What Royal Enfield should learn from Harley Davidson at this point of time!

Brands like Coco-Cola, McDonald's, Levi's, Nike etc. have reached iconic status after ages of advertising their punch lines through expensive campaigns but Harley Davidson which was twice at the brink of bankruptcy adopted the unconventional route to brand excellence.


While finding new ways to reach out to the customers, employees and dealers Harley Davidson changed the lingering loyalty for their products to a passion which was very contagious to many new buyers. No other product unlike the America's freewheeling brand exemplified this non-traditional route to brand excellence. With the total marketing budget of $20million, they spent a miniscule $1million on advertising. However, the shoppers purchased $100 million worth of Motorclothes and spent a good amount on food, fun and other fare at the Harley Davidson Cafe. The Harley toys and Barbie dolls for the kids also increased revenue for Harley.


Their sophisticated intranet system connects its dealers with the central database hence enabling them in reducing inventory costs for the bikes relating to storage, financing and other expenses. Effectively, every bike which Harley makes has already been sold i.e the company is now building to order. It is not just the customers but even the Harley employees own these motorcycles and they ride with their customers in the rallies. Even the employees take the same place as their customers on the waiting lists for the bikes.


ALL THEY DID TO MAINTAIN THE BRAND EQUITY ,AND THIS DECIDED HARLEY's FATE.

Preserving Heritage : They made a clear choice of staying with their vintage styling and not redesigning their bikes to the likes of the slick Japanese machines.

Community : H.O.G. - Harley Owners Group is a community built for all the Harley riders who would participate in rallies and remain closely in touch with the Harley Inc. and also companion Harley owners.

Brand Extension: There are sponsored Motorclothes from Harley for adults and children. Further, Harley licensed its logo to be used on Loreal Products , Zippo Lighters and even Harley toys being manufactured by Mattel.

STRENGTH OF THE Harley Davidson BRAND?

Harley didn't spend a single penny on their advertising.

Their brand was so powerful that even in the superbowl games where many brands had to shell out money for the 30 second interim advertisement slots these bikes used to do be on the field as part of the cheerleaders' team.

In the times of public promotions and gatherings even the star personalities liked themselves to be associated with these vintage machines which led to free publicity of the brand Harley.

QUALITY WAS A SURVIVAL TOOL and now the story has changed.

Indeed, Quality has driven the Harley story more than any other factor. By re-engineering its production process, redesigning its machinery and instituting a range of Japanese - style methods of manufacturing and quality control methods , that coupled its survivor's attitude with an aggressive revitalization of its brand.