Which is more important, Molecules or Marketing?
Unfortunately most of the recent lubricants conferences continue to avoid discussion of marketing effectiveness, choosing instead to focus on the safer topics of the chemistry. Without wishing to disappoint the formulators, as aspects of lubes chemistry become more standardised, marketing will have to flex its metaphorical muscles.
Lubricants marketing is becoming increasingly complex. Bringing together a variety of elements: equipment, technology, product design, market positioning, the internet and social media; without forgetting the increasingly divergent demands of fragmented sales and distribution channels. is challenging for all organisations. One product recommendation for a single region rarely works any more.
Since 1997, when the Kyoto agreement accelerated emissions control legislation, the speed of change of chemistry - driven by increasingly stringent specifications - has become more frequent.
In the race to build value and transform customer engagement, the internet is no longer an adjunct to marketing. It has gone from being a peculiarity, to a core resource for the lubricants industry. The fact that mobile commerce is now driving China's consumer purchasing habits is just the latest milestone in digital evolution.
Of course, you need Molecules and Marketing, plus Analytics.
Product range design has become ever more important. OATS' new Product Manager, combined with FUSiON Analytics provides greater insight into which chemicals and lube specifications are really called for and what is the true demand in the specific markets being targeted by lubes producers and OEMs.
Continued cost-cutting has reduced in-house support staff for the lubes producers; response to consumer enquiries is more automated through varying forms of quasi-artificial intelligence. Lubricant recommendation websites are now an essential tool to handle enquiries and minimise costs.
We expect that providing consistent links to essential technical and safety information will no longer be sufficient. It is merely a basis for being competitive. Analysing the usage data of websites, real-time monitoring of equipment and building insight for future customer engagement is where the successful lubricants businesses will be.
The future winners will be those businesses that utilise their data resources most effectively. It's the reason OATS has been investing in new systems and tools that will support those engagements and the reason why marketing might just become an equal partner with the molecule.
To find out more about how OATS can match marketing with the molecule, simply contact Diana Shen in China or, for global information, you can reach OATS via e-mail or follow our updates on social media via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.
Sebastian Crawshaw
Chairman