Answer To: Page 1 of 3 MKT82210 – Marketing – Assignment 3 Report Study Period 5, 2018 Due: 8 October 2018,...
Soumi answered on Sep 28 2020
SOUTHERN CROSS UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS & TOURISM
MKT82210 – MARKETING – ASSIGNMENT 3 REPORT
MARKETING PLAN
Executive Summary
The automobile companies in market, due to their dependency on the economic condition, government policies and customer trends, cannot earn profit solely from a single and consistent strategy and would eventually fail, if the strategies for marketing are not changed or updated over time. Harley-Davidson Inc., established in 1903 in Wisconsin, USA, saw many difficulties as the ownership of the company changed, the company merged with American Machine and Foundry and eventually regained its status as a prominent player in USA in the mid-1960s, 1970s and in 1980s.
Besides, the motorbikes for the newer generations are becoming necessary for transport and sports purposes, which are making it evident that Harley-Davidson Inc., produce lower engine capacity bikes, such as the 250cc.engine bikes, for the newer generations. For this purpose, the current report presents a market sale analysis of the company has been conducted, along with analysing their customer characteristics. Moreover, SWOT and Ansoff Matrix analyses have also been conducted of the bike, which have helped to bring out useful recommendations. In order to make the launch of 250cc
Harley-Davidson motorbike successful, some effective strategies have to be considered. Firstly, Harley-Davidson Inc. has to develop a very attractive info-graphic leaflet, for both printed and digital usage. Secondly, Harley-Davidson Inc. can also use limited edition motorbikes along with introductory offer for the first lot of bikes. Promoting the motorbike as limited edition units, will create a sense of pride among customer, who would flaunt the limited edition batching considerably. Thirdly, the company should use history-laden advertising for its promotional media contents.
The recommendations have been provided based on SMART strategy that is they are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. Finally, it could be inferred that from the global popularity of the brand and its merchandise business, it shows the fact that every product that has a Harley-Davidson Inc. logo on it would sell; therefore, by introducing a new lower engine capacity segments for bikes would not only be affordable, it will attracted a new customer base towards the brand, increasing the sales manifold.
Table of Contents
Introduction 4
Background of Harley-Davidson Inc. 4
Mission of Harley-Davidson Inc. 4
Business Objectives of Harley-Davidson Inc. 5
Context of the New Product Launch 5
Time Plan for the Launching 250cc Motorbike by Harley-Davidson Inc. 5
Situation Analysis of Harley-Davidson Inc. 6
Market Sales and Customer Characteristics of Harley-Davidson Inc.’s New Bike 7
SWOT Analysis for 250cc Engine Motorbike of Harley-Davidson Inc. 8
Ansoff Matrix for 250cc Engine Motorbike of Harley-Davidson Inc. 9
Strategy Recommendations for the Launch with Justifications 10
Objectives 10
Strategies 12
Action Plans 12
The 4Ps Marketing Mix for 250cc Engine Motorbike of Harley-Davidson Inc. 13
Conclusion 14
References 15
Introduction
The success of a business depends largely on the combination of profitable ideas, capital investment, dedication, market assessment and most importantly strategic marketing. Due to the sharing of knowledge, development of science and technology, the automobile industry has witnessed record number of competitors entering the market, which is making business hard to sustain.
However, automobile companies who had been in the industry for a long time have the advantage of using their reputation and brand loyalty as prime tools of business success. Strategic marketing takes into account the opportunities available in the market for individual companies and forms strategic actions that generate profit, which requires careful assessment. In the current assignment, Harley- David Inc.’s attempt of launching 250cc engine capacity motorbikes has been chosen to assess its importance as a strategic marketing technique for successful business.
Background of Harley-Davidson Inc.
Harley-Davidson Inc. was established in 1903 in Wisconsin, USA. Despite having unique technology for their motorcycles, the sales figures were not impressive, however were growing slowly. As USA got involved in, the World War II, Harley-Davidson Inc. started building motorcycles for the USA Army, getting a huge surge in production, building 60,000 units during and post war times. The motorcycles produced by Harley-Davidson Inc. were much praised for their reliability, simplicity and quality.
Later, the brand popularity of the company led it to expand its business internationally, entering developed countries, where motorbikes were more of a recreational thing than a part of daily commute. The company catered its reputation from the feel of luxury it provided its riders; the premium pricing, high quality standards, distinctive exhaust note, unique design made it a popular choice worldwide. However, the company never ventured into the mid-budget segment in the market, not utilising the market potential. Taking cue from its popularity, the company started selling merchandises that include, collector’s edition mini figurines, clothing range, riding gear and video games (Harley Davidson, 2018).
Mission of Harley-Davidson Inc.
Harley-Davidson Inc.’s mission included the fulfilling dreams of riders, worldwide, increasing line of products to offer variety and convenience of customers, and lastly, selected market segmentation. The passionate approach to dream fulfilments makes it evident that the company’s mission is to place its products into the luxury item category. Increasing product line and selective market entering shows, the mission of offering more products for individual markets and increase customer base (Thompson, 2017).
Business Objectives of Harley-Davidson Inc.
The mission of Harley-Davidson Inc. is to provide best riding experience to the riders and offer best in class benefits to its employees, empowering them to innovate independently. The company considers that every stakeholder is important and perfection and suitability can be found through balancing of stakeholders’ interests. Harley-Davidson Inc. used the action-oriented planning and offered benefit for its customers, as they mainly aim at quality instead of balanced pricing and marketing techniques (Harley Davidson 2018).
Context of the New Product Launch
The European and the USA automobile market is slowing down in terms of demands for premium bikes that are solely used for recreational purposes and enjoying the riding experience. The saturation of the demand is also a major factor that Harley-Davidson Inc. bikes are not selling fast. The new generations, as mentioned by Elhai et al. (2018), in developing country are getting more involved in IT technology and are showing their interest for the electronic devices. In addition, the surging demand in developing countries such as India, there is high demand for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, however, the buying power of the people are limited and fuel prices are very high therefore, Harley-Davidson Inc. can launch 250cc engine mid-range cruiser bikes as an alternative for higher sales of low priced bikes instead of lower sales of higher priced bikes. As affirmed by Khan, Zeeshan and Iqbal (2018), the low engine capacity would offer lower pricing, increased sales and brand value in a combined for, which would benefits the business.
Time Plan for the Launching 250cc Motorbike by Harley-Davidson Inc.
Supposedly, if Harley-Davidson Inc. starts time plan from the month of January, it must conceive its plan within the first month and the market survey within January and February. Starting from the month of February to June, the research and development have to be conducted, while from May to August the product development process had to complete. It is worth the mention that, R&D and product development would have to be done simultaneously. The strategic marketing plans have to be finalised within August to October. The month of October and November could be used for advertising and promotion and lastly in the month of December feedback from the markets will be assessed.
Course of Action
Jan
Feb
Mar
April
May
June
July
Aug
Sept
Oct
Nov
Dec
Inception of the Idea
Market Survey for Potential Assessment
Research and Development
Product Development
Strategic Marketing Planning
Advertising and Promotion
Feedback Collection
Table 1: Time Plan for Launching 250cc Motorbikes by Harley-Davidson Inc.
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