Harley Davidson Markets to Women & It’s Working, After 90 Years.

When my business partner Jeanette and I were asked to attend a Harley Davidson luncheon to kick off the Women Riders weekend we said yes faster than you can say Women Riders! Having never been on a Harley, I was more the excited to go check it all out and learn about the culture.

Harley Davidson has been marketing to women riders since 1920. Can you believe that? Now in 2010, it happens to be their fastest growing demographic. That is with almost 100 years of marketing.  So why is it working now and what can we learn?

I think the reason why it is working now is two-fold. One because I think women are finally ready for it. This to me is a big part.  Women are ready to step into the driver’s seat, and I am thankful to the many generations of women who came before me that have allowed this generation to feel comfortable doing so. Secondly, Harley Davidson stopped marketing to women and actually asked them what they wanted and what their concerns were.  Then they addressed those concerns. Effectively creating a market that may not have been there otherwise.

What I find so interesting is that the biggest concern that Harley Davidson heard from women about owning their own bike was this; “If I am out riding alone, and the bike tips, I can’t pick it up. At 500+ pounds, it is too heavy”.

What I love is that Harley didn’t go back to the shop and create a lighter bike. Instead, they developed  a process to teach  women how to lift the bikes.  (Now maybe they altered the weight of the bike a bit, quite honestly I don’t know but 500+ pounds is a lot.) My point is they opted to empower the woman by developing a plan and then teaching it.

I think what we can learn here is that if we have a market that we are trying to target but for some reason we are not getting the desired response, (even after almost 100 years), maybe we need to step back and talk to that market.  Instead of market to them maybe we should listen to them.  Be willing to hear the feedback and then address the issues. Perhaps then we will see a return from the marketing efforts.

I have to thank Harley Davidson for the chance to meet so many wonderful women who attended the event and for teaching me how to pick up a bike. (Yeah that is me picking up a Harley!) It was very empowering. A wonderful day overall and you can bet that if I ever decide to buy my own bike I’ll be looking at a Harley.