Manufacturer Representation in Forum

The number of active members on this website is really impressive. What an amazing feedback group/focus group we could be if an official Honda liaison person became involved.

Perhaps we may even be able to influence the future development of the VFR instead of grizzling about each new model and the missed opportunities each time.

So this is a question to the VFRD management, have you ever invited Honda to participate directly in the forum? If not, what do you think of the idea?

Cheers

Joe

good idea, but we are a tiny fraction of honda consumers and we already get the point. Companies want to get new customers involved.

I can see the response letter now...

"Dear Mr, VFRD,

Thank you, ....no.

Regards, Mr. Honda Suit Guy"

[image: View Post]MadMax, on 13 November 2010 - 11:09 PM, said:

So this is a question to the VFRD management, have you ever invited Honda to participate directly in the forum? If not, what do you think of the idea?


Okay, so I'm not VFRD management, but yes it's an excellent idea. Then again who says the honourable Honda-san isn't already secretly involved/watching anyway :ph34r:

At the very least tho, I reckon it would be great if the company allocated one of their senior design engineers to us for a couple of days in the form of a 'rock-star' appearance on VFRD.

Even then I wonder about whether they'd get too 'down-and-dirty' about their thinking behind each design/model decision that they're making - but you never know!

It's always a good idea for companies to listen to the end users. At the same time companies have to be careful as not to design by committee (by proxy). Most blockbuster movies suck because they are tested and often re-edited based on audience response. Focus groups come up with horrible car designs. So even though listening to the market is good I'd rather see a select group with vision and know-how make the final decisions i.e. Apple Computer.

I think it would be sweet, but I don't think it would do very much. I think after a day they might get a little annoyed with people complaining or what have you. Or maybe just overwhelmed with all the replies. Besides, I have a feeling someone pays attention to this forum already.

Companies do read the forums. The one forum that I'm on with the new generation of Power Wagons ('05 thru '10) has an Mopar engineer that pops on. We know who it is by the questions he asks. And he invited some of us to Moab this past March to be apart of their thing for the Easter Jeep thing. But we already had plans for our get together there in June.

When I owned a V-Rod, even Willie G. was a forum member at the V-Rod forum and exchanged messages for awhile. Then I think he saw it didn't really lead anywhere, and that it was probably best to just browse the sentiments/experiences of owners, but not have an active presence. To be sure, the motorcycle makes definitely have people visiting and reading related forums.

The Ducati communities have an active presence from leading dealers.

Won't help, really, Honda just dictates what we get anyway, no matter what we say here. Since I got my VFR in 95, I never really saw Honda even get close to the target of what the majority of VFR owners were wishing for the next generations, and it won't change anytime soon. :happy:
rankly, I think the product/customer disconnect started and got worse after Soichiro died.

Beck
95 VFR

lets be honest if we all got to add something to the list of what we wanted from honda, they would build a bike no one could afford.

Most manufacturers (bike and aftermarket gear) understand that the internet is a double-edged sword, and while they potentially stand to improve business (profit) by engaging at a street level, the downsides tend to far outweigh the benefits - loud internet know-alls, the tendency for discussion to focus on negatives rather than positives, and the general lack of knowledge of punters (potential customers) all make it hard for a company to maintain a constructive presence in internet forums.

Having said that, I'm sure the smarter companys have people in R&D and Marketing who take a look at what's going on in forum-land, but they know better than to come out and start asking questions.

There is alot of companies that have their own forums out there. Like I said, the Power Wagon forum I'm on, has a Mopar engineer that comes on, asking questions. And we have alot of aftermarket companies asking questions about new products. These are the same companies that sponor the site. Unlike here, that has no sponorship. We just had a company from down under make us hi-intake snorkels for off-road use. A couple of the guys was Beta testing for computer up-grades for one company. They come into the forum and asked if anybody would do some Beta testing. But they wanted only people who live close by them.

They're here, you may or may not see them, but they are here reading.

:+1: Timmythecop.

[image: View Post]RustyA, on 14 November 2010 - 11:00 AM, said:

The one forum that I'm on with the new generation of Power Wagons ('05 thru '10) has an Mopar engineer that pops on. We know who it is by the questions he asks. And he invited some of us to Moab this past ......

So I only got one question to ask Rusty: When's YOURS comin' in? :laughing6-hehe: :bliss: :goofy: :laugh: :warranty:

[

Quote

A couple of the guys was Beta testing

I hope you didn't get sucked in on that one....... :ohmy:
I'm pretty sure they chose VHS format instead. :491: :rolleyes:

Greg :fing02:

[image: View Post]Veefer Madness, on 15 November 2010 - 03:02 PM, said:

[image: View Post]RustyA, on 14 November 2010 - 11:00 AM, said:

The one forum that I'm on with the new generation of Power Wagons ('05 thru '10) has an Mopar engineer that pops on. We know who it is by the questions he asks. And he invited some of us to Moab this past ......

So I only got one question to ask Rusty: When's YOURS comin' in? :laughing6-hehe: :bliss: :goofy: :laugh: :warranty:

[

Quote

A couple of the guys was Beta testing

I hope you didn't get sucked in on that one....... :ohmy:
I'm pretty sure they chose VHS format instead. :491: :rolleyes:

Greg :fing02:

May 1000 camel spiders make a home on your ball sack. :goofy:

It came in and went out.

Moab, June 2010.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i277/russandler/Power%20Wagon/IMG_0692.jpg