Question

You are a junior sales associate working for Chicago BMW Motorcycle. Because of the economic crises, sales of motorcycles have taken a huge hit across the board. When money is tight, people tend to cut back on luxurious "toys" such as expensive bikes. BMW relies on a well-heeled clientele, much of it composed of middle-aged men. However, the German motorcycle manufacturer has been trying to capture a share of the market larger than the 2 percent it has occupied in the United States. Even the ever-popular Harley-Davidson bikes have suffered a decrease in sales of about 30 percent in the last two years. A recent article about the industry in BusinessWeek stated the Harley-Davidson is now trying to appeal to women riders. You bring the piece to the attention of your boss, Dale Bell, and he asks you to find out what exactly Harley-Davidson is doing.

YOUR TASK

Visit the Harley-Davidson USA Website and study how the legendary motorcycle manufacturer is targeting female riders. Write an informational report in memo form addressed to Dale Bell. Which of its motorcycles does your competitor promote as ideal for women and why? How about apparel? What other ways has Harley-Davidson found to attract female riders?

Expert Answer

Answer 1

Dera Mr Bell,

I am a junior sales associate at one of the store and i wanted to work on the improvement of the sales of our motorcycles. I wanted to target the areas where the sale is very minimal and after doing some research, it came into my mind that our immediate competitor in the industry are doing a lot better when it comes to targeting new customers. Specially the female customers for motorcycles. Harley Davidson, after reading their latest article, I came to know that they are modifying there motorcycles to meet the female requirements.

In today’s economic, people are not wailing to pay only for luxuries products in the market, with the growing inflation in every where, people are more concern about saving the money and building a secure future, however with increase in the female population who are career oriented mostly are more likely to buy the motorcycles for two main reasons:

1. Motorcycles are more fuel efficient and thus require less fuel than 4 vehicle.
2. With the increasing traffic everywhere, all individuals wether male or female prefer 2 wheeler as their ride.

To target only female customers, Harley Davidson, has made few modifications to attract more females, like:

1. Instead of having heavy bikes, HD has modified and made the weight of the bikes little lesser than the original bikes, which men prefer.
2. HD have modified the bike in such a way that it is lower to the ground which suits female requirement.
3. With the bikes, they are also selling women apparels and merchandise that go with the look of the bike.

In short, HD is doing and taking all possible steps to attract more women customers, not just with the bikes but also with other merchandise and increasing its sales.