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Ljm
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 01:06 am: | 
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I think I have mentioned this several times, but outreach to us owners and forging an owner's group would be a great thing. Not only to build a community, but because we have the resources (bikes on the road) to make a showing when needed. For example, if EBR wanted to make a showing at a bike night, having a company rep, and 5 bikes there would be noticeable. And at the end of the day, people want to know how it is from those of us who have them. Carries some weight I think. |
Noone1569
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 08:17 am: |
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So, Dean Hodel, one of the creators of the increasingly popular Bay Area Racing, and a buell owner (turboing an xb right now), posted this up in the 1190 owners group on facebook:
I just worked out a deal with Yahoo Autos, they will be posting some of my content to their website once or twice a week. (weekends at peak hours) I also get decent prices on track rentals as I own a company that hosts track days. How hard would be be to get a group of EBR's together, to make a trip to northern California for a private track day out at thunderhill raceway. I bet we can make an awesome video and the publicity would be huge. Maybe even get 650ib out there with with a few of his high end bikes and get some shots of some heads up drag racing, as well as cool road racing shots. EBR's latest video wasn't exactly doing much for the brand IMO.
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I messaged him and asked if he had spoke to EBR about this as it would be a great opportunity for the brand for some cheap, great marketing.
His reply: "yes, simply a "we have no plans to going to the west coast any time soon" as a response"
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I don't care how you shake it, that's not good. |
Court
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 09:17 am: |
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>>>I don't care how you shake it, that's not good.
Quit your whining and waiting for someone else to write your ticket.
Do it.
In 1995 when Harley-Davidson didn't have a clue . . . . I organized my own 37 state tour . . . hit dealers all over the county and took Buells . . for the first time ever . . to some of the famed riding spots in the USA. I did a radio call in talk spot for 5 minutes 3 days a week called "On the road with Buell" and was in every motorcycle magazine there was. I think I can point to 62 Buell S2 Thunderbolts sold as a result of that trip.
When the folks at Buell found out what I was going to do . . . their response . . "COOL" and they meant it. They didn't have then, nor do they now the resources to send bikes, personnel or money . . but their ain't a damn thing to keep someone from doing it.
I'm trying to keep . . . in my sunset years . . from getting drug in and waiting to see who emerges as the new "face of Buell" . . here's an opportunity.
Court
quote:By John Cerilli Photos by the author.
(c) 1995-1996 Motorcycle Shopper. All Rights Reserved.
Lap of America
The first brief story is an interesting one, not because of the events so much as how it all came to pass. Let me explain. Several months ago, I was "surfing" on CompuServe, and several of us starting chatting with a Buell rider named Court Canfield. Now all of you know what a Buell is. It is the creation of design engineer Erik Buell and is basically a very fast, very solid, very unique sport-touring Harley café-racer. Court lives in Topeka, Kansas and owns construction company. He is a family man, with two teen-age sons. Former Marine and competition gymnast, but more importantly, a motorcycle rider and enthusiast. He started talking about the quality and reliability of his Buell and how they were great sport-touring bikes.
Several weeks of informal "on-line" chatting went by, and then one day, Court started talking about talking a month off and completing a coast-to-coast "Lap of America" on his Buell just to prove how reliable they were. In fact, Court started using "Buell... Lap of America" as his signature when he posted messages. One thing lead to another, and before you knew it, Court was putting together a complete itinerary regarding his trip. The amazing thing is the tremendous support and encouragement that Court received "on-line" to move forward with his journey. Everyone (myself included...) was saying: "Go Court, Go!"
I think the reason most people got excited is that most of us do not have the flexibility to just pick up and do something like this on a spur of the moment. Court was fortunate to have an understanding wife and family, and a business where he could take some time off without a major disaster. It should also be noted that Court was planning on financing this entire adventure out of his own pocket, so there was no hidden agenda on his part. When I finally talked to Court on the phone, he told me that the entire event was started to "snowball." Court even had to get a person just to keep his calendar straight. I promised Court that if he swung through Phoenix, I would suggest a nice hotel to stay at and buy him dinner. I suggested that Court stay at the Crescent Hotel off Interstate I-17 mainly because it was convenient, and was long his trip route. He agreed. More on that later.
The plan was to leave around July 1st from Kenosha, Wisconsin, ride to the east coast, visiting various Harley dealers and supporters along the way, then head for the west coast, with the same theme, then, up the northwest and back east again to Milwaukee, WI, traveling over 10,000 miles in 30-plus days.
