Investigating the position of Castrol products in the market compared to competitors in the minds of customers

Dissertation for MA degree

Field: Business Administration

Abstract:

Mental image and loyal customers have many advantages. They usually tend to increase the income of the organization in terms of helping organizations to determine the predictable flow of sales and profits, and they also buy surplus goods and services. In addition, customers who are familiar with the brand of the organization are more likely to tell it to their friends and relatives and are considered in the feedback cycle and evaluation of the organization's product. The latest statistics of the market research in the company show that the buying behaviors of customers and their purchasing needs have not been fully identified yet, and the customers do not have proper information about Castrol products, and they still have doubts in choosing this brand or other brands, and this has made it difficult for them to make a purchase decision. What was discussed in this research is that what are the customer's mindsets and perceptions of these products and this brand compared to competitors and why do they think this way about the products of the company or competitors? So, the main question of the research is that what is the position of Castrol products in the market compared to competitors in the minds of customers in Qeshm Island? Sampling was done randomly. The size of the community is 180 people, which was calculated based on Cochran's formula of 120 VIP customers. matrix of paired comparisons based on product indicators; Location, price, promotion, brand and subjective behavior were ranked and based on this ranking, suggestions were made. The findings of this research show that the analysis of different dimensions that create the image of a brand in the mind of the consumer is of particular importance for companies. The effect of each of those dimensions on consumers' reactions is different. This is a sign of different scores of different functional aspects of a brand for a company.

Key words: product position; Castrol company; Competitors, the mental image of customers

Introduction

Today, the intensification of competition in production and service fields is observed all over the world. The increase in competition in various fields is quite evident and this factor makes it more and more difficult to maintain customers and increase their loyalty in this space, so ensuring the quality of services and customer loyalty will be the main and future challenge of companies active in this field. They usually tend to increase the income of the organization in terms of helping organizations to determine the predictable flow of sales and profits, and they also buy surplus goods and services. In addition, customers who are familiar with the brand of the organization are more likely to tell it to their friends and relatives and are considered in the feedback cycle and evaluation of the organization's product. (Kazemi, 2018: 12)

The intensity of competition in the markets and the understanding of the importance of keeping customers for organizations has made them gradually move towards creating and maintaining long-term relationships with customers, and according to researchers, marketing and its strategy are the most appropriate options to achieve this. (Rangebrian, 1387: 44)

This report consists of five chapters and in this chapter, after stating the problem and the importance and necessity of the subject, the goals and questions of the research are presented, then the conceptual and operational definitions of the variables are stated with the description of the hypotheses. The second chapter includes the history and concepts, different models and literature analysis of the theoretical framework and research model. In the third chapter, the statistical community and sample size, measurement tools and analysis methods are presented. In the fourth chapter, the results obtained from descriptive and inferential statistics and the fifth chapter are dedicated to the discussion and conclusion, suggestions and limitations of the research.

Statement of the problem

During the past two decades, many organizations have become aware of the importance of their mental image and have realized that retaining existing customers is far less expensive than attracting new customers, so companies must always monitor and watch the interaction between themselves and to be their customers and provide them with valuable goods and services by knowing and understanding the needs and values ??of customers in order to create loyalty in them by gaining satisfaction. Today, customer satisfaction is no longer enough and companies should not be satisfied with customer satisfaction, they should make sure that their customers are loyal.

Today, the intensification of competition in production and service fields is observed all over the world. The increase in competition in various fields is quite evident and this factor makes it more and more difficult to retain customers and increase their loyalty in this space, so ensuring the quality of services and customer loyalty will be the main and future challenge of companies active in this field. (Hedayati, 2016: 87)

Loyal customers have many advantages. They usually tend to increase the income of the organization in terms of helping organizations to determine the predictable flow of sales and profits, and they also buy surplus goods and services. In addition, customers who are familiar with the organization's trademark are more likely to tell their friends and relatives about it and are considered in the feedback cycle and evaluation of the organization's product. Over the past two decades, many organizations have become aware of the importance of their customers and have realized that maintaining existing customers is far less expensive than attracting new customers, so companies must always monitor and take care of the interaction between themselves and their customers and provide them with valuable goods and services by knowing and understanding the needs and values ??of customers in order to create loyalty in them by gaining satisfaction. Today, customer satisfaction is no longer enough, and companies should not be satisfied with the fashion satisfaction of customers, they should make sure that their customers are loyal. In this paradigm, the goal is to establish long-term and mutual relationships with interested groups, especially customers, so that we retain more customers and lose fewer customers (Sadeghi, 2018: 56). Correlation between customer satisfaction and loyalty under the influence of his mental image and the value created by that company in the competitive market leads to the development of production. Managers of production and service institutions in all public, cooperative and private sectors are gradually realizing that product quality alone cannot distinguish them from others and that the image and positive attitude towards the organization is a very important factor in loyalty to the organization. The mental image of an organization is a small and imperceptible component, but it is of particular importance in the success of a business, because the image of the organization is one of its most valuable assets. Positive and powerful mental images increase the purchase and repeat purchases of previous customers and attract new customers. Mental image management requires continuous investments in research and development, skillful advertising, and things like providing outstanding services to customers, and this requires keeping customers' awareness, making appropriate inferences about the quality and performance of the organization's products, and other positive things. Company reputation, brand, satisfaction with quality and age, price level, mental comparison with other competitors, good or bad customer experiences from the company and competitors. Each of them can have an effect on this parameter (Dargi, 2010: 86). Therefore, the concept of mental image in this research is a set of known and unknown factors that can affect the relationship between customer satisfaction and loyalty index. Due to the increase of global competition in the industry of industrial oil, engine, brake and grease, they should look for more efficient marketing strategies. In order to achieve successful marketing, industrial oil, motor, brake and grease industry planners should examine the relationship between the use of marketing tools and the process of forming the image of the destination so that these tools can be used more effectively to convey a positive image to the target market. In short, in order to achieve a successful marketing and a suitable competitive position and increase the amount of income from the industrial oil, engine, brake and grease industry in a specific destination, it is necessary for the planners of the industrial oil, engine, brake and grease industry to have a better understanding of the relationship between the use of marketing tools and the formation of the image of the destination. For example, the latest statistics of the market research in the company show that the buying behavior of customers and their purchasing needs have not been fully identified yet, and the customers do not have proper information about Castrol products, and they still have doubts in choosing this brand or other brands, and this has made it difficult for them to make a purchase decision.