So far in this series, we have covered Harley-Davidson’s (HOG) various offerings and plans to enter the electric motorcycle segment. We have also looked at the company’s recent financial figures. It’s also important for investors to take a look at an automaker’s marketing strategy to understand how the company differentiates its strategy to market its offerings.
Harley-Davidson’s marketing strategy
Harley-Davidson is the pioneer in motorcycle manufacturing. As noted earlier, the company offers a wide variety of motorcycles ranging from lightweight street motorcycles to heavyweight touring motorcycles.
Harley-Davidson’s marketing strategies are primarily focused on providing a personalized experience to its customers to allow them to connect with the brand.
Customization
Allowing Harley customers to modify or customize their motorcycle is one of the rare features that the company offers. Only a few major automakers allow customization of vehicles to this extent, be it four wheelers or two wheelers. Such customization from Harley-Davidson includes a choice of colors, wheels, seats, racks and backrests, windshields, exhausts, and intakes.
Large dealership network
Currently, Harley-Davidson has nearly 1,435 dealerships globally. The majority of these dealerships are located in the US, Europe, and Canada. Lately, the company has been focusing on expanding its dealerships in the Asia-Pacific market as well.
“Learn to Ride” program
Harley-Davidson runs a “Learn to Ride” program with the help of Harley-Davidson Riding Academy. Under this program, various courses are offered to new Harley riders. These courses provide new riders with expert guidance from Harley-Davidson certified coaches at select Harley-Davidson dealers.
Customers can also choose to enroll in the Harley-Davidson Jumpstart program, where they can experience riding a real Harley-Davidson motorcycle at a specially designed, stationary support stand.
Targeting a variety of customers
According to the company, its core customers are defined as men over the age of 35. To enhance the experience of riding a Harley motorcycle, the company offers a variety of gears and apparel to its customers. In addition, the company is also making efforts to connect with outreach customers including young adults and women. For this reason, the company also markets Harley-Davidson branded gear and apparel specifically designed for women through its website.
Events for Harley owners
As discussed earlier in the series, Harley-Davidson has an organized group for Harley motorbike enthusiasts called Harley Owners Group (or HOG). To keep the spirit alive for Harley riders, the company organizes various events for HOG members.
In the auto industry, companies put a great deal of effort into their marketing strategy. However, the marketing strategies of auto giants (VCR) such as General Motors (GM), Ford (F), and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) remain quite similar.
The company's commitment to product differentiation is a key aspect of its marketing strategy. By consistently delivering motorcycles that are in a class apart, Harley Davidson creates a strong competitive advantage and appeals to riders seeking a unique and premium experience.
Harley-Davidson's strategy is to focus on its traditionally styled, technologically old, cruiser motorcycles. Because Harley-Davidson cannot compete with Honda, Yamaha or Suzuki on technology or on the size of sales, it has to compete on what makes its competitive advantage : the Harley-Davidson experience.
The new social media platform, “All for Freedom, Freedom for All,” is part of the company's 10-year strategy to create the next generation of riders. Harley is enlisting its network of riders, dealers and employees on social media to post their images and stories.
Harley began spreading the idea that America was simply a dumping ground for over-produced Japanese import bikes, while at the same time crafting an image and mythos surrounding its own brand. The foreign bikes were sleek, fast, and cheap, while a Harley remained stark, heavy, and pricey.
Finally, Harley Davidson recognized that if they were going to remain relevant in today's market then they had to appeal to a new audience. So, they started targeting younger generations by creating products and marketing campaigns specifically tailored towards them.
Differentiation. Differentiation is really about doing something different that makes your broad market customers willing to pay more for your products and services. Examples of companies that do this include Harley Davidson and Apple.
Marketing- Marketing plays an essential role in the success of any business. However, many companies fail because of poor marketing strategies. And this is where Harley wins. The company sells HD bikes or parts, and HD's logo-studded products like t-shirts, teddy bears, blankets, shoes, and bedsheets.
The company's business strategy was based on focused differentiation wherein it targeted specific groups with focused products. Through focused differentiation, Harley wanted to gain a competitive edge and be unique in its industry, experts said. The company exclusively focused on the heavyweight motorcycle segment.
Harley Davidson target market, in general consists of Caucasian men above the age of 35 and had recently began targeting younger Caucasian women, Hispanics and African Americans from 25 to 34 with the introduction of lower displacement sport bikes (Crowe, 2006).
Film marketing is a technique used to promote a film. It involves calculating everything you'll spend on the film, including DCPs, VPFs, trailers, advertising, and advertisem*nts. This is where the P&A comes in (Prints and advertising budget). You think of what you're going to do in your movie.
Harley-Davidson utilizes a functional organizational structure that separates aspects of its sales and manufacturing business into distinct groups. These groups include Financial Services, Motorcycle Management, Marketing, Digital, and Electric Vehicles.
Summary. Harley-Davidson spent under $100 million on advertising in digital, print, and national TV in the last year. They invest in premium ad units and advertised on over 250 different Media Properties in the last year across multiple Media formats.
In short, Harley-Davidson is very clear about what it is selling; and that's not necessarily just bikes; it's an image, an experience and a lifestyle. It is essentially selling its brand to people.
Harley Davidson is the 279th ranked brand in the world. Company promotes an extensive motorcycling experience worldwide through events, rides & rallies including the one organised by Harley Owners Group (H.O.G).
Marketing- Marketing plays an essential role in the success of any business. However, many companies fail because of poor marketing strategies. And this is where Harley wins. The company sells HD bikes or parts, and HD's logo-studded products like t-shirts, teddy bears, blankets, shoes, and bedsheets.
Harley-Davidson's domestic and international sales have been decreasing. The biggest risk for the company lies in its financial services business segment.
Human resource management: Harley Davidson's HR management is an open, friendly and inclusive management system which allows the organization to be productive and to retain valuable human capital with brand loyalty. The workers at Harley Davidson are fans of the motorcycle and are loyal to the cult of riding.
Address: 359 Kelvin Stream, Lake Eldonview, MT 33517-1242
Phone: +577037762465
Job: Product Hospitality Supervisor
Hobby: Gardening, Web surfing, Video gaming, Amateur radio, Flag Football, Reading, Table tennis
Introduction: My name is Manual Maggio, I am a thankful, tender, adventurous, delightful, fantastic, proud, graceful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