Well, true to his word, I did have the privilege of meeting Court Canfield in person, during his brief run through Phoenix. By the time he made it to Phoenix, he had already ridden many hundreds of miles. Most of his experiences revolved around people, and I told Court that it would be the people he met along the way, most of whom he met on CompuServe, that he would remember for years to come. Court agreed, and as a result of his trip, there have been many other opportunities that have surfaced. Many people go through their entire lifetime, and will not experience what Court Canfield has in a mere month. In 1982, I once quit a very good job, and traveled (by motorcycle) around the United States and Canada for over nine months with two other riding buddies. Billed as "The Great Escape Tour", it will a journey I will remember to the grave. Court knew exactly what I was talking about.
Although I have never personally been on a Buell, I have ridden motorcycles on the street for over twenty-five years, so over the dinner that I promised him, we shared a lot experiences and camaraderie. The evening passed quickly, and before long, I had to catch a plane to Ohio. In summary, Court's Buell performed without a hitch, or as he put it: "the bike did not cough the entire trip!" Court is back home now, safe and sound, and planning his next adventure. Erik Buell and company should also be happy. I heard they sold about 21 new Buell's as a result of Court's "Lap of America."
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Hughlysses
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 12:41 pm: |
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I stumbled across this info on Facebook during lunch. It's a response from EBR to someone who asked about dealers in California:
quote:Unquestionably we will be looking to establish dealership representation within reach of you, and will let you know when that is in place. California will be a little bit later than other states because their certification process cannot start until the EPA has granted approval for 49 states.
Based on this, it sure sounds like EBR Motorcycles has not gotten their EPA paperwork straight yet, something we have discussed here several times in recent months. I'm guessing even if EBR had the dealership network ready to go, they wouldn't yet be able to sell motorcycles. |
Davegess
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 12:57 pm: |
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Lots of great ideas here BUT resources are very limited at EBR right now. They are following a plan that I think has a pretty good chance of success. It will be slower and more conservative than many of you might like but remember they have already done the "full speed ahead, dam the torpedoes" routine. Didn't quite work out. This will be along road, hopefully years long, and the first thing you do is to not do too much.
Patience please. |
Zhen13
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 01:47 pm: |
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@court "quit your whining and waiting for someone else to write your ticket and do it"
Certainly did not take what noone1569 was saying as whining. Seemed like he was trying to help, and certainly does not deserve to be put down for it.
Just my 2 cents. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 01:53 pm: |
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"When in doubt, twist the throttle. It may not solve the problem, but it will end the suspense".
We got a taste of "ended suspense". It tasted bad.
I'm ready for a taste of carefully aimed and highly focused action. |
Noone1569
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 01:56 pm: |
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Zhen, most of us "facebooksavy" badwebbers have come to realize that the old timey badwebbers are . . .stuck in their ways.
EBR needs to adapt to the current social media generation. Doing something like Dean suggested would be instrumental in getting positive coverage for EBR, something that is dire need at the moment.
I'm positive doing something like Courts tour with an EBR would be positive marketing option, but no one without a vested interest in EBR is going to fund that out of their pockets. |
Zhen13
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 02:43 pm: |
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@noone1569 Funny you mention Facebook viral marketing. I was recently watching a show about inventors and product development. There was this one particular gentlemen had devolved a small outdoor pod (like a tent only smaller with clear sides) for when he goes to one of his children's sporting events and the weather is bad. It was light and easily collapsed he had it made and it worked exactly as it should. He went to every sporting event in his state he could attend and
attempted to market and sell these and failed
miserably. That was until his wife got involved and
started a Facebook viral marketing campaign. She said
she saw direct correlation between Facebook likes and
shares and sales. The company is now making millions
and can not keep their product in stock. It is being used
for sporting events, Black Friday shoppers, parking lot
attendants.
About a week ago a good friend. Who working in the snowmobile performance parts industry was in Wyoming for an event (hill climb and extreme sledding)
He ran into an industry friend that ran a rental operation out there, who was looking to liquidate his inventory in order to purchase new products. He had 150 2016 Ski Doo REV-XS Grand touring 600cc 4 stroke 2 touring sleds. With an average of 1,500-2,000
miles on them. They are selling for $4,250 ea $4,000 if
you take 2-5, and 3,800 if you take 5 or more (still
available if anyone is interested) They sold over 100
sleds by word of mouth thru Facebook in a week.
