Details Are Important. Awareness And Product Are Everything.
- Eric Gagliano
- Sep 6, 2019
- 2 min read
Since 1903, Harley Davidson and Indian Motorcycles have been fierce competitors … on the track and in the showroom.
They recently did battle, once more, in my heart and mind. I was swayed to “change teams,” and I didn’t even know I was in the market.
Until very recently, I was a Harley rider. Then, I received a mailer from Indian notifying me about a big “One Day Sale.”
I’ve always admired Indians. They are beautiful bikes. And I, personally, prefer to use brands that are unique. But I was not in the market for a new bike … I loved my Harley! I even wrote about it a few years ago (click here to see Bikers, Bankers and Branding).
But the mailer showed up … and I responded.
Indian’s one day sale was offering money off the new bike and offering extra money on the trade-in. All of a sudden, getting into a new Indian was starting to seem reasonable. So I engaged. The mailer did its job!
But that’s where everything went awry.
The mailer led me to a website, where I found “the bike of my dreams,” at a dealership about an hour away.
The website also offered:
To schedule a test ride: When I showed up, I was told I could not ride.
To get pre-approved and begin financing: When I showed up, they had no record of my application (I still don’t know who the heck got my information!). So, we had to start the application from scratch.
As a marketer, this was anything but a buttoned-up marketing effort.
The mailer had a clear message and offer
The mailer design was appealing
The mailer had a clear call to action
The execution of the call-to-action website was atrocious
The delivery of promises at the point of sale was non-existent
But I bought the bike.
Why? Emotion and superior product.
The Moral
In sales and marketing, we aim to have a highly-polished campaign. The member experience, from awareness to purchase, should be smooth and flawless.
But, the cold reality is that the AWARENESS and SALE are all that really matter.
There’s an old saying that “Nothing happens until someone sells something,” and that is 100% true. It is also true that no one sells anything until someone knows about you.
Generating engagement and having a superior, differentiating product will drive sales, even if the execution is lacking.
What is your product? Your people, their expertise and the trust they instill.
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