YAMAHA MIO: WHEN A MOTORCYCLE ACQUIRES A ‘GENDER’

On October 2006, Bambang Asmarabudi, General Manager of Marketing and Promotion of Yamaha Motor Kencana Indonesia (YMKI), was irritated as he and his team would face Mid-Year meeting the next day.

The fact that only ten to thirteen percent of these female inhabitants were motorcyclists made very large open market for prospective female consumer. From the supplier side, it seemed manufacturers were aware of the fact, but they were unsure of this female market prospect.

Although the sales unit sales grew from 2003 to 2006, Bambang was irritated by the reality that Yamaha Mio was not bought by women as target market. He wondered if he and his team should make adjustments to the marketing strategy facing this unexpected trend.