[Harp-L] re: Hohner myths and realities

[JohnnieHarp <johnnieharp@xxxxxxxxx>]

> I would agree entirely. But, what it most certainly
> doesn't imply is that people are fixing the harps
> themselves rather than return them, a had been
> suggested

Would depend on the nature of the problem and the expertise of the
purchaser ... a pain to have to mail it back and then wait for a
replacement as probably bought based on an immediate need or desire
... if can be fixed via simple reed realignment, embossing, reed
shaping, coverplate dimension manipulation, etc. why not do so? ...
likely take 5 minutes from start to finish ... Any non-easily dealt
with issues likely discernible during bellows testing ...

OH YEAH, Hohner doesn't encourage BELLOWS TESTING anymore, do they ...
or is it OK to remove harp after harp from their blister packs
in-store, bellows it and keeping going until a satisfactory harp is
located?

What are the sales staff's views? Perhaps blister packing will work
better at the store level? Thoughts?


> The main point of my reply was to try and remind
> people that harp-l is only a very small portion of
> the harmonica world, and those who post a small
> subset of harp-l.

True ... yet likely a statistically relevant sample size and user
group demographic ... very sophisticated and experienced in terms of
product knowledge, competitive products, perspective, musical
stylings, performance experience, etc ... seeded with acknowledged
experts in the field that are for the most part, untied to
manufacturers, often sophisticated and experienced business-involved
people otherwise,

In fact, can anyone think of a better, readily accessible, engaged
group of customers to pay attention too than us?

A better question might be “Why haven't the harmonica companies been
much more proactive in soliciting our collective input?”

Anyone out there ever been asked to participate in a user focus group?
When? What about? Was it a positive experience?


> Still, from a corporate perspective it's hard to think
> you need to change what you're doing product quality-
> wise when the overwhelming majority of sales go
> smoothly and without any apparent problems.

Depends on your position in the market and your view on your best
choice of competitive strategy ... Rupert Oysler clearly stated
Seydels earlier this week ...

Hohner, the market leader in a mature market, can afford to be a
follower BUT to preserve its market share when challenged, it must use
their hammer which is to be able to compete on price ... sell a bit
cheaper than anyone else ... and it is THIS, that Hohner appears to be
foregoing ... To price wildly high of what we see in street level
pricing suggests a disconnect with reality ...

That being said, given the highly competitive nature of the retail
environment and the numerous high quality comparable products, we'll
take care of the pricing ourselves through our market purchases and
the resulting market dynamic ... just seems to me that Hohner is
fumbling the ball here so their ongoing sensitivity to market
conditions is in doubt ...

Would anyone out their object to Suzuki taking over the dominant
market share position? What problems for the consumer might you see
arising?