CAREER CONNECTION: Final Strategic Plan

Conceptualizing a New Product or Service Division of an Existing Business

Erika Cisneros

05/02/2016

Garold Cole

Business Model and Strategic Plan Part I:

Innovation is a necessity for growth, and companies that have a sound business model with creativity in its vision, mission, and values will be consistently successful. Always Fitness is a company that fits the description of the prior sentence, and they constantly find ways to innovate their business model, which is based on providing a gym membership that is convenient, affordable, and fun for its customers. This paper will explain the importance of innovation, and present a business model the new division of personal online training for Always Fitness.

New Product or Service

The new service for Always Fitness is personal online training service where members who are not afforded the time to participate in training or the other various groups, whether because of personal reasons, professional reasons, and health reasons. This program would provide members with a work out tailor made for their physical and mental needs. The program includes a personal virtual trainer, a smart wristband that assesses the vitals of the member body, and a scale to track their weight to determine what exercises are needed for the member.

Mission Statement

At Always Fitness, our goal is offer convenient, affordable, and fun options to our members to help maintain their health both physically and mentally. Our mission is to inspire people to strive for a healthy life style, and to provide them with many avenues that will help them achieve their desire to excise no matter what situation occur in your life.

Product or Service Differential

Always Fitness has many online tools such as activity tracker, diet tracker, exercise blogs, and food logs. However this service is unlike any online service any gym has ever had because this online program possess the technology that can decide the right exercise for an individual, monitor their performance and track their body limits to determine when breaks are needed, and has the artificial intelligence to motivate the member based on the personality questionnaire the member completes prior to the first work out session. A member can have access to the program settings, so they can adjust the virtual personal trainer to their expectations at any time. This program also has safety features with the smart wristband with health monitoring functions, nutrition tracking technology, and an alert button (in case of injury or home invasion).

Customer Needs and Competitive Advantages

In today’s society and economy, the saying “time is money” has never been truer. Ten years ago it was normal for a person to have a job, but now it is abnormal to not have more than one job. With people having less time to do things that will help them live a healthy life, life spans are getting shorter while list of people dying from unhealthy diseases is getting longer. It is proven that the best way to stay healthy is to exercise, however many people cannot fit their schedule around work out activities if they want to live. This is why the online personal trainer program cab be a pivotal life changer for those who desire a healthy lifestyle without the time to actively pursue it. Some individuals do not have the drive to work out even if a gym was in their house, but for the many people who cannot muster enough energy during their few and far between days off to travel gym this program can be what they need to get their health on track.

There is no program like the virtual personal trainer, and it is difficult program to replicate. The main competitive advantage Always Fitness gain from this new division is its convenience because members can choose to work out from their home, which mean no need to get all dress up, seeing as the instructor is a virtual character. Members that work out at the gym, but they would like a plan in place if something comes up and causes them to miss their session can benefit from this program as well. The convenience of this service tying in with the fact the gym locations staying open 24/7 creates a significant competitive advantage.

Vision

The vision for online personal training is to inspire people to live a healthy lifestyle by providing them with the best opportunity to achieve this goal without consumers having to rearrange theirs drastically. The purpose of the virtual personal trainer is to provide consumers with the experience of working out with personal trainers in the comfort of their home. No longer, do people have to go to traffic, get all dressed up, and most importantly go through rigorous planning just to attend the gym. Instead of a mother finding a babysitter, they put on a kids show to keep the children entertained while working out.

Business Model

Business: Always Fitness gym locations are open 24 hours a day seven days a week, and provide products and services that are convenient, affordable, and fun for its customers.

New Division Idea: The new division is a personal online training service for members who are not afforded the time to participate in training or the other various groups at physical locations.

Customers: Customers that would be interests in this program are business men and women in the corporate sector, middle class working families, and members that would like the service just in case they are not able to make it to a personal training session.

Market: There are online training programs, but none of this magnitude. Many of these only online programs come with pre made work outs for customers, whereas the virtual online training is determined by the information gather from the smart wristband and scale, and the exercises need to achieve or maintain maximum health will be determined by the results of the information recorded.

Product/Service: There are other companies that have similar programs like the company Optimum Body, but they do not possess the vast features that virtual online service possess like having a virtual online trainer (no need to get all dressed up, and clean up room before session), the exercises are determined by the health of your body not the trainer like the other companies, and this service come artificial intelligence that have incredible safety features and other benefits.

Valuation: Optimum Body programs range from $70 to $129 depending on duration of the program, but Optimum is an online-based company, which limits them in innovating prices ("Optimum Body, Llc", 2015). 

Always Fitness has gym locations in North America, Canada, and South America, which allow the company room for flexibility and innovation in price setting. Always Fitness can charge $34 a month just for the program itself or lessen the cost for members that will like to include the program in their membership package. Businessmen and women in the corporate sector, middle class working families, and members that would like the service (just in case they are not able to make it to a personal training session), would purchase this service.

Financial Analysis: With equipment needed such as smart wristband, digital scale, and the artificial intelligent software; the estimated investment of these products and services can be in a range from $10 million or more.

Marketing Plan: A market analysis was conducted, to which Information was collected about the new division, the completion was analyzed, and the customer expectations of the service were researched. The market analysis reveals that marketing this service on websites that are heavily populated with consumers looking to discover new information such as Google and Yahoo, and also targeting popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Competition: One of Always Fitness main competitors is Optimum Body, which do not have much in common with Always Fitness program except for the programs that are offered. However, there are many differences between them. Optimum uses live personal trainers, whereas the virtual online program uses virtual characters. Optimum do not have the artificial intelligence technology that Always have, and Optimum determine the exercises for the customer, whereas the virtual technology determine what the person need by collecting data from their body electronically.

Risk: Always Fitness faces a risk / reward chance in this situation because there is a lot of money that is required to support this project, and there no guarantee that it service will succeed. If the service does succeed, there is also a risk that more members will want the program more than attending a physical location, which can affect the company cash flow negatively.

Mission and Vision Alignment

Always Fitness Mission is to help members achieve their wellness goals, open affordable, welcoming, and conveniently-locations in new neighborhoods, and help franchise owners achieve a balanced lifestyle while still owning a thriving business ("Always Fitness", 2014).  The mission statement of the virtual online personal training is closely aligned with the main body’s statement of offering convenient, affordable, and fun options to our members to help maintain their health both physically and mentally.

Summary of Vision, Mission, and Values

The vision, mission, and values has been strategic infused in the creation of the virtual online personal training program because the main is to help members meet their goal of wellness in a convenient and exciting manner, and the online virtual training is yet another method that members can use to achieve their objectives.

Guiding Principles and Values

The principles of this division have been mention earlier in the paper because the principles and values derive from the company mission statement and are the same three words that are specified in the division mission statement. The guiding principles of the division are convenient, affordable, and fun. The division will provide consumers with schedule flexibility, at an affordable cost, and be an exciting new experience.

Conclusion

It is imperative to a business success that they have a sound vision, mission, and values in place to create a formidable business model for every division that make up the company. This paper serves as an example of the time and dedication that a company has to apply to become successful.

References

Scheid, J., & Richter, L. (2013, September). Basic Sample of a Business Model Template. , (), . Retrieved from http://www.brighthub.com/office/entrepreneurs/articles/98506.aspx

ALWAYS FITNESS. (2015). Retrieved from http://Alwaysfitness.com/

MissionStatements.com. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.missionstatements.com/

Optimum Body, LLC. (2015). Retrieved from http://www.optimumbody.com/virtual-on-line-personal-training-programs/