According to the Harley Davidson case study, the author has mentioned Harley Davidson uses the differentiation strategy: focus strategy for their business level strategy. This is, the focus strategy is an integrated set of actions taken to produce goods or services that serve the needs of a particular competition segment. Thus, by using the focus strategy for their business level strategy, it can help Harley Davidson to build strong brand recognition for their products. Harley Davidson believes that they understand the dynamics of their market and the unique needs of customers within it very well. Since they serve their customers in their market uniquely well, they tend to build strong brand loyalty amongst their customers. As a result, they …show more content…
The three alternative strategies are: cooperative strategy: strategy alliance (focus on joint venture), international strategy: transnational strategy, and differentiation strategy: integration cost leadership and differentiation strategy. After we have finished on doing those three alternative strategies’ evaluation and selection, we agreed on using the differentiation strategy: integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy (hybrid strategy) as the strategic alternative for Harley Davidson. In the next couple paragraphs we are going to discuss in detail how to implement the integrated cost leadership and differentiation strategy and action planning for Harley Davidson. The integrated cost leadership strategy and differentiation strategy is the business level strategy that most of managerial people consider as the hybrid strategy (www.ccsenet.org). The hybrid strategy has become the most important and successful strategy that attracted many organizations to choose and implement this particular strategy. As global competition keeps on increases, it is crucial for each organization starts to think about building its own economic of scale, lower production costs while developing on its innovative products or services for …show more content…
For instance, Harley Davidson may be forced to change their marketing strategy due to the entrance of a new competitor into the market. Second, Harley Davidson has to learn new skills and technologies quickly. For example, technologies are changing rapidly, so it is crucial for Harley Davidson’s business plan to change or alter in order to keep up with innovation. Third, this organization has to effectively leverage its core competencies while competing with its competitors. This is, Flexibility is required for Harley Davidson to learn how to use primary value-chain activities and support functions in the way that allow the organization to produce their products at a lower cost with differentiated features compare to their competitors in the market
Harley-Davidson, the corporation, has many things to brag about. On top of their financial success over the years, they have built a solid reputation as a fair, honest, and caring company. In January 2002, Forbes magazine named Harley-Davidson its “Company of the Year for 2001and in February, Fortune magazine selected them as one of the nation’s “Most Admired Companies.” Every employee at the company can be proud of these achievements because the corporate culture stresses the importance of all employees. While maintaining a level of success in these areas, they have managed to increase their revenues for the last sixteen years straight. Even in the economic downturn of the last year, Harley-Davidson posted record revenue and earnings.
Every business has an evolutionary clock speed measuring the rate of change in products, processes and capability. At the core of everything is the organizations ability to design a sustainable supply chain. When this becomes an organizations core competency, they are then positioned to continually win the temporary advantage. By simultaneously working to improve products, process design/creation and supply chains (three dimensional concurrent engineering), a company can drive the “turn of the helix” thus changing the clock speed for the industry.
Differentiation through marketing strategies, this is a form of innovation driven by the need to create a superior brand (Sadler, 2003).
Arthur, A., Thompson, Margaret, A., Peteraf, John, E. Gamble, A., J., Strickland III. (2014). Crafting & Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage 19e: Concepts & Cases. C6-C25.
Dr. Parnell advises that the corporate level strategies “focus shifts to how the firm’s business units should compete and is concerned with the basic thrust of the firm” (2014, p.183). Home Depot is clearly focused on its business units in form of “its own established unique mission, set of competitors, and industry” (2014, p.183). By remaining a competitive force in the home improvement industry and staying true to its company mission of “putting customers first and the rest will follow” Home Depot corporate level strategy is categorized as differentiation strategy. Not only has Home Depot remain a competitive force to reckon with, they also hold the industry title of “the world’s largest home improvement retailer” (Home Depot, 2016). Since Home Depot has already achieved such an esteemed accolade it would not make much since for them to operate at a low-cost strategy. According to Dr. Parnell, the differentiated strategy “seeks to offer unique and/or unusual products and
Building a competitive advantage based on differentiation position is likely to be attractive when there are unexploited opportunities for achieving scale, scope, and learning.
