This would project a certain way a consumer could imagine his or her life could be like. The idea would be to add features that include useful needs to the current clientele by focusing on the new design of the motorcycle. Host events where current customers could see the new motorcycle up close and try it out. If the consumers could have a hands-on approach to the product, they would more likely to purchase one of Thorr motorcycles. Then we could host parties for Cruiser Thorr owners, contract celebrity endorsements in addition to supply products giveaways.
(Ducati Case pg 1). The motorcycle industry has a customer loyalty that that is truely unique. According to Exhibit 16 in the Ducati case, these percentage of customers in each of these brands expressed repeat purchase intentions in 2000: BMW (68%), Harley Davidson (70%), Ducati (64%), Honda (54%), and Kawasaki (38%). These high repeat purchase intentions indicate that not only is there brand loyalty, but the motorcycle itself represents much more than simply a vehicle to get you from point A to point B. 2.
It also informs them of events for the members at bike events. There are bike chapters in the US & other countries. 3. How does Harley- Davidson use the Internet in its marketing? Full members in the owners group can take advantage of the company’s online travel service to schedule a Fly & Ride vacation to any of 41 different locations in the United States, Canada, Europe, or Australia, picking up a bike from a local Harley- Davidson dealership on arrival to tour in style or simply renting a bike at selected dealerships.
Viral ads, which are also known as guerrilla marketing more often nowadays, are the newest way to get media messages out to the public through the spread on the internet. Many of these are over the top and very innovative. Music is used widely here to make their messages memorable and to keep audience members entertained and intrigues as these messages are fairly longer than normal TV advertisement spots. “The goal of marketers interested in creating successful viral marketing programs is to identify individuals with high Social Networking Potential (SNP) and create viral messages that appeal to this segment of the population and have a high probability of being passed along,” (http://fasttrack2business.com/). One popular viral ad that can be looked at for this discussion would be for the new Cherry Chocolate Dr. Pepper.
Most riders will stick to the market segment that they enjoy, but some riders may transition their market segment as well as their riding style as they age. (A lot of Harley riders will tell you there first motorcycle back in the day was an old Honda.) * An automobile can be considered a substitute product, however more than likely a consumer is looking to purchase a motorcycle because they want a motorcycle, not necessarily because they strictly need transportation and they are looking at all transportation industries. * Competing sellers * The largest force that the sport bike world faces is competition from competing sellers. The appeal of sport bikes and the brands themselves (including Ducati) all came from roots of competitive motorcycle racing.
Uber is an American online transportation network that provides ride sharing service by facilitating a connection between drivers and riders with the use of an app. (Daniel, “Uber Technologies Inc.: Managing Opportunities and Challenges”) Travis Kalanick and Garret Camp first found Uber in 2009. With the growing popularity, the concept of Uber has been duplicated by many different types of enterprises around the world such as Grab Taxi, Lyft, Ola, and Hail etc and has expanded internationally in 2012. (Hitesh Bhasin, “Marketing Mix Of Uber-Uber Marketing Mix) Like all companies, Uber must understand its target market and maintain a strong marketing mix to be successful. Due to its technology, Uber does not have as many constraints as taxi
1)Can Ducati sustain its position in the sport segment? Can Honda and other Japanese manufacturers stop its growth in this segment? They followed mostly the path of Harley Davidson in their strategies in different activities. They have spare part card. They competed with quality service.
Central to their strategy was promoting the brand name and they did so well. Harley invested heavily in its image and to increase their involvement in its customers it formed the Harley Owner’s group (HOG) in 1983 which, was to sustain the image of the Harley as well as to create a special community of Harley’s customers. Customer loyalty was reflected in their repurchase and upgrading of Harley products. More than 50% of all customers were those who have already purchased Harley’s products before, while 20% were first-timers. This strategy worked well to stabilize the market shares since early 90s to 2003.
This is clearly shown in the diversification of sales in its two major markets, one at home in the U.S and the other in Europe. As seen in the sales mix for 2006, Custom models accounted for 47.4% in the U.S while only a mere 13.4% in the European market. Other sales based on style of bikes are in the U.S performance 15.1%, touring 35.5%, and standard 2.1% while its counter market sales in Europe were performance 41.4%, touring 26.1%, and standard 19.2%. The reason Harley faces such diversification is clearly due to consumer preferences. The European markets desires performance bikes made for the open roads and high speed demands.
It was 111years ago since that first blueprint drawing by William S. Harley, and Harley Davidson as of present time has five basic models (over 75 sub-models). Worldwide Harley Davidson has more than 1500 dealerships and shipped more than 220,000 motorcycles to dealers and distributors in 2011 (Digits, 2011). Any business or organization doing business worldwide has to consider environmental factors when marketing globally and domestically. Harley Davidson Motorcycles is aware of this and has moved forward with marketing since 1907 when the company was incorporated (History of Harley Davidson, 2012). The influence of global economic interdependence and the effect of trade practices and agreements for Harley Davidson Motorcycles have changed over the years.