Strategic Analysis of Tough Mudder: Case Study and Recommendations

This case study analyzes the business strategy of Tough Mudder Inc., examining its approach to the endurance sports market. The report delves into Tough Mudder's strategy, emphasizing its focus on creating a unique experience through team coordination and challenging obstacles. It assesses the company's position within the competitive business environment, highlighting key competitors like Spartan Races and Warrior Dash, and the importance of innovation and customer engagement. The study identifies key priorities for CEO Will Dean, including competitor analysis, customer feedback, and continuous innovation, particularly through social media. Recommendations are provided to enhance the company's strategy, such as expanding market presence and developing unique barriers. The analysis underscores the importance of leadership, innovation, and strategic planning in the company's success, emphasizing the need for constant adaptation and customer focus.

Case Study Questions

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
Q1) Strategy and Tough Mudder's strategy................................................................................1
Q2) Assessment of strategy within the business environment....................................................2
Q3) Key priorities to be attended by Will Dean.........................................................................3
Q4) Recommendations................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Business strategy defines the procedures and methodologies which head of the company
shall follow to achieve respective aims and objectives. Tough Mudder one of the renowned
endurance sport mud run has to be functional as per a well-defined strategy (FAQs, 2017). In this
report, the current strategy used by Tough Mudder Inc. and its current working with regards to
the business environment will be depicted. Further, there are some suggestions provided to Will
Dean for the strategy proposed by him.
Q1) Strategy and Tough Mudder's strategy
A well-structured plan which involves clear description of the actions and decisions that
need to be implemented for attaining a strong position in respective field is known as strategy
(Grant, 2016). These are mainly focused over accomplishment of long term or short term goals,
depending on the needs of company. Tough Mudder was founded in 2010 by Will Dean and Guy
Livingston. As per the definition of strategy, Tough Mudder's strategy was to develop such an
image of the company that the mud run organised becomes the toughest of them all. Obstacle
races had been less popular until 1970s after the launch of wide varieties of battles races apart
from marathons and triathlons (FAQs, 2017). The major focus of Tough Mudder was to create a
strong position in the market within endurance sports through effective leadership.
The company decided to modify the types of sports being classified under the endurance
events category. Major attribute of the strategy of this company includes development of a sport
which is includes the psychological aspects related with all other products like marathons,
triathlons, spartan races, etc. Tough Mudder's strategy was to devise an event that is not bounded
by time but is based on team coordination and has difficulties of highest level i.e. next to military
style training (The Way I Work: Will Dean, Tough Mudder, 2017). Further, a pledge had been
designed to be undertaken by the participants before starting the race is a unique aspect when
comparing with competitor strategies.
A major component of Tough Mudder's strategy is active participation with audiences
through Facebook. It is quite evident that modern day customers and sports enthusiasts are
connected with each other through social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
This opportunity has been very well addressed by the company with utmost involvement through
Facebook as the prime medium (Vlahos, 2014). Moreover, organisation does believe in
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partnerships with associated organisations so that growth is stable and market momentum is
cached quite quickly. Wounded Warriors Project is one of the key partnerships in which Tough
Mudder is involved. It is a strategic step to create an image of strong brand which adores courage
and resilience. Furthermore, the company strives to expand its product range on a regular basis
so that customers do not withdraw themselves from participation due to repetitive events (John
and Park, 2016).
The company- Tough Mudder aims to grab attention of every individual that has some
interest in adventure and endurance sports through its marketing campaigns on online platforms
and print media (Eichner, 2014). Tough Mudder has positioned its products according to the
attributes of other events which are organised by rival companies. Triathlons and marathons were
considered for the creating of mud runs by the company. Further, the specific characteristics of
this company's products include development of enthusiasm, exhaustion and creating a unique
experience. Hence, it is quite classified that company's product are exclusively for making an
individual have an experience of once in a life time (Weedon, 2015).
Q2) Assessment of strategy within the business environment
An idea about the position of a company is acquired when knowledge regarding the
functioning in present business environment is gained. Tough Mudder is a part of endurance
sports market (Webborn and et. al., 2015). The business environment comprises of factors which
include political, economic, social and technological components in the external premise and
employees, suppliers or the shareholders are the part of internal environment. Every business
organisation gets affected by all these components in some way or the other. Endurance sports
includes situations which can be threatening to the life of participants as well as the employees
that are organising the event. Despite of this fact, Tough Mudder is functioning strategically well
with cooperation from suppliers and employees (Lamb and Hillman, 2015). But there is a need to
keep track of the motivation and satisfaction levels of these stakeholders so that functioning of
organisation is not hindered.
