Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms What to be sold in the Morgan shop

Surely the whole concept of Morgan is that it is not in the modern world!

Astute comment.....not an easy nut to crack I'm sure....and maybe the customer base really is more diverse than I thought....but like so many things in life all you have to do is make a decision on your target and then focus your energy and effort in that area. IME trying to do too many things at once usually spreads your resources too thinly and risks doing nothing particularly well. But as a man I am not particularly good at multi-tasking anyway!

That's the challenge, isn't it? They may not be 'of' the modern world, espousing as they do traditions of craftsmanship that come from the 19th century, but when it comes to commercial survival they are most assuredly 'in' the modern world, and have to compete in a tiny marketplace.

Their products cost a great deal to manufacture, and so they have got to find some way of appealing to relatively wealthy buyers. That has got to mean moving their image upmarket.

Personally I think establishing the Morgan brand as one of those iconic luxury manufacturers like Purdey or whatever is about their only chance.

I agree with you Tim, but can't help wondering whether the product and after sales are good enough for a company that has aspirations to be a luxury manufacturer.
The people with large disposable income may be far less tolerant of the Morgan foibles and moving into the add-ons prematurely could cause enormous long term brand damage.

Many wise words from the collective here. IMHO you only have to look at Ferrari for a workable marketing model.
I love Ferraris and everything about them but, by golly , don't they push out a load of old cr*p. If you visit a Ferrari store like the one in Regent St you are surrounded by all manner of badged stuff but a second look around and you will notice many young people buying into the Ferrari "lifestyle" experience if only with a wallet or plastic car. This must add to the company coffers and hopefully as these young people get into well paid jobs they will go and buy a car.
Morgan need to get their quality top draw and as perfect as possible given the nature of the construction then reduce the numbers built to be just below demand. They should then strive to position their selves such that the cars become a very desirable ownership proposition with the young and wealthy driving them up and down the Kings Road because they are proud of what they have achieved.
I feel that there will always be a number of ladies and gentlemen like TMer's who will buy the cars as they are because we just love them just as they are, it's the new customers the company needs.
Look at me pontificating as if I know anything, it's because it's sold cold outside!!

Peter,

I had no idea that that was one of the reasons you stood down.....

I don't think many would disagree with your comment about the need to help MMC make money....but I do think that it is important that it should not just be 'anything', it should be focused on that which shows MMC as a top quality product with heritage (or whatever words you wish to use to describe Morgan). That starts with the main product....the cars....maybe an association of enthusiasts (a club)....and if necessary a forum and newsletter/magazine that links it all together. Get those three things right from the start and you have a base on which to build.

From what I have seen, the annual MOG gatherings are perhaps more representative of Morgan Owners than anything I have seen in the MOG Magazine or Morgan's Accessory Brochures. Perhaps MMC are deliberately targetting new markets and a new type of customer? No harm in trying that if there is a perceived benefit to the company (and if it does not alienate the existing customer base). Perhaps that's where the money is nowadays? If so, MMC may wish to consider revising the front suspension on the trads so that no one will have to know how to operate a grease gun! Or perhaps the new customers will have a 'man' to do that for them?

Building brand awareness is clearly a good thing, but only if the new associations reflect the image that the brand itself espouses. Get the cars right from the outset, deliver outstanding customer support, enjoy the two way loyalty that results and everything else should fall in place.

Off to trim my beard....

Couldn't agree with you more. There's a phrase we use a lot when we're talking to business clients about their strategy: "Do the Basics Brilliantly". Absolute corenerstone to get right before you start trying the fancy stuff...

Might apply to HD Howard, but not to the other brand Steve mentioned - I've owned both and found Triumph to be very well engineered and finished.
Wish my Harley had matched it... It cost a heck of a lot more

Partly a test post to see if I'm "live" as I'm a rare visitor to this excellent site but really old chap, "Harleys are such crap motorcycles" !! I often say they are the motorcycling equivalent of a Morgan, a niche within their sector, a marmite choice. "Sacrificed engineering in favour of image", you could say that about Morgans, not exactly cutting edge are they lets face it but thats why we love em and the same with Harley's although now they are far from being the agricultural tool of perception, people buy Harleys precisely because of the iconic V twin engine and sound and Harley have been very careful not to muck about too much with it and thus miff off their massive customer base. Harleys image was not created by Harley, it was created by their original customers way back who where modifying and customizing them, it was Harley who recognised this and then started marketing it with their own factory customs, the rest is history. They also have the best residual values of any motorcycling make. Not all Harley riders are weekend Hells Angels, bit like saying all BMW riders are pipe smoking IAM members ( certainly the image 20 years ago ), same could be said of sports bike riders who ride around looking like Valentino Rossi but hey, we're all marketing victims to some degree, I can't believe an element of our Morgan purchase choice was'nt in part a perceived imaged. By the way I speak as a BMW S1000R and 1981 Harley Shovelhead owner amongst others. Other than that, I tend to agree that the world is morphing into a vacuous image, selfie obsessed nightmare but manufacturers need to cultivate newer, younger customers for their brands to survive and this is the new way whether we approve or not, it ain't going away !