Harley Davidson Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Harley Davidson - Coursework Example Over the years HD Motorcycle Company had to adopt many strategies in terms of marketing so that they could cope with stiff competition posed by the likes of Honda and Suzuki. According to a famous book written by Michael porter on the different competitive strategies adopted by companies and nations, we see that they may take the form of 3 basic strategies; the overall cost leadership strategy, differentiation strategy or the strategy that focuses on just a particular niche of the market. These strategies are normally used to create a platform that can be used to outperform various competitors. Harley Davidson generally uses the ‘differentiation’ strategy widely as their generic competitive strategy. The differentiation strategy is where a company chooses to counter competition by attempting to offer something unique in the existing market in terms of products or services. The HD motorcycle company offers its heavyweight brand of motorcycles through various designs which are distinctive in terms of design. The company in itself has over 100 years of existence in the motorcycle industry, more than any other motorcycle company in the world. It was because of this that the Harley Davidson brand has become an American iconic brand and nostalgia therefore it was no longer a just a motorcycle brand but also a traditional brand that has been carried on through generations. The motorcycle brand in itself consists of an American flag that represents the nice feeling of freedom to the Americans, the type of freedom only compared to that of riding. This attachment to the consumers is what has given Harley Davidson the competitive edge over other motorcycle companies. Therefore the customers owning the American made versions always perceive the Harley Davidson bikes as the only high quality products and are always demanding for the additional exclusive value that can be added without even considering the increase in price. Also still on the differentiation str ategy, the HD motorcycle company produces over 30 different models of motorcycles. This diversity has increased their reach into the 4 different units of the target market which are; Touring market, Custom market, Performance market and lastly the Standard market. Harley Davidson Company allows buyers of their bikes to customize them through the use of chromes and other custom parts that are provided by Harley Davidson dealers all over America. This has made sure that they establish an unrivaled motorcycle empire in the American market only and not the other market areas like in Europe. This was because the company’s history and reputation affected only as far as American states alone. Further differentiation of their motorcycles and accessories then proved to be a good generic competitive strategy again. This was through the development of new motorcycle design that was called the ‘V Rod’ which is a Porsche designed engine heavy motorcycle. The V Rod or the VRSC model did not just impact positively (in terms of sales volume) for Harley Davidson Company in Europe alone, it also sold very well in Japan although this strategy was not that effective as the sales