Following key facts depict the strategic position of Tough Mudder in the current business
environment:
 Internal resources are efficiently managed by the company in such a way that there is no
hindrance or barrier experienced during the execution of respective strategy. The
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employees are quite motivated and satisfied with the working environment of Tough
Mudder.
 Major competitors of Tough Mudder include Spartan Races and Warrior Dash which are
organised by Joe De Sena and Red Frog Events LLC respectively. These two events are
providing neck to neck competition to the company which signifies a need to innovate
products on a regular basis. Despite of this fact, in 2015, the company was able to reach
out competition with Spartan Races which signifies efficient working and strong position
in the markets (Meloy, 2014).
 There is clear definition of goals and objectives within the organisation which indicates
functioning in the right direction. Will Dean the chief executing officer of this
organisation has communicated these goals and mission of the company to its employees
and also to the customers through efficient marketing strategy.
 The races and endurance events organised by other companies are focused on tasks which
are provided to only single individual. However, Tough Mudder provides activities that
are more focused on team building and active participation of every person involved.
This is a unique selling protocol for the organisation (Sabherwal, Hirschheim and Goles,
2013).
 There is lack of deeper impact from political or economical changes which take place in
the country unless purchasing power of customers is not hampered.
 The risk of injuries and psychological consequences makes this type of sport event less
acceptable amongst the social communities and societies. But individuals that have deep
interest in adventure sports do not get affected by such facts which is beneficial for the
company.
 Current working in the markets is facilitated with rigorous use of social media which is a
positive attribute for the company.
Q3) Key priorities to be attended by Will Dean
Tough Mudder aims to build a strategic position which is withheld by efficient leadership
of Will Dean. In order to make the company one of the global leaders in the mud runs industry,
some of the elements or attributes have to be considered amongst the top priorities by the owner
of the company i.e. Will Dean. Keeping a close eye over competitor's strategies and experiments
is an essential component of strategic working for the leader so that company gains competitive
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advantage in the current operational markets (Agrawal, 2016). Often there are situations when
competitors overtake the strategic position of organisation with swift movements and solutions
that attract majority customers. This typical competitive atmosphere is tackled when regular
competitor analysis is performed by Tough Mudder.
Once an individual or team has participated in one of the events of Tough Mudder, it
should be in the adjourning process of company to acquire respective feedback over the
participative event. This helps in getting an insight regarding actual status of current strategy and
brings scope for innovation (Verbeke, 2013). Will Dean must modify company's current system
of acquiring customer response and create a technique that helps in getting on-sight observations.
Since, Facebook had been the pre-dominant mode of interaction of the company with clients and
customers; response from this platform helps in understanding the spirits and experiences of
participants.
Another activity which should be amongst the top most priorities of Tough Mudder is
innovation. It is quite a usual phenomena that participants get bored from products and services
after once or twice. When companies bring in innovation within their products and services, then
larger scope of customer retention and attraction is achieved. Similarly, Tough Mudder's focus is
to bring in a mud run which has barriers and hurdles that are toughest to crack down and keep on
changing without creating a monotonous flow (Meloy, 2014). Moreover, there is continuous
research and development in designing of obstacles with help of the response that is acquired by
customers.
The social media is a great tool to enhance market representation and brand recognition
amongst the potential customer base. The amount of traffic diverting towards Tough Mudder's
website depicts the extent upto which customers are actively supporting and participating with
the company. The brand leadership can be expanded to international aspects through use of print
media and other customer polls which take place on the internet (The Way I Work: Will Dean,
Tough Mudder, 2017). Hence, as per the strategy of Tough Mudder, the prime most concern for
Will Dean should be relevance of company's products and services with regards to competitor
strategies. This has to be followed by greater engagement on online platforms with customers
and potential participants for branding purpose and then accompanied with innovative strategies
(FAQs, 2017).
