most of the people are not aware regarding the Xtra power scheme, IOC should try to create

awareness regarding the program by means of more aggressive advertising. 2. The customers facing any kind of difficulties must be assisted promptly and their problem must be considered with due care. 3. Xtra power fleet card banners should be put at proper location with easy visibility. 4. Information centers especially in remote areas must be setup so that people have access to this program and they can have detail information about its benefits. 5. The facilities should be made available to more retail outlet. 6. The card swiping machine must be carefully maintained and provide quick service for any technical difficulties. The old machines must be replaced by the new one without any delay. 7. Most of the pump attendant is not so educated hence a training program for them to provide the use of swiping machine and its various technical aspects. 8. Regular visit to pump should be made and pump owner and attendants are encouraged to provide the service for their own benefit and benefit to the customers. If possible some rewards should be given to the pump with highest sale in month by card transaction. 9. Pamphlets must be available at pump so that customers get a brief idea about the program. 10. All the pamphlets and booklets are in English, hence most of the customer not able to understand. It should be in regional language (Bengali) and Hindi for easy understanding. 11. There must be a fixed person for collecting forms and application for the card. 12. The website for Xtra power needs regular update with more user friendly access and details of new as well as upcoming offers. 13. The poor network service at retail outlet need to improve urgently. 14. Target new vehicle/fleet owner by tie up with the vehicles companies and give XTRAPOWER FLEET CARD with every new vehicle/truck. 15. If a card is not used for a specified period then a message should be given as a reminder and if possible to contact the person as there may be some other reason. 16. Xtra reward program should be started at all other locations as early as possible. 17. Facility for vehicle tracking and to know the detail of existing balance by customer should also made available through sms service. 18. Need for more credit partner to provide wide credit service to the customers.
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

19. Special benefit must be provided to customers with larger transaction and it is better to divide the customers in groups as per their total transaction. 20. Need for Local alliance partners.

CONCLUSION
Customer loyalty comes in three phases. The first derives from location. The next phase is meeting the needs of your customer profile. The third phase down is retailer's loyalty programmes. Most consumers are multi-loyal... The key to a successful business is a steady customer base. After all, successful businesses typically see 80 percent of their business come from 20 percent of their customers.(PARETO ANALYSIS). Xtra power is a step of IOC towards building loyalty among the existing customers. Loyalty program works only when the customer is emotionally attached to the brand. The best way to keep customers loyal is to provide a good product or service that provides good value for money. Branding alone will not make customers loyal, but back up a good product and customer service with branding and loyalty will develop quicker. Offers and loyalty schemes can increase loyalty, but they are no substitute for (and will not work without) a good product, good customer service, and friendly customer relationships. We need to enroll the right customers. We can recognize the highest value customers to recognize and reward their value to our organization, we can cultivate high potential customers who currently split their purchases between us and our competitors or reach out to those most at risk of churning. Knowing which customer groups are most important to us allows crafting recognition and rewarding strategy that piques their interest. Customers should be involved in the program by constant communication to make them understand what is in for them. Comprehensive surveys should be conducted to find out
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VARUN SOOD UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL MBA(IB)

what should be the ideal way to reward the loyal customers and retain them for the lifetime. Activities like checking point balances online, responding to targeted offers, using kiosks, bidding on auction items, entering sweepstakes and so on. Such participation is a sure sign of increasing value to the customers.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. WWW.IOCL.COM 2. ANNUAL REPORT OF IOCL. 3. S.P.GUPTA, STATISTICAL METHODS 4. C.R.KOTHARI, RESEARCH METHODOLOGY. 5. MARKETING MANAGEMENT. KOTLER

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