Essay about Strategic Audit of Harley Davidson Inc.

The series of activities that are enacted by a firm that add value to a product beyond the cost of the production are referred to as the value chain. Harley Davidson offers a combination of superior performance and unique attributes within its value chain that promotes their core competencies and provides them with a competitive advantage.

Therefore, this case study will focus on Harley Davidson’s alternatives aspects such as product mix, core brand value, and product life cycle based on motorcycle industry in Canada. This is because these are helpful and useful to make decisions to extend Harley’s lifetime and to suggest ideal recommendation be part of living life in target market.

Harley-Davidson treats the dealers not only as partners, but also as customers. Harley has developed a very effective marketing strategy, but it is the responsibility of manufacturing to produce high quality and reliable motorcycles.

Good relationships, continuous improvement, employee and management involvement, team building or employee training and empowerment are not just words out of a management book for Harley-Davidson. Only by adopting those management techniques and building a solid base between the management and the Unions/employees made it possible for Harley-Davidson to improve its management processes. While management 's responsibility is to build

The Harley Owners Group or HOG is a factory sponsored motorcycle enthusiast club established in 1983. Its main aim was to negate the influence of outlaw bike-gangs as the face of the Harley Davidson brand and enhance the lifestyle experience of a Harley Davidson owner. This was the roadmap of the firm’s broad philosophy of getting close to the customer. There was a great need to address two main issues with respect to the brand.

Historically, Harley-Davidson has managed to dominate the U.S. market by becoming a staple of American culture. Specifically, the Harley-Davidson motorcycle is considered “a part of American iconography” and is typically associated with well-known American symbols, including both the U.S. flag and the bald eagle. As a direct result of this association, the company has achieved strong and long-lasting brand loyalty among U.S. customers, which has undoubtedly contributed to its great success in the U.S. market.

As pointed out in the video, Harley Davidson is fully committed to fostering and growing the women motorcyclist market. Women today represent a large sector of the workforce, enjoy higher incomes than 20 years ago, and possess more disposable income. Furthermore, women are much more empowered than ever before and are encouraged to exercise their freedom of expression and individualism.

On a business level, Harley may want to try to develop new products that will give them an extra push past their competitors. They already have the loyalty base and combined with the threat of new entry into the business, they can enter other performance type industries. Bicycles, roller blades, and skateboards are just a few of the products that they can develop that may not be out of their range. Generation X and Y have gotten into these extreme sports and perhaps by reaching out to them with these types of products, they will develop future relationships with them. These performance products can be used for recreation and competition while keeping that edge that Harley has had since it began.

Historically Harley-Davidson to be a Niche Marketer, which is they had focused in on one particular aspect of the market. Kotler and Keller identified the following characteristics of niche marketing; customers have a distinct set of needs, they are willing to pay more to the firm that best suits their needs, it is not likely to attract competitors, gains economies through specialized products and it has a size, profit and to grow. Almost all of these hold true for the “heavyweight” segment of motor cycles that Harley-Davidson produced.

1.HOG has been phenomenally successful at attracting members and chapters. From nothing in 1983 it has grown to half a million members in 1,160 chapters. This is the core of Harley-Davidson's market and it is easily reachable through Hog Tales magazine. This is particularly important for Harley given that its customers are so varied making it hard to reach them through traditional marketing methods. HOG overcomes

Moreover, the key to success in future is knowing who you are and sticking to it, understanding the customers’ bases, looking for market opportunities, and applying you brand properly. Harley-Davidson offers attributes, such as clothing, shoes, and caps etc. for the shoppers who want to associate themselves to the brand. Consistency is the key for the business.

Objectives: What are the corporate, business, and functional objectives? Are they consistent with each other, with the mission, and with the internal and external environments?

The marketing strategy allows the customer to connect with the brand, to manufacture a unique product that includes a choice of colors, wheels, seats, racks, backrests, windshields, exhaust, and intakes. The historical company core customers were men over the age of 35, but are now making efforts to connect and reach young adults and women customers. Subsequently, Harley has to continue modifying products to meet the needs of potential Vietnamese clientele to increase

Harley-Davidson's mission statement is to "fulfill dreams through the experience of motorcycling, by providing to motorcyclists and to the general public an expanding line of motorcycles and branded products and services in selected market segments." (Harley Davidson, 1999). The company's main objective for the entire organization s is to have happy and satisfied stakeholder; this includes their customers, employees, suppliers, investors, and the entire society in general. Harley-Davidson makes the customer's experience with their products the core of their business and every effort is made to make this experience as enjoyable as possible. It is this strategy that has helped Harley Davidson meet its current level of success.

Currently H-D is the leading seller of heavy weight motorcycles across the entire world. Because they are at the pinnacle they are the target for the competition. Some of Harley Davidson 's advantages are name recognition, brand loyalty, brand quality and customer loyalty (Hitt, Ireland & Hoskisson, 2013, p. 81). The company benefits by having “the made in America” image attached to its products. The image of a Harley rider and owner is one of a tough, independent, free spirit, ready and willing to take on the world type of man. The sound of a H-D motorcycle in idle or being ridden is unique and very identifiable.