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>> Harley-Davidson has a long history of marketing to women. As early as 1910, the company featured women in its advertising. In 1915, mother and daughter Avis and Effie Hotchkiss rode from Brooklyn to San Francisco and back on a Harley V-Twin with a sidecar. In recent years, the women’s market has taken off becoming the fastest growing market of motorcycle purchasers.
>> In 1990, 6.4% of new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales were to women. And as of last year, that number climbed to 10% of new Harley-Davidson motorcycle sales.
In 2003 the Motorcycle Industry Council estimated that one in ten motorcyclists is a woman.
>> The number of women riding motorcycles has grown for a number of reasons.
>> Well, market wide, there’s an interesting trend happening. Women are making and have control over more money than ever before. In addition to that, freedom of expression is encouraged today more than ever before. People are really encouraged to follow their dreams and do what they want to do to lead a fulfilling life.
When a woman see another woman riding a motorcycle, it’s a very empowering and a very powerful image. A woman thinks wow, if she can do it, I can do it and with that light bulbs go off.
>> In approaching this market, Harley has used psychographic rather than demographic segmentation. Psychographic segmentation focuses on values, beliefs and lifestyles rather than traditional demographic divisions.
>> Women and men say they ride for the same reasons. They see themselves as individualists. We know that Harley-Davidson customers like the outdoors, and they like adventure. Harley-Davidson customers say that they like the feeling of freedom that a motorcycle gives them.
>> What women don’t want is a motorcycle made for women.
>> They don’t want a pink motorcycle. They ride the same models as men do. And what they do want is a motorcycle that fits them well. And fit is all about things like seat height, handle bar shape, where your foot pegs are and you customize a motorcycle to get it to fit you well. Customization is really key in Harley-Davidson motorcycle culture not just to express your personal style, but also to fit you well. And Harley-Davidson has more than 10,000 parts and accessories to make a motorcycle fit you personally as well as your style.
>> Although Harley doesn’t make motorcycles specifically for women, some models which have lower seats are particularly attractive to women. At the same time, company advertising features women riding a wide variety of models. Harley is reaching women by advertising in a variety of outlets including magazines such as Jane, Allure and Glamour. In doing so, the company is still focusing on its psychographic target.
>> We advertise where our ads will be seen by our psychographic target. People who have an active lifestyle, for example, we advertise in Shape Magazine because that particular publication is read by active women. We advertise in Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone Magazine because their readership is both male and female. But also their readership shares some psychographic details with our core audience. They’re active, they’re individualists.
>> Many of Harley’s ads feature strong women as central characters.
>> Our ads aren’t specifically targeted to women. But they absolutely present women as being empowered.
>> To insure that women customers have a positive experience at the dealership, Harley has made a major effort to train their dealers. Women often feel that male sales people especially car dealers talk down to them. Harley wants to be sure this doesn’t happen at their dealerships.
>> In general, women go about the purchasing process much differently from men. And we’ve been training our dealers to recognize those differences. For example, women do a lot of research before making a significant purchase. And they come into the dealership armed with a lot of questions. And they want answers to all their questions. Also, when a woman says to a sales person, I need to think about it, that’s what they mean. They’re not just trying to say no. And at that point in time, it’s not a good idea to try to give a hard sell.
>> Dealerships hire women throughout their organization. Women are now working as technicians and service-writers as well as staffing the floor as sales people.
>> Currently 8.8% of our dealerships are owned by women.
>> Harley is satisfying women’s need for information with a section of their website devoted specifically to women in motorcycling. Visitors can learn about Harley’s history and featured women riders and read first-hand accounts of riders' adventures. The site offers a ten-step guide to get women into the driver’s seat. There’s also information about Rider's Edge, Harley’s hands-on course to train new riders. More than a third of the people who take the course are women. Through its dealerships, Harley is reaching out to women with a series of garage parties. These are events designed to introduce women to Harley and the sport of riding.
>> Garage party events are after-hour parties aimed at women. The dealership business purpose for the parties is to foster confidence in future female riders and to initiate relationships with future female customers. The party format actually rotates guests through four informational stations on different topics.
One of the stations talks about the different model families and how to distinguish between them. The purpose of this station is not only to share information, but to boost a woman’s confidence in product knowledge.
Another station discusses appropriate motorcycling gear and what’s important and what you’re going to want to wear and why.
Another station talks about customization. And how you can not only customize a bike to express your personality, but also to fit your body. We give women a chance to change a seat on a motorcycle so they can see just how easy it is.
The fourth station we offer shows women how to lift a motorcycle off of its side. One of the barriers women face in motorcycling is the perception that a motorcycle is too heavy for them. And by showing them that they can lift it off of its side, it erases that barrier immediately.
>> For more than 100 years, Harley-Davidson has been making and selling motorcycles. In recent years, the number of women buying cycles has increased dramatically by targeting women and fulfilling their needs for adventure, freedom and camaraderie. Harley continues to see huge growth in this segment.
>> In 1985, Harley-Davidson sold 600 new motorcycles to women. Last year, Harley-Davidson sold more than 30,000 new motorcycles to women. Harley-Davidson is committed to fostering and growing the women’s motorcycle market.
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