Harley-Davidson Motor Company is an American manufacturer of motorcycles based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company sells heavyweight motorcycles designed for cruising on the highway. Harley-Davidson motorcycles (popularly known as "Harley") have a distinctive design and exhaust note. They are especially noted for the tradition of heavy customization with its special engine roar and signature teardrop gas tank which is considered a unique experience that symbolizes the best of the American dream. Harley has been manufacturing motorcycles for more than a century and has earned themselves an enduring place in America’s automotive history. We believe Harley is overall a successful company but our case study shows that there are few marketing developments can be achieved.
Hunsk Engines is a motorcycle company that made the fatal mistake of expanding its research in the market on its new products. The companies main competitors were companies like Harley Davidson, where they sold classic products that were seen as something with altering respect. Marty Echt is hired on by Hunsk Engines to restore the company’s image, on what used to be classic motorcycles. He argues that the company made the mistake of forgetting about its original products and, “lost its identity”. This problem frequently happens when companies attempt to grow, in order for new products to make it in the market place you have to carefully strategize its competitive characteristics and know when to introduce a new product through Michael Porters life cycle.
After the buyout by Beals, Harley Davidson improved in terms of its productivity after gaining production lessons from the Japanese firm. Furthermore, the company changed part of its marketing move which helped in the improvement in the overall performance of the company. Most people used the logo of the company’s bikes freely and this resulted in bad image for the company. As part of making up and restoring its image, the company decided to license all its logos and any other items that was relating to the company. This helped the company to obtain new customers a part from its already existing customer base. The demand of the products of the company also increased over time after the licensing of the products and the logo of the company. This meant that the company could not satisfy the demand hence this became a problem of its success. The company had also the potential of expanding in terms of exporting ...
This paper will address an analysis of the key success factors in strategic planning of the Ford Motor Company including planning, product offerings and marketing and sales. The paper will also include financial characteristics and a competition analysis of the Ford Motor Company.
Both Porter and Miles and Snow’s strategy typologies are based on the concept of strategic equifinality, or the ability for firms to be successful via differing managerial strategies (Hambrick, 2003, p. 116). Porter 's strategy is more generic while Miles and Snow’s is more specific in nature. Porter’s generic strategy typology is based on economic factors centering on the source of a firm’s competitive advantage and the scope of a firm’s target market (González-Benito & Suárez-González, 2010). Porter’s typology emphasizes a firm’s cost, product differentiation or non-differentiation and market focus. When utilizing Porter’s strategy typology, a firm must first decide to target its products toward the mass market versus a market niche or focus. Secondly, a firm will determine if it wishes to minimize costs or differentiate its products with differentiation meaning that firms will most likely forego lower costs (Parnell, 2014, p. 184). This can lead a firm to develop a myriad of strategies between these options. Strategies which may have or not have focus, may or not be differentiated, may or not be low cost or any combination of strategies. In contrast to Porter, Miles and Snow’s typology is more specific in nature.
In the modern world of conducting business, any company that wishes to succeed must differentiate its products or services from others in the industry. Differentiation makes it possible for consumers to point out notable differences between one company’s products as compared to those of competitors. Differentiation helps companies build brand loyalty as the uniqueness keeps customers fixed on a particular product. BMW is one of the most popular automakers in the world today. It definitely uses differentiation as a strategy to beat off competition by building products that are innovative, detailed and incomparable to those of competitors.
A key part of an organizational strategy is to identify market opportunities by finding a niche or a gap in the marketplace that they can pursue to take their company ahead of all their competitors. An organiz...
In this competitive world, nothing is as certain as uncertainty and nothing are as sustained as change for any businesses. Strategy building is not as simple as possible for companies and the ground rules for competition have shifted from predictable markets or stable product range to more dynamic and globalized ways. The traditional perceptions and applications of branding has been fully dominated by a product mindset. But changes in the modern era and huge technological developments laid difficulties in managing realistic product differentiation in the face of duplication and homogenization of products and services. Changes in the attitudes and mindsets of the customers are also making markets more complex and competitive in nature. Hence, companies shifted focus from branding of stand-alone products and services to a branding of the organization itself. Differentiation requires positioning the whole corporation in addition to its products. Accordingly, the corporate branding originates from distinct combinations of symbols, values and emotions that are salient to both the organization and its dynamic relationships with internal and external stakeholders (Hatch & Schultz 2003, 1041).
Other than that, the better strategies of product brand development in a company implicate taking risks by paying attentions towards competitions and at the same time hoping to distinguish its products position in marketplaces by promote the development of customer oriented perspectives and effectiveness of management performance in company (Drury, Segal-Horn & Chernatony, 2003).