Consumer Behaviour: Harley Davidson's Marketing Strategy in India

This report examines Harley Davidson's consumer behavior strategies in the Indian market, focusing on how the company influences emotional aspects of the motorcycle buying process. It discusses the role of consumer characteristics, such as passion for the brand and buying power, and the challenges and opportunities Harley Davidson faces in India, including competition from Royal Enfield and the growing market of young, affluent consumers. The analysis incorporates consumer behavior concepts to evaluate marketing decisions like test drives and customization options. Ultimately, the report explores the implications for Harley Davidson, emphasizing the importance of affective decision-making to cultivate brand loyalty and drive sales in the Indian market. Desklib offers a wide range of solved assignments and study tools for students.

RUNNING HEAD: Consumer Behaviour 0
Consumer Behaviour

Consumer Behaviour 1
Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Marketing used by Harley Davidson in influencing emotional aspects of the motorcycle buying
process...................................................................................................................................................2
Role of the consumer characteristics in the buying process...................................................................3
Challenges and opportunities faced by Harley Davidson in the marketing to the Indian consumers.....3
The marketing decision.........................................................................................................................3
Implications for the Harley Davidson....................................................................................................4
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................4
References.............................................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
The consumer behaviour is the observational activity directed to study the consumer
behaviour in the market place from the movement they enter the market until the final
purchase is made. It is critical for a company to study consumer behaviour in order to make
strategic marketing decisions. It is helpful in predicting the response of potential customers
towards the offerings of the company. This report comprises the consumer behaviour towards
Harley Davidson Wheels into India. India is considered the largest market for motorcycles
after China. Harley Davidson is known for the heavy bikes and was launched in 2005 in
India. The marketing skills used by Harley Davidson in order to influence the emotional
aspects of the buyers have been explained in this report. The role of the consumer
characteristics in the consumer’s buying process has been discussed in India. The report also
includes the challenges and opportunities faced by the company in marketing to the
customers. The consumer behaviour concepts are used to define the marketing thinking
behind the test drive of bikes. Finally, the implications for Harley Davidson have been
considered.
Marketing used by Harley Davidson in influencing emotional aspects of the motorcycle
buying process
The Indian economy is viewed as a rapidly growing economy by the marketers for Harley
Davidson. The marketing is used by Harley Davidson to affect the way customers think and
act. Harley Davidson provides the option of customizing the bikes to the customers. The
customers can add accessories as per their interest. Harley has even developed special
customization kits and the buyers can mix and match engines and parts to form one of a kind
motorcycle. The company even offers a test drive so that customers can make the way they
wanted. The test drive has a great role in influencing customers in the buying process
(Bamossy and Solomon, 2016). The customers are even provided with the membership of
the Harley Davidson which increases the emotional aspects of the buying process of the
customers. They are given several benefits under the membership. The advertisements are
also used by the company to influence the emotional aspects of the buying process (Parsons,
Maclaran and Chatzidakis, 2017). The advertisement even outlines the problem along with
suggesting a solution. The pitch used by the company for the sales “things is different on
Harley”.

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Role of the consumer characteristics in the buying process
The consumer characteristics play a significant role in the buying process of Harley Davidson
in India. The customers who have the passion for the bike plays an important role in the
buying process of Harley Davidson. The brand image of Harley Davidson also plays a
significant role in the customer’s decision to get the Harley (Catulli, Cook and Potter, 2016).
It is also noticed that if the customers commute every day, they will prefer the cheaper bike.
The customers do not need to pay too much for the routine need. On the other side, the
middle class in India has considerable buying power and a desire for the world-famous
products. These customers have more enthusiasm for the Harley bikes as they have seen these
bikes in the Hollywood movies and some have tested the bikes at events. The mouth publicity
done by the Harley Davidson bike owners plays a role in the decision of the consumers to
buying bikes in India (Torelli and Rodas, 2016).
Challenges and opportunities faced by Harley Davidson in the marketing to the Indian
consumers
Harley Davidson faces challenges in marketing in India like the company faces strong
competition from the established brands like Royal Enfield. The Royal Enfield has a loyal
customer base in India. It also carries a lower price tag than Harley Davidson due to the
import duties. The lack of brand following is the biggest challenge faced in India by Harley
Davidson (East, et al. 2016). The company achieved in the U.S in terms of brand following,
Royal Enfield has already done the same in India. The customers in India are crazy about
Enfield in the same way Americans are about Harley Davidson.
The FDI in India offers a suitable background to foreign brands like Harley Davidson. The
fan following for the cruiser heavy bikes is also increasing in India. The number of young
people with disposable income is increasing in India. The customer segment for the bikes is
also expected to grow in the coming years. It represents a great growth opportunity for Harley
Davidson. The company also looks for the strategic alliance which helps in growing through
understanding the product, consumer and assembly. The company also uses the local partners
then making its own new motorcycles at own facility in India (Merrilees, 2016).
The marketing decision
The consumer behaviour assists in deciding which marketing technique works the best. The
consumer behaviour comprises the psychographic, demographic, ethnographic and

