Hell's New Angels

You’ll not find me dressed in leather chaps, astride a hog anytime soon, but I like what Harley-Davidson is doing to reach out to women.  There’s an interesting article in the New York Times (free subscription required) about H-D’s efforts to connect with the increasing number of female motorcyclists in the U.S.  Twenty years ago, there were about 1,000 hogs sold; last year it was 32,000. 

Read the article for some worthwhile information on Harley’s marketing efforts - there are tidbits of wisdom you might be able to apply to your own business:

• Female clothing that says “all girl” without losing the Harley cachet
• Garage parties, to teach women the basics of motorcycling
• An effective website presence (although they still need a link directly from Harley’s home page!) that highlights lessons, stories, and connects riders

These two quotes say it all:

“Fifty percent of the population is female and there is pent-up demand,” said James L. Ziemer, Harley-Davidson’s chief executive. “We need to remove barriers.”

“I want to get away from the fear,” said Leticia Andrade, a 40-year-old business systems analyst who wore a V-neck Harley-Davidson T-shirt festooned with roses and a butterfly. “My kids are grown and gone, I’m a grandma now, and it’s time for me.”

Women riders are growing at double-digit rates, and Harley-Davidson seems to have a carefully planned, highly focused strategy in place for dominating the market. 

Hmmm.  I wonder if there’s a garage party planned for around here... (shhh - don’t tell my husband!)

Comments

[Janet Green]

Ah Michele, I was WONDERING when you would write about HD!

Regarding women riders, I applaud all they're doing to reach out to us. Newer bikes (some of them) have lower seat heights, easier-to-pull clutches, and are lighter-weight. Their owner publications (Enthusiast, Hog Tales, HOG website) feature women riders and their stories more and more. They need a little help in correctly "sizing" their clothing, and they need to hire some female sales people apart from the apparel department!

I've read one blogger this week who thinks HD's "courting women" will lead to their downfall because he says men will abandon the brand as women take over "the product." What bunk! My experience has been just the opposite - the men in MY life applaud my choice to ride my own and are not threatened one whit by the fact that tweaks in the "product" (the bike) benefit women as well as men. As I told him in his comments, it's not courting women that will be HD's downfall - if in fact they suffer a downfall. It's the fact that the market which craves the Harley mystique is aging itself out of the hobby, and they don't have the right product yet to capture the imagination of the next generation, male OR female.

Thanks for the opportunity to talk about HD - let's get you to a garage party pronto!!

~ Janet (www.bikerchicknews.com and www.marketingideablog.com)

[Wendy]

I've been riding for nearly 20 years - but haven't had my own bike in a while. But, it's time. I wouldn't have considered a HD - leaning toward BMW and Honda for their lower to the ground, lighter bikes that still have plenty of power. I saw that article, too and it's pretty convincing. I plan to check them out.