Harley Davidson's strategies

Strategies

Target subject

We use target subjects to figure out company's targets. What do they want to increase and how are they going to do it?
 All companies have some target subjects and of course, Harley-Davidson has some as well. A target is an expression for a required future condition. Normally target subjects are things as increased turnover and increased sale but also profit is very important. For Harley-Davidson is increased knowledge also important when they need to find a new target group because their target group is getting older. Harley-Davidson has a huge market share on the American market, but a higher market share is also a target for a company. The article below informs us about that their sales are going down, so an increased sale might be their most important target.  

Strategy for growth

When analysing a company’s strategy for growth, we analyse which strategy that will give the company most growth.
 Market penetrationHarley-Davidson has different strategies to make the company grow. The primary strategy is market penetration. They are trying to make the company grow by reaching more customers in their current markets. They try to differentiate from their competitors and reach new customers by doing this. They are starting to offering cheaper financing to some buyers.
 Product developmentThe company has also tried to increase their market share by product development, they have tried by making the vehicle sportier and to focus on the younger generations. They are also announcing new products to make it interesting to invest and buy their vehicles. Harley-Davidson announced new products in august 2015, where they also hoped to spur sales by doing so.
 They have come up with customization of the choppers, so more of the customers can be attracted by customizing their vehicle to get a unique experience with Harley-Davidson. Even though many competitors have come up with the same idea, Harley-Davidson differentiate from their competitors with their brand and by their design of their motorcycles.
 Market developmentHarley-Davidson uses market development to entering new markets. They have previously focused on global expansion, Harley-Davidson had begun its market development plans with international markets such as Europe and China. In their global expansion, they focused on direct distribution. Survival modelWe use the survival model to consider how the future situation of a company may look like. The survival model distinguishes between whether the company is good at differentiating themselves and whether they can produce at competitive costs. Harley-Davidson Inc. is one of the most prominent motorcycle manufactures in the world. The company has achieved this market position through its generic strategy or competitive advantage and its intensive strategies for growth. Harley Davidson has focused on differentiation because their generic competitive strategy pushes for product innovation. Harley Davidson uses its innovation processes to ensure competitiveness against other popular motorcycle manufactures. So they are very innovative and try to differentiate from their competitors by being innovative. Also, Harley-Davidson’s intensive growth strategies indicate product innovation along with increased reach in the global motorcycle market. However, the company could benefit from some adjustments in its intensive growth strategies. Harley-Davidson’s generic strategy for competitive advantage and intensive growth strategies are supportive of resilience in the face of market fluctuations. 

Generic competitive strategy

We use Porter’s generic competitive strategy to analyze how the company can get the biggest competitive advantages compared to the competitors.
 Harley Davidson has a huge target group and a unique product and they apply differentiation as its main generic strategy for competitive advantage. Unique product features are the main point in this generic strategy. For example, Harley-Davidson popularized the chopper motorcycle style through unique customization. They produce unique products as customize motorcycles and that how they differentiate from their competitors. However, the company also uses the focus generic strategy in combination with differentiation. The focus generic strategy supports competitive advantage by increasing Harley-Davidson’s customer base in certain market segments. For example, the company focuses on motorcycle enthusiasts, especially those who are interested in the chopper biking culture. A strategic objective linked to the differentiation generic strategy is to build Harley-Davidson’s competitive advantage based on unique product innovation. In relation, the focus differentiation strategy leads to the strategic objective of strengthening the chopper biker culture that enables Harley-Davidson’s competitive advantage in this market segment. 

Red and blue ocean

We have used the red and blue ocean analyse as a conclusion on the company’s competition, their competition strategies and how they differentiate themselves from their competitors.
 Harley-Davidson is on the blue ocean. On the global market, Harley-Davidson has four major competitors; Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki, that is only a few but big competitors. Harley Davidson has differentiated their products to a luxury vehicle, so they have differentiated themselves from these competitors, but manufacturers as Dog motorcycles and American IronHorse, which actually delivers more customized American motorbikes than Harley Davidson, has come along with Harley-Davidson’s success. Harley-Davidson’s focus are on unique products and a high service. They produce unique products as customized motorcycles and that is how they differentiate themselves from their competitors. Harley-Davidson has focused on differentiation because their generic competitive strategy pushes for product innovation. Harley-Davidson uses its innovation processes to ensure competitiveness against other popular motorcycle manufactures. So they are very innovative and try to differentiate from their competitors by being innovative. That is why they are on the blue ocean, because they have big competitors but they are good at differentiating themselves from their competitors and their focus are on unique products.