Consumer Behaviour 4
geographic. The psychographic factors have a significant role behind consumer behaviour as
it possesses a strong geographic association that is technology. It is also contrasted with
demographic factors like age and gender (Rodas and Torelli, 2016). The young base in India
has more fans following for the Harley Davidson. The majority of the buyers are men and the
fastest growth in the sales is to men in their 30s and 40s. The women are also being targeted
in India. The customer behaviour is influenced by the advertisements, family, friends and also
by the situation, mood and emotions. Harley Davidson is starting out strong in India. The
company provides the option to the customers of test driving in the product line. This facility
is not made available by every competitor (Hudson, 2016). The test drives assists in trying
out the innovative features and experiences the difference between the individual models. It
also puts impression how it makes to feel to ride Harley Davidson bike. It is the effective
marketing decision of the company as it creates desires to have the product of the company.
The test drive also makes the difference between the cheap bikes and Harley Davidson bikes.
Implications for the Harley Davidson
The customers can utilise the cognitive decision-making process to consider attributes for
getting Harley Davidson or Royal Enfield. Harley charges high prices and the specific
number of dealers makes the replacement process hard. These attributes make the customer
think twice about their purchasing decisions about Harley (Schütte and Ciarlante, 2016). The
affective decision-making process has a role in making customers feel good to have a high
brand image of Harley and want to get it at any cost. The company is interested in developing
more of the affective decision process to enable customers to purchase by giving them the
freedom to customize bikes (Hoey, Schröder and Alhothali, 2016). It will develop more of
the differentiation to the company. It is the preferability of the company to provide a test
drive to the customers for all bikes.
Conclusion
The marketers for Harley Davidson are growing rapidly in the economy like India. The
company is capable of attracting customers despite the strong competition from Royal
Enfield. The marketing used by Harley Davidson like customizing bikes, membership and
special customization kits to influence the emotional aspects of the buying process of the
motorcycle. The consumers who are passionate about the bikes play an important role in the
buying process. Harley faces challenges in India in the form of competition from Royal

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Enfield. But the brand image of Harley capable enough in appealing customers despite of the
higher costs charged by the company. The customer segment for the bikes is also growing at
a rapid speed in India. The affective decision making is used by the company in India in order
to enable customers to purchase products.

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References
Bamossy, G.J. and Solomon, M.R., 2016. Consumer behaviour: A European perspective.
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Catulli, M., Cook, M. and Potter, S., 2016. PSS Users and Harley Davidson Riders:: The
importance of consumer identity in the diffusion of sustainable consumption
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East, R., Singh, J., Wright, M. and Vanhuele, M., 2016. Consumer behaviour: Applications in
marketing. Sage.
Hoey, J., Schröder, T. and Alhothali, A., 2016. Affect control processes: Intelligent affective
interaction using a partially observable Markov decision process. Artificial Intelligence, 230,
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Hudson, B.T., 2016. 13 The role of corporate vehicle museums in consumer brand
engagement. Automobile Heritage and Tourism, 39, p.192.
Merrilees, B., 2016. Interactive brand experience pathways to customer-brand engagement
and value co-creation. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 25(5), pp.402-408.
Parsons, E., Maclaran, P. and Chatzidakis, A., 2017. Contemporary issues in marketing and
consumer behaviour. Routledge.
Rodas, M. and Torelli, C.J., 2016. Globalization, branding and multicultural consumer
behaviour. In Routledge International Handbook of Consumer Psychology (pp. 59-76).
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Schütte, H. and Ciarlante, D., 2016. Consumer behaviour in Asia. Springer.
Torelli, C.J. and Rodas, M., 2016. Globalization, branding and multicultural consumer
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