Building Brand Community Essay

1. sloven has been phenomenally roaring at attracting members and chapters. From nonhing in 1983 it has grown to one-half a million members in 1,160 chapters. This is the fondness of Harley-Davidsons market and it is easily reachable through with(predicate) Hog Tales magazine. This is rangeicularly authorised for Harley given that its customers are so entire-ranging making it hard to reach them through traditional marketing methods. pig bed all overcomes the wide differences in its membership by guidance on their common passion, motorcycle sit. bandage members get to meet fellow enthusiasts, Harley gets to clasp their watchfulness on Harley. As it basinnot grapple with Japanese imports on price, and perhaps quality, Harley has to pore on its smear. fuzz builds brand familiarity and dispels the oldish image of Harley owners as stones Angels gangs. In fact, Harley has been so successful in make its brand that BusinessWeek ranks it as the 44th most valuable in th e world. Retaining Harley owners is clearly lucrative Harley estimates that active pig members spend an extra $850 a course with the company. This translated into over $140 million, money that finish easily be spent elsewhere by less loyal customers.2. devoted that HOG dole outs to retain and reach customers by building a brand community, the posse comitatus Rides serve to create a brand inside the brand. Lisa Laundry describes Harley as a mystique, a lifestyle as opposed to a brand.This kind of awe is mixed with a cultist sense of community, a dollop of patriotism and Americana, and dedication to riding to create your average Harley devil pilgrim. The posse comitatus Rides focus on the last mentioned part of that physiological make-up, on the hard-core private roadrs. It allows these people to differentiate themselves from the larger assembly of Harley owners. The first Posse Ride was a big success, giving participants bragging rights that they forthwith exercised on ret urn to their HOG chapters. This intelligence operation of mouth raised expectations for the sequel which, analogous legion(predicate) sequels, it failed to live up to.Participants anticipate their T-shirts stop after stop, and they expected to integrate with management to share their views. The results of the pre and post-ride surveys (see testify 1) scan high satisfaction with their bikes and the ride itself, provided much lower satisfaction with HOG and Harley as a company, particularly afterwards. This is grave as it undermines brands loyalty. Barbara Hammet is right when she says Harley certainly has comely money that if they bedevil to eat a shirt or two, it shouldnt matter. habituated the importance of T-shirts as souvenirs, or markers, to participants at that place is no excuse for not having profuse on hand. If management had been paying attention on the 1st Posse they should distinguish this.One has to ask why the mangers ride unitedly at all? They can meet at the office, or have their own intra-office Posse. They should be seen to be part of the larger group. 400 people over ten days is not many people to meet and greet for say, cardinal managers. Mike Keefe defends management by give tongue to What they dont see is the seek that occurs unobtrusively The end of his sentence is petty because if they do not see it, or more importantly feel it, it is priceless. The old axiom, If its worth doing, its worth doing right, applies here. Harley should spend more clip and resources doing so.3.That the Posse Rides are worth doing should not be doubted. They are part of the brand image a two-mile long drum roll billboard for Harley. Seeing old and young, manlike and female Posse Riders traveling together projects an open, inclusive image for Harley. The Posses are publicise for Harley and its dealers and Harley should shape this more. It should encourage, even subsidize, dealers to build on the Posse Rides in ways such as the dealer in Duluth did on the 1st Posse. Coordination with local TV and piano tuner should be used to raise sensory faculty and crowds. The dealer network should similarly be used by the Posse Rides to act upon logistical problems such as the T-shirts fiasco. given(p) that Posse Rides have different routes, most dealers pull up stakes be able to accede over time.4. While the visual promotional effect of the Posse Rides should be utilise as much as possible, commercializing them should be avoided. Participants are Harleys best customers and it should consequence the opportunity to reward them, not exploit them. These people are not ill-judged and will soon notice if Harley tries to con centimerate out every last cent from them. The indirect benefits, such as building brand awareness and loyalty, are much more important than short-term sales. If participants fatality to shop at every dealer, great, only if their direct costs should be unbroken as low as possible. Given their wide di fferences in income, raising prices will simply drive off ladder(a) class participants that blow their annual ken on one rally. This would change the disposition of the Posse from an open, inclusive group to a rich, closed one. Over time, as Posse Rides become a feature of Harleys brand, it would depreciate the brand.Posse Rides will in any case have to maintain their exclusivity if they are to be continually successful. If everyone can get a Posse T-shirt because of merchandizing they will not be worth having to real Posse Riders. Keeping the number of participants small also adds to the feeling of exclusivity, as does not running the Posse Rides more than biannually. This should also support to maintain a feeling of spontaneousness that is missing from regularly scheduled, annual events.Exhibit 11.I will definitely signalize up for other long blank HOG rally2. If I were to transpose my motorcycle I would buy another Harley3. I would recommend this ride to a friend4. I fe el a sense of kinship with other Harley owners5. I have made lifelong friends because of my Harley6. My Harley says a lot astir(predicate) the kind of person I am7. I authentically understand what Harley is all about8. No one but Harley-Davidson could put on an event like this9. Harley-Davidson really understands what riding a bike is all about10. I am satisfied with HOG11. Harley-Davidson really cares about me as a customer12. Harley really understands my needs13. My Harley is an intrinsical part of my daily life