Business Studies

I need both the internal and external situation analysis of Crossfit at the Crossroads for my strategic management course.

ANSWER

Situational Analysis: CrossFit

Situational Analysis: CrossFit

Introduction

CrossFit was started by Greg Glassman and Lauren Jenai in 2000. It is a workout regimen that provides users with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) routines (CrossFit, n.d.). While this form of fitness is not new across the world, CrossFit was the first to go to the global scene (Ozanian, 2015). It is a unique form of business that is characterized by innovation and its ability to captivate people. Traditional gym users often criticize the innovative workouts that the regimen offers, but that controversy plays a key role in sparking the interest of millions of people across the world (Ozanian, 2015). CrossFit finds itself at the crossroads with increasing competition and changes in consumer trends. In this paper, an analysis of the internal and external factors for CrossFit is presented to understand the business environment.

Internal Factors

Personnel and staffing are an internal factor that needs to be addressed by the company. Personnel can make the business fail or succeed. CrossFit needs to be aware of all potential issues with its staff and hire quality employees to ensure high productivity. Trainers and coaches need to be reputable and experienced. They also need to have appropriate certification. The company has innovative and experienced trainers, making personnel a key strength in its operations (CrossFit, n.d.).

The operating hours are an internal factor that needs to be considered. In the fitness industry, operating hours are very sporadic. Most customers have jobs and regular hours are a slow time for fitness businesses. CrossFit needs to have flexible working hours and be willing to change them to ensure adequate participation in programs. If the business is not open when customers are available for workouts, the customers will look for different gyms. Flexible workout session times are one of the strengths that the company enjoys.

CrossFit and all its affiliates also need to address innovation, an internal factor by which the business was founded and found market across the world. To remain a leader in the industry, the business needs to ensure continuous improvement of workouts and innovative movements. This way, customers will not lose interest and move to other companies. With increasing competition from other companies, the company needs to come up with more innovative workouts and hire new talent to revamp workout routines.

External Factors

Competition is an important external factor for any business. CrossFit has no control over this factor but must monitor and stay prepared to address it all the time. The fitness industry is booming, with increased health and fitness awareness. Competition is high and the company must develop ways of staying ahead of the competitors.

Disposable income of customers is another external factor that the business must be aware of. Fitness is a luxury to some customers but a requirement to others. The state and performance of the economy determine the level of disposable income that people have. Lesser disposable income will result in a decrease in the number of CrossFit customers. The company must conduct regular monitoring of the economy to determine when there is a need to scale back to minimize losses when fewer customers are expected.

The customers are also an important external factor. Customer motivation determines whether the business will perform well or not. CrossFit must keep devising ways to keep customers motivated to workout while attracting potential customers to increase revenues. The company needs to take advantage of existing opportunities such as the internet and social media to capture a wider market and provide workout sessions to its clients.

Conclusion

The internal factors for CrossFit are personnel and staffing, operating hours, and innovation. The external factors include competition, customers, and disposable income (economic factors). These factors can be broken down into strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, as shown in the figure below.

References

CrossFit (n.d.). What Is CrossFit? https://www.crossfit.com/what-is-crossfit.

Ozanian, M. (2015, February 25). How CrossFit Became A $4 Billion Brand. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2015/02/25/how-crossfit-became-a-4-billion-brand/#3b8ecb6d1f96.