So a good Facebook viral marketing campaign can definitely go a long way for zero cost. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 04:17 pm: |
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quote:Zhen, most of us "facebooksavy" badwebbers have come to realize that the old timey badwebbers are . . .stuck in their ways.
Seriously? You are saying the reason Buell, EBR v1, and EBR V2 weren't successful is because they didn't use facebook?
Perhaps its not just a matter of being stuck in our ways. Perhaps there is an element of being able to tell the difference between smoke and fire. |
Noone1569
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 04:26 pm: |
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Sigh, always so argumentative here.
I'd wager a poll to the current demographic of sport bike riders as to how many of them have purchased an issue of cycle world or similar magazine in the last 3, hell maybe 5 years.
I'd bet my EBR on that percentage being significantly lower than it was 10 years ago.
If you could expand your mind beyond being argumentative, I am saying that the "old school" traditional marketing efforts are a lost cause especially with EBRs being priced the same as, or lower, than other litre bikes; those buyers are looking at facebook, are looking at instagram, visiting forums, watching 650ib's youtube videos, they are not picking up motorcycle magazines to make their decisions. But hey, I'm not a marketing guy or a motorcycle manufacture. I'm just a dude that plunked down his cash for an EBR, and I'm just a dude that's very active in "social media" especially constantly promoting EBR. |
Court
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 04:33 pm: |
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My comment was made tongue in cheek.
There has, over the last 3 years, been a lot of sabre rattling .... To date, not a blow landed.
Ryan has stepped up to the plate and put his money where his mouth is. Very few, during the short life of EBR, did that.
Be mindful the "old timers" here have some pretty impressive (www.teamelves.com) accomplishments to their credit.
We can talk about what I do and we can talk about farcebook but........... Until somebody does something, and .... More importantly....someone BUYS a bike .... It means zilch.
EBR had a poor marketing function and a poorer customer service function. There were, regardless of what some think, damn few EBR bikes sold.
Let's hope the instant plan ....weather Erik ....as he pushes 70.... Goes old school or new .... Kicks ass. |
Noone1569
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 04:57 pm: |
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Haha it's all in jest. I'm just getting tired of reading the rantings of people that haven't bought a new buell/ebr in 20 years, the same that can't agree on how ebr should build the mythical ax, but they "sure will buy an ax. These folks apparently know what EBR needs to do to prosper. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 05:24 pm: |
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If you don't like argumentative, don't blindly imply people that have been here a long time are too stupid to understand the value of social media.
The truth is likely the opposite, they understand it's value, but also understand it's limits, and know how it can kill you as fast as it can help you if done badly. And that the use of it (or not) at this point in time has very little to do with the actual immediate problems the company has to overcome.
If I were to design a viral marketing plan, it would have a significant Facebook component, but that's like saying that if I were going to go fix my Ulysses I would use a ratchet.
1) Duh.
2) Why harp on that fact when what is really relevant is figuring out where I can locally source a pair of viton fuel pump o-rings. That's the real problem.
And the *real* insiders here know the huge mistakes that have been made in personal selection and strategic direction in this space over the previous two (may three, Court would have to tell you) iterations of the entity currently known as EBR.
There has been a lot of raw talent (that should never have set foot near the marketing of a motorcycle), a lot of enthusiasm (that came out of "communities" but lacked actual ability to execute reliably), and some good old fashioned snake oil salesmen (complete with sexy accents). It's been a series of rolling disasters. |
Zac4mac
| | Posted on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - 09:28 pm: |
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My take on the last few pages of this thread, all are in agreement that EBR's marketing needs some "adjustments".
Court and Bill are right in their view of the old days when Buell did cutting edge marketing with cutting edge bikes. That's not cutting edge anymore.
The youngsters here are more in tune with the newer modes of "social networking" than, I dare say, some of us older riders. At least I can say for myself.
I can't even keep up with Facebook, much less Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
Whatever EBR does, I sure hope it works to start another 25 years of US innovation.
I only have 4 bikes, I could use another 1 or 2 from Erik's imagination...
Z |
Xb9er
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 12:34 pm: |
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I agree with Court's idea of using the Buell strategy from the mid 90's; it was customer focused, unique, and it worked!
