What Make Harley Davidson Different

What Make Harley Davidson Different

What Make Harley Davidson Different

By: HoggdaddyHarley Davidson today is the most respected sought after motorcycle in the world. Other manufacturers have been trying to imitate their models for decades.They say imitation is the greatest form of flattery.That is not whythe competitiondoes it though.It is simply an effort to steal market share.The foreign motorcycle manufacturers are trying to copya USmanufactureris kind of ironic if you think about it.That is not exactly the case in the car market and as of lately the truck market too.The Americans are chasing the foreign automakers in about every category.Harley Davidson builds a fine motorcycle but the truth of the matter is that it is notthat much better mechanically than a comparable foreign motorcycle. In fact, some would even tell you that it is not as reliable or built as well. I am not going to get into that debate.While the other manufacturers have done a good job of copying the look of the bike they can never replicate the sound!They also don't understand that what makes aHarley is not just thedesign.Ithas everything to do with theimage. If you askmost peopleover the age of 30 what their favorite motorcycle is and they would tell you, "Harley".Many of them buy apparel with the logo on it even though they don't own one. They will tell you that they will have one someday though. Harley Davidson has done a fantastic job of branding their product. They have created not only a product but also an image.When a person buys their first Harley they immediately purchase an array of apparel and accessories to go with it.They join a social classof proud Harley riders.They did not just buy a Motorcycle, they bought an image thatand they are all to eager to live up to it. Harley Davidson is the ultimate "Brand". It's name represents high end quality andportrays masculinity, power and the ultimate "cool".Did the marketers at Harley Davidson do this on purpose, or was it justdumb luck. After all, many people remember the late 70's early 80's when you could not give a Harley Davidson away.People alsomay remember when there were 3 year waiting lists for about every model just a decade or so later. An owner of a local franchise told me once that the mentality of Harley Davidson was "Enough Harley Davidson'sis one too many".Thatcomment madesense to me because of what I learned in economics about supply and demand, the lower the supply the higher the demand. The Harley Davidson brand image benefited greatly from that demand. Whether it wasintentionalor by accident I don't know but it worked. The UScar makers could probably benefit from a marketingstrategy closer to that of Harly's.The US car makers havedone just the opposite over the last decade. They pumped out units and sponsored numerous rebate/financing programs that "Cheapened" the image of the car or truck. Even though there are plenty of Harley's to be bought on showroom floors todayyou don't see 0% financing for 72 months + $4000 cash back.Customers find out quickly that every dime they save on those kinds of programs they also give up on resale value later on.There is not the same desperation feelin the Harley Davidson marketing campaigns.I was in the car business when I bought my first Harley, a New 1998 Softail Custom demowith 1700 miles on it.It was kind of difficultfor me topayfull MSRP for ademo with miles on it, after all,in my businesswe hadto give every vehicleaway to sell it.Price on the bike was not negotiable at that time but I waswelcome to put my name on a list for one with no miles. I opted to drive that one home instead of waiting possibly years to get another.I did not feel taken advantage of or cheated. I bought into thehype and felt pretty luckyand proud of my new/used bike.I realized that while I may have paid too much by my "car business" standards it was really all relative. The Harley was actually worth more than I paid when I drove it home. I know because I had offers. Even after 8 years I still was able to get a couple thousand less than I paid originally for it. Harley Davidson is truly a success story in marketing, engineering, and branding. I love mine and would not own anything else. I am on my eighthone now and will probablyown many more in the future.http://www.articlesbase.com/motorcycles-articles/what-make-harley-davidson-different-3847576.html

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