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Q4) Recommendations
From the case study provided for this assessment based on Tough Mudder, it is quite
clear that Will Dean is very specific in his needs and desires when considering the working of
organisation. There is strategic mission and vision defined to be communicated amongst
customers and the employees that are a part of this organisation (Grant, 2016). This attribute
enlightens the fact that administration is well-structured and guided with aims and objectives.
Following suggestions have been proposed for the CEO to be considered so that company's
strategy can be modified:
Omnipresence: In order to become world leader in endurance sports events, the company
has to become omnipresent: that is be recognised in every dimension and by lame individuals.
Excessive branding is only possible through two techniques that is increased activity over social
media websites and through build up of most terrific barriers. Currently, the organisation is
present only on Facebook and operates through its official websites. When other social media
platforms are utilised for campaigns and interacting with audiences then global approach is
acquired by the company. Furthermore, research in the field of design and critical barrier
development should be engrossed by the company so that customers will be aware regarding the
claim of most difficult obstacle races in the world.
Expansion in potential markets is another suggestion that is proposed to Will Dean of
Tough Mudder. There are many countries and potential customers who cannot reach out the
events organised by this company due to lack of global presence. Hence, there should be efforts
made in the direction of organising events in places where people are quite excited regarding
new types of sports adventures and endurance activities apart from triathlons and marathons or
even Spartan Races.
Perceiving myself as an executive of the company, I have realised that dedication is the
major component which is to be included by every person working in Tough Mudder. The strong
words of CEO itself depict that no compromise can be made with any sort of damage caused to
company's reputation due to negligence by the employee. From this case, I have learnt that
innovation and determination when composed in one mind can make any business run in any sort
of environmental condition. The need of analysis and assessment is realised when critical
business decisions are to be made. On the other hand, I have understood that prioritising the
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requirements helps in classifying the activities appropriately. This not only helps in taking
decisions wisely but also supports proper administration.
CONCLUSION
This assessment provides information regarding the strategies and techniques which are
used by Tough Mudder to accomplish its goal of becoming a world leader in mud runs industry.
The company works with innovative concepts and under great leadership of its founder Will
Dean. There are certain prioritised activities and suggestions provided through this report for the
company to enhance its strategic position in global and domestic markets.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Agrawal, H. O., 2016. An Approach to Business Strategy. Handbook of Research on
Promotional Strategies and Consumer Influence in the Service Sector. pp.154-182.
Eichner, E.R., 2014. Tough Mudder injuries, triathlon drownings, and team rhabdomyolysis in
the navy. Current sports medicine reports. 13(2). pp.66-67.
Grant, R. M., 2016. Contemporary strategy analysis: Text and cases edition. John Wiley &
Sons.
John, D. R. and Park, J. K., 2016. Mindsets matter: Implications for branding research and
practice. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 26(1). pp.153-160.
Lamb, M. D. and Hillman, C., 2015. Whiners go home: Tough Mudder, conspicuous
consumption, and the rhetorical proof of “fitness”. Communication & Sport. 3(1). pp.81-
99.
Meloy, J. R., 2014. Approaching and attacking public figures: A contemporary analysis of
communications and behavior. Journal of Threat Assessment and Management. 1(4).
p.243.
Sabherwal, R., Hirschheim, R. and Goles, T., 2013. 11 Information Systems—Business Strategy
Alignment The dynamics of alignment: insights from a punctuated equilibrium
model. Strategic information management. p.311.
Verbeke, A., 2013. International business strategy. Cambridge University Press.
Vlahos, J., 2014. Waist Deep in Mud: A Socio-Cultural Analysis of Tough Mudder (Doctoral
dissertation, YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO).
Online
Webborn, N. and et. al., 2015. Direct-to-consumer genetic testing for predicting sports
performance and talent identification: Consensus statement. British journal of sports
medicine.49(23). pp.1486-1491.
Weedon, G., 2015. Camaraderie reincorporated: Tough Mudder and the extended distribution of
the social. Journal of Sport and Social Issues. 39(6). pp.431-454.
FAQs. 2017. [Online]. Available Through:<https://toughmudder.com/>. [Accessed on 12th June,
2015].
The Way I Work: Will Dean, Tough Mudder. 2017. [Online]. Available
Through:<http://www.inc.com/magazine/201302/issie‐lapowsky/the‐way‐i‐work‐will‐
dean‐tough‐mudder.html>. [Accessed on 12th June, 2015].
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