I also feel that social media is a deadly weapon and is not going away AND something that "old folks" will integrate into their lives.
Since I've studied social media, my take on its biggest advantage is the ability for organizations to be transparent. Social media allows organizations to monitor the consumers every move and feedback. Social media is the new open door policy for any business; it allows consumers to voice themselves and allows the business to respond in a one-on-one way.
We all know EBR folks watch this site and sometimes respond in a indirect manner. My advice to the EBR folks is to blunt with your responses and start being responsive in social media channels and other motorcycle enthusiast forums/blogs.
Remember when Bruce was fighting for EBR and was fully transparent with us here? Remember how that felt? It doesn't have to stop there.
Be open. Be unique. Be successful.
(Message edited by XB9er on March 30, 2016) |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 01:03 pm: |
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I assume everyone else is getting these from MOTUS.
Updates on:
- Production
- News articles
- New Dealers
- Demo locations and times
- Etc
If I were EBR I'd do this and improve on it . . . .no one owns the IP to effective communication.
Makes your customers your best sales people. |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 01:09 pm: |
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Chris:
You are on tack in a number of respects.
But . . . .and I am the biggest fan of social media (remind me to tell you someday what I was doing at M.I.T. What we were doing was 10 years ahead of the time and the moment HD saw it they squashed it immediately)
I think you go to far when you get to . . . .
quote:We all know EBR folks watch this site and sometimes respond in a indirect manner. My advice to the EBR folks is to blunt with your responses and start being responsive in social media channels and other motorcycle enthusiast forums/blogs.
Remember when Bruce was fighting for EBR and was fully transparent with us here? Remember how that felt? It doesn't have to stop there.
Buell does NOT watch this site nearly as much as folks think. Responding on social media has lots of high risk/low reward scenarios.
The factory needs to be able to make subjective judgments on some things. Take as example, when I gave a Buell rider a new bike. If we'd had our dialogue . . say on Facebook with 100,000 watching . . what do you think would have followed?
Yeah . . . .
It takes . . . . and I know ya'll are tired of hearing me say the same thing for the last couple year . . . . a detailed PLAN and a detailed PROCEDURE to execute that plan.
Be mindful (and I wrote a long paper on this once) that sometimes . . .what the factory thinks is customer service and what the customer thinks is customer service are widely disparate. |
Reepicheep
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 01:56 pm: |
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Why on earth would EBR participate deeply in any forum that would give folks like Alfau, Dyna, FredFast, and others a voice? They would be inviting all their customers to a well, only to watch it be poisoned. |
Xb9er
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 02:08 pm: |
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Court, you would know better than me how often EBR watches this site and I absolutely agree that responding to social media has high risk.
Perhaps I need to elaborate on the open door comment I made. Some things like giving someone a new bike is something that should be hush hush because I know if saw that on social media I too would be in line haha.
What I was referring to was issues regarding dealer experiences and dealer service. Social media is a place where EBR can identify the person and send them a response to try to resolve the issue and stop the negative word-of-mouth that would follow...try to catch any issue before it exploded.
If old EBR had greater transparency in the past maybe Dan would want to be a dealer for new EBR.
I hope this helps explain my previous post. |
Court
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 02:29 pm: |
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>>>>What I was referring to was issues regarding dealer experiences and dealer service.
Sure you want that?
What would you say this chart would look like if you filled it in?
Customers reporting GREAT dealer experience _______%
Customers reporting TERRIBLE dealer experience ______%
WE kind learned that lesson when Buell, the first motorcycle company to ever have a website, also had an "owners talk back" function for about 6 days back in 1994.
The first recall (the fairing falling off) sent the discussion into a whirlwind and it was quickly shut down. (Funny note . . the HD guy who said . . "what, they can talk back?"
LESSON: Control the message.
EXAMPLE: Check out the Gibson guitar online owners comment forums . . folks are brutal to Gibson . . . .a once great guitar company that's headed down fast. |
Steveford
| | Posted on Wednesday, March 30, 2016 - 07:48 pm: |
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Hey, it's not our fault they're using fake ebony! |
Xb9er
| | Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2016 - 07:36 am: |
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If a customer has a good experience they may or may not talk about it. If a customer has a bad experience they will talk about it. It would be nice to be able to expose that EBR is willing to correct the issue for everyone to see. That its self could sway a possible purchase to a definite purchase. |
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