Harley-Davidson Marketing
Harley Davidson Marketing
Harley-Davidson has shown itself to be one of the best, if not the best, motorcycle makers on the planet. Indeed, even with stiff competition from faster and sleeker bikes like Honda, Yamaha and others as well as more rugged bikes that are more similar to Harley such as American Ironhorse and so forth, Harley is clearly in a league of its owns just looking at objective sales and other performance data over times. Whether it be recession or other challenges, Harley remains resilient and has an extremely loyal customer base that never betrays them. While Harley-Davidson should by no means be complacent or lackadaisical about their future, they are positioned quite well so long as they remain true to their fan base and their heritage.
Analysis
The one thing that Harley-Davidson can claim that very few companies in existence, let alone motorcycle companies, is that they are literally an American icon much like the golden arches and Big Macs of McDonald's and the sport of baseball. When people think about motorcycles in the United States, Harley-Davidson is always going to be in the discussion, presuming it is not the main focus of the discussion. Even so, Harley-Davidson is not resting on its laurels as they state clearly and completely that they are not "resting on their laurels" and that they are always "improving and modernizing the machine" even if they are very slow and reluctant to tinker with aesthetics. After all, that would be like Jeep completely revamping the Wrangler. If they did so, the Wrangler fans would revolt early and often. Indeed, even with the improvements, Ken Schmidt, the director of communications for Harley-Davidson, notes that they are well aware that the bike company has been around for ninety-three years and the "classic elements" of Harley-Davidson bikes should not be changed. Essentially, it is normal and expected that the internals and mechanics of the bike improve and modernize over time but the design elements cannot be touched. Harley-Davidson's icon status rests on that cornerstone and it would be extremely unwise of Harley-Davidson corporate to go against that (CDF, 2015).
Harley-Davidson has done extremely well even the recent economic troubles of the "Great Recession" from 2007 to 2009. From 2009 to 2013 alone, Harley-Davidson added 118 new dealer points and more than a third (35.9%) of their bikes when to locations outside of the United States. For the record, it is not just older and more seasoned riders that enjoy Harley-Davidsons. Indeed, Harley-Davidson is the biggest seller when it comes to young adults 18-34 years old as well as white men over the age of 35, the more "stereotypical" Harley-Davidson customer and rider. In fact, Harley-Davidson has been the top in that segment for six straight years as of 2013, so that means they held their perch as the top dog in motorcycles throughout all of the Great Recession. They probably didn't sell as many as they do now given that the economic travails are mostly over. However, to hold up even with economic malaise holding for roughly half a decade is quite impressive (Harley-Davidson, 2015).
Another part of the equation is that Harley-Davidson is more about lifestyle than it is about getting from point A to point B. Just as richer and more affluent customers make it a point to drive marques like Mercedes and BMW, the discerning bike driver, at least those that are concerned about community and a reputable name in rugged motorcyles (as opposed to the quicker bikes of Honda, et al.) usually center on Harley-Davidson. Again, Harley-Davidson is far from being the only name in that market but they are the biggest and it is not really close. Harley-Davidson is very discerning regarding how it spends its marketing dollars. Indeed, it was confirmed in 2013 by Harley-Davidson Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Mark-Hans Richer that Harley only spends fifteen percent of its budget on traditional media. They spend a lot of their marketing budget on parties and events such as the big bike party they held in Rome and other "epic" adventures that are meant to foster and grow the sense of community and camaraderie that Harley-Davidson owners tend to have. The reach of Harley-Davidson has been so deep that Richer had the chance to show off Harley-Davidson's wares to Pope Francis himself. Richer is by no means a corporate face that does not ride his own bike. Indeed, he has ridden motorcycles since he was nineteen years old and he worked for General Motors before coming over to Harley-Davidson. Indeed, if Richer was not a motorcycle enthusiast himself and was just "doing a job," Harley owners would probably bristle to say the least. Richer himself admits that the creative ideas that they do use, both new and evolved, come from their Facebook page. The Harley-Davidson is literally helping and aiding in what changes...
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