Yamaha Indonesia

YAMAHA INDONESIA

Yamaha Indonesia is about to relaunch its automatic motorcycle, Nuovo along with a model for women, the Mio. This case presents the opportunity to form a new strategy for the marketing of Nuovo and Mio by examining lessons learnt from the initial launch of Nuovo and analyzing further research data presented.

Failure of initial Nuovo launch. Despite a campaign to increase product awareness, consumers were not buying. Reasons cited include the body being too big and plain, unfamiliarity with automatic cycles and the feminine image associated with automatics. Dealers were also reluctant to spend the time educating consumers about automatic cycles when it was faster for them to sell a manual one. The soccer player used in the ad campaign was probably not the most appropriate, as motor cycle riders like to be seen as being tough and rugged. Soccer players are not perceived as �macho’.

Competitors. There were no other automatic motorcycles on the market but manual bikes were preferred by consumers. Competitors Honda(63%) and Suzuki(19%) had more market share than Yamaha(15%). Only 14% of buyers did not prefer Yamaha because of brand loyalty to the other two. The real competitor is the manual bike.

The buyer. A typical motorcycle rider is man in his yearly 20’s, with senior high education and working in his own business. Thirty percent of Nuovo riders were female. Safety and maintenance were of concern to women. Buyers were reluctant to buy automatic bikes because the substitute, manuals were perceived to be more powerful and smooth. This misperception and the image of femininity needs to be changed.

Looking at the P’s. The Nuovo could be improved by introducing a smaller body and head lamp. The performance of the bike is sound and it is easy to control. The advantages of an automatic bike should be promoted – ease of use, less maintenance and technical knowledge required.

Buying a motorcycle is a significant investment (three years of income) but Yamaha is much cheaper than manual mopeds. The price difference should be highlighted to potential buyers as it is significant (Manual Moped all over 10x except Kawasaki). The Mio is smaller and cheaper – why limit your market by labeling it as a women’s bike?

Bikes are distributed through dealers,