3 Marketing Lessons from Harley Davidson

Harley Davidson (HD) was founded in Milwaukee, is 115 years old, and is one of the most iconic brands in the world... but it wasn’t always this way. 

Between the ten-year period of 1973 to 1983, low-priced Japanese bikes like Suzuki and Yamaha flooded the market while HD market share sank more than 57%. The rapid decline nearly sank the entire company and if not for some impressive marketing, willingness to pivot and some crisis management...They'd be extinct like so many others.

After a remarkably successful run…. Matthew Levatich has since stepped down as CEO of Harley Davidson… during his tenure I watched and learned a LOT about leading, branding and building a cult-like following.

Here are the 3 BEST Leadership and Marketing lessons I learned from Harley Davidson:

1. Lean manufacturing: 

Toyota made Lean or “Just in time” manufacturing famous and you’ve likely heard of the guy that created it, W Edwards Deming. This isn’t the most exciting part of the brand, but it SAVED Harley Davidson from extinction.

HD eliminated more than 1,000 production employees using Lean manufacturing. The concern here is that when too many jobs go... employees feel unsafe and morale goes down the tubes. They don’t want to lose their jobs and don’t want to see their friends lose them either.

But if it’s done correctly and respectfully, the opposite can happen... and did happen. It increased efficiency and created a more stable company, with bonuses for increased profits/efficiency.

Lesson: They say in ten years 40% of the jobs we now have will be gone for good. Remember when you used to go to the bank and get frustrated because they wanted you to use the ATM machines to deposit/withdraw money? Now we get pissed off when we need to go into the bank and speak to someone! 

2. Building a cult-like following:

The rider of a Harley is an older, successful cigar-smoking-type alpha male that likes the ‘bad boy’ image and a loud, powerful machine between his legs. Some might see this as a disadvantage due to a restricted core audience, but it’s the exact opposite.

They’ve worked hard to understand exactly the type of person that appreciates the Harley brand and how best to cater to their wealthy, alpha-male pseudo-bad boy audience that likes the idea of everyone hearing that they’re coming. It’s also not a coincidence that alpha males over the age of 50 have plenty of money to spend on something they want. 

To the target market, a Harley-Davidson is more than a motorcycle. The brand represents power, mystery, image, freedom, and individualism.

Lesson: You’ll often hear me say “If you can Lead you can’t Sell and if you can Sell you can’t Lead.” Slight exaggeration but not far off the truth. In order to sell you need to “disrupt” the prospect... not sing Kumbaya and tell them how amazing it’s going to be to work together. 

To sell you need to cut their arm before you provide them a band-aid. While leading is preventing the situation of having to cut their arm and help them understand why you’re not cutting their arm.

3. Price Elasticity:

For a bunch of reasons, Harley isn’t concerned with the price tag hanging off their bikes. HD is easily beaten on price by less expensive foreign brands and its ideal client has enough money to pay high-end prices. In fact... THEY PREFER IT… because they don’t want just anyone to have one!! They want to sacrifice and know that others sacrifice too.

Harley has always been intelligent, using SCARCITY by limiting the supply of their bikes which creates demand and a waiting list. Walk into a Harley store and try to buy the latest and greatest bike this year...welcome to the waiting list and you must leave a non-refundable deposit to get on that waiting list!

When people experience this for the first time, it blows them away. Same with Porsche, Ferrari, Lambo and other similar brands. Therefore, the only people who own a Harley are those totally devoted to the brand. OK, now try to buy a 1915 11F Harley...you might fall off your chair when you see the price tag.

Lesson: YOU NEED TO LEARN YOUR CRAFT FIRST AND BE AN “EXCELLENT” leader before doing this or you’ll screw it up for yourself and, more importantly, the business. Once you hit that elite level, being the least expensive leader, product, or business is ridiculous.

Bottom line... how many brands like HD do you know that are “Tattoo-worthy?” 

Talk about successful marketing!!