Organisations performance has to be measured based on the laid down standards. When the intended performance is not achieved therefore the managers, have to undertake a situation analysis to be able to identify the causes of these deviations. A SWOT analysis is a measurement tool which enables the business to identify the factors affecting its operation. Through analysing its strength, an organisation can be able to identify factors that have influenced its successful operations. The strengths of an organisation also give it a competitive advantage in the marketplace.
Through identification of the operational weaknesses, the organisation can know factors that are causing poor performance and therefore can work on coming up with ways of reducing their weaknesses. Weaknesses can also be handled through coming up with ways of reducing the competitor’s competitive advantages. Identification of the organisation's opportunities will enable the organisation to come up with preparedness strategies. The organisation will develop strategies which enable it to effectively take up the opportunities and maximise on the returns from such opportunities.
Through prior identification of these opportunities, the organisation will be able to invest in preparedness for the same. The organisation, in this case, can improve its production capacity to cater for future opportunities. Understanding future threats to the organization operations will enable the organization to work to either avert the threats or reduce the impacts of those threats. A SWOT analysis, therefore, enables an organisation to analyses all the aspects influencing or even hindering the organisation's success.
Fitbit’s SWOT analysis
STRENGTHS
Collaboration with other companies
Compatibility of the device with others
Trendiness.
First to get in the market.
WEAKNESSES.
Brand awareness
Consumer confidence
OPPORTUNITIES.
Device development to enhance customisation
Venturing in the health sector
THREATS
Stiff competitions.
Changes in technology
Fig 1.0 Fitbit Swot analysis source researcher’s compilation.
The following is the SWOT analysis of Fitbit based on the case study.
Strengths.
Fitbits enjoys many strengths which have enabled it to survive the stiff competition witnessed in the technology sector. These include being trendy- under this, the organisation is progressive with time which enables it to survive in the marketplace. The organisation, for instance, has advanced into the health sector, under this sector the organisation will become the first to become a digital health company. The organisation also boasts of having motivated leaders who also have technical skills which gives them a competitive advantage since they cannot lose their skills to competitors. The organisation devices are also highly compatible with other devices. Due to this, the organisation has collaborated with Dexcom smartwatches to include the newly developed glucose monitor device within the device. Through this approach, the device will not only be sold to the Fitbit customers but also Dexcom customers. Under this approach, the organisation will be able to increase their customer base. The company was the first of its kind to be developed due to this. Therefore, it was able to acquire a large market base before the competitors could set in.
Weaknesses
Despite the organisation having various operational strengths it also suffers from some few weaknesses. The brand awareness of Fitbit is lower when it is compared to its immediate competitors such as Apple. Apple has a strong brand than Fitbit due to this; Apple offers stiff competition to the organisation despite its late entry into smartwatch business. Due to this, therefore, consumers will tend to buy more from the known brand than from Fitbit which thus affects the organisation operations. Apple's loyal customers who were using Fitbit product may shift to their reliable brand.
Opportunities.
The organisation has some future opportunities which can enable it to revive its operational success. These opportunities include issues like; device development and customisation. The consumers are interested in products which not only monitors their exercises but offers more insights on how to engage in quality exercises. The organisation should, therefore, develop their devices to include the guidelines which should be followed by their users to facilitate their exercises. Another opportunity is exploiting the potential accrued from being from engaging in the health sector. The organisation will be the first to venture into the health sector with such an offer. The organisation can, therefore, exploit the opportunity fully before the entry of competitors.
Threats
The main threat to Fitbit operations is stiff competition from the other players in the technology world offering the same product. Competitors such as Apple have entered the smartwatch sector offering more advanced products. Due to high brand awareness enjoyed by their competitor, Fitbit must act strategically to avoid being pushed out the market by competitors. The organisation also suffers the threat of technological change. The changes in technology have become a norm with no specific duration provided for a given technology to become outdated. Due to this, therefore, the newly developed products may become outdated sooner than anticipated time making the organisation suffer loss.
Recommendations
Fitbit currently suffers from heavy competition to survive this. Therefore, strategic approaches must be devised to survive the stiff competition. The customers currently are not interested in just having an exercise monitor, but they are interested in having a device that can help them with guidelines for effective exercising. The organisation should, therefore, develop a product that matches these requirements from the case study, it's clear that the organisation fails in undertaking marketing research. The organisation must, therefore, intensify its marketing research to be able to identify customer needs and meet them accordingly.
