Wait...does that article actually say that the quality/etc of the motorcycle is irrelevant and Honda's problem is the lack of souvenirs?
They touch on the real problem...the holes in the lineup. Where's my friggen 1800 fuel-injected affordable Valk cruiser?
But it's the lack of t-shirts that's the problem?
Believe it or not, yes it is!! I have been saying that for years. Branding is what allows Hardley to sell many more motorcycles and have a significantly larger community than Honda. So what was the ratio of Hardley’s to Honda’s at Sturgis this year? About a thousand to one or something?
You want that new Valk, then develop a Motorcycle community like Hardley has with an estimated 8 to 10 million members. In order to successfully market your product you need to get your brand name out there. God that is Marketing 101 and anyone in retail knows this. Wrigley Gum proved that back in the 20's. The support and branding efforts Honda puts out are an embarrassment to me. Hardley knows how to do this better than any other American manufacture. They put their name on everything and then charge 25% more for the item. Their product marketing far exceeds what they make on selling motorcycles. It’s not really about how many of your motorcycles are on the road but how many the public perceive are on the road. If they see 100 people all wearing Hardley T-Shirts and one person wearing a Honda T-Shirt what do you think they are going to want to buy? You got it the Hardley because they want to be part of a large community, not one that really does not exist.
But the product branding is just part of the problem. While Honda makes better motorcycles, they are much worse at providing customer support. Try and find a Honda dealer open on a Sunday or in many areas on a Monday. Not!! Walk into a Honda dealer and try and buy parts off the shelf for your Valk. Not!! The Hardley dealers in this state are open on Sundays and many stock a significant quantity of parts for the last fifteen years of bikes.
Every year we have Arizona Bike Week held in Scottsdale. It has grown into a very large event. Guess which is the only manufacture NOT represented. Yep Honda!! Even Vespa is there but Honda is too F….n snooty or stuck up to be there. Hell they sell the Goldwing which is the best touring bike on the road so why should they show up at some Bike Rally to support all their customers. During Arizona Bike Week every single Hardley dealer in the area and some as far away as 140 miles participates in this event. Most of them have parties and a few host concerts. What do the Honda dealers do? Nothing, absolutely nothing. It’s an embarrassment to me as a rider of Honda motorcycles for the past 41 years. In fact last year one of the local Honda dealers closed earlier than normal on that Saturday.
Honda makes great motorcycles, even Willy G and Sonny Barger have admitted that Honda makes better motorcycles but Honda’s product identity and service are nonexistent and Willy G counts on that to sell more of his bikes. Not only does Honda need to get more T-Shirts, or for that matter anything out with their name and logo, out to everyone and anyone willing to wear them but they better get their dealers to make more of a presence in the motorcycling community. It takes effort and that is where the Honda dealers fall way short. They do little PR and have never heard about marketing. They expect new customers to just come into their dealerships. In today’s economy that does not happen. While it would be nice for us to have newer Valk models, that would do nothing to help Honda with their current marketing problems. The fact that they moved their manufacturing plant out of the US did not help them either but that is another issue.
