Assessment of marketing strategies and business performance in petroleum products: the case study of British petroleum lubricants in Tanzanian petroleum industry

Current assessment shows that the lubricants industry has become a global business. This trend shows the importance and contribution of lubricants in the development of the Petroleum Industry in the world. BP Tanzania Limited has been in the market for more than 100 years, working in oil business with large and small customers. Currently, BP Tanzania is among several Oil Marketing and Trading Companies in Tanzania. Despite BP’s efforts to implement competitive and effective marketing strategies for lubricants in Tanzania little was known about the effectiveness of these strategies in reaching out to the intended audience.The main objective of the study was to examine the effectiveness of the marketing strategies used by BP Tanzania in marketing BP’s lubricants products to its esteemed consumers. Data was solicited from the BP Headquarters and its branches in Dar es Salaam region. The findings show that BP has not been applying aggressive marketing strategies, which gave its competitors control of the lubricants market. The findings further show that high price of BP lubricants, unavailability of the products, low promotion and poor contracts with small dealers, hinder business, hence low business performance.The results have implications to the company’s policy. The study recommends the following strategies adoption, to lower price of products, increase stocks, promote and institute better business contracts, especially with smaller dealers who are close to customers. To achieve these strategies BP Tanzania should review marketing expenditure, allocation and coordination of marketing activities.