Astonishingly, only 7 percent of revenue is spent on oil and gas marketing by companies hoping to differentiate their products and services in such a crowded and brand-heavy industry. Unfortunately, oil and gas marketing is often perceived as little more than an expense line item at the C-Suite level in an industry dominated by engineers. Unsurprisingly, lack of attention to marketing reflects on the companies’ ability to stand out from the crowd. This is dangerous to the bottom line, because without strong messaging to set you apart, oil and gas refining products become mere commodities with all of the corresponding downward pressure on prices and margins.

To make matters worse, the industry is also a prime example of slow adoption of technology, including marketing and marketing automation. Traditional oil and gas refining marketing strategy that relies largely on relationship selling techniques is gradually combining forces with digital marketing techniques. Alas, the pace of change is a slow one.