How AI apps help to improve sport performance?

Hey,

I decided to slowly transfer all the materials from the blog and to have everything in one place. I am going to talk not only about sports in the future but also about career growth etc. So, stay tuned! 🙂

Today we are going to talk about enduco - AI performance coaching app.

UPD: enduco had a huge update of the about 2 months ago.
You can read more here: read update

Anyway, for learning purposes I’ll keep it here as it was.

What`s inside?

• Introduction to the endurance app market.

• enduco competitors

• Messaging

• Marketing

• Ideas

• Inside the app

• Personal experience

• Wrapping up

• A note from the author

Intro

For the last decade, endurance sports have been booming. Running, long-distance triathlons, and swimming is becoming more popular among the population. As an amateur athlete, I could find some reasons for this trend.

Motivation, changing of daily routine, and staying one-to-one with yourself. In most cases, it’s a way to join the community or relax mentally. As an outcome, you’re getting a good shape, better health, and being satisfied with achieved goals.

You don’t need numbers to notice that the health and fitness industry is growing rapidly.

With the development of technologies and mobile apps, we have our personal coach, mentor, and food diet in our pockets. The power of AI allows you to create a personalized training plan, special diet, or adapt to your needs. Great value for a fair price

The average revenue per user (ARPU) is expected to amount to $23.47

Here, we have an issue. AI is still an algorithm. I truly believe that AI won`t replace real coaches in the nearest future, but I find training apps a great alternative, especially in amateurs sport.

The fitness app report by Statista is reporting that: revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2022-2027) of 16.36%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$33.04bn by 2027

What’s going on right now and who is leading the endurance sports app market?

My eyes caught enduco! Let’s see about their marketing, approach, and competitors. I selected this app because as a user among all competitors I liked their UX. Okay, honestly they only seem like a completed product from different points of view. It was the main factor.

enduco has raised a total of $3.2M in funding over 2 rounds. Their latest funding was raised on Jul 10, 2022 from a Seed round. (Crunchbase)

Competitors

I will say that all applications have a rating above 4 stars at least in the AppStore. So, depending on your preferences and UX I would say that any app could be a good partner during your training season.

Messaging

Every product is about messaging. Okay, every product is about content. The audience don't have to much time to investigate and that's why the message should be clear without additional questions. I just came across different sources to understand if a messaging clear for me.

• "Based on your experience in training, your health and habits…" During the application setup, I noticed questions only about weight, height, and age. This messaging is misleading from the first app usage. Need to create trust with users. The app doesn't ask about my health or habits. Its too many risks for me in the future.

• "On a mission to be your most trusted partner for endurance training" This is a clear message for me. Of course, you can ask: how you will be the most trusted partner? The answer is simple, it's an app.

• "Whether for leisure or competition-oriented training, you define your sporting goals. Our training plan will help you achieve them efficiently and healthily." Thank you, that you are not pushing me. I can use an app even if I would like to become a little bit healthier.

• Based on competitors analysis, the price is fair. Having 6 and 12-month subscriptions is a good option. You don't see this offer very well, but it's valuable for customers with 11% or 33% savings.

Marketing

enduco has a social marketing strategy, at least on Instagram. I like their style. Not only visuals but content overall. Rarely I`m following products, especially apps because in most cases, you don`t find useful information. Here, I respect the work they are doing. You could find not only product updates, but also future events, team changes, and most important, user stories.

They are a Germany-based startup, but you can find all the content in English as well.

They are investing time into Facebook too. I can understand this because if you have the same content strategy, you just copy it, but as I can see, less people are using Facebook. Ads are another story. Well, maybe I'm too pessimistic regarding Facebook.

Influencer marketing

As one of the marketing strategies, we could expect to see ambassadors of the product. For now, enduco has at least a collaboration with Andre Greipel. He is ex pro-cyclist and participant in 11 Tour De France. This is impressive. Actually, people like it when some products or brands are associated with people.

TikTok

From different points of view, this social channel can be another way to reach an audience with products like enduco. High-quality sports content at least can engage. I explored and found an account, without any content. Two ways here: they are preparing to launch or doing ads.🤔

A data-driven decision can make a difference. Removing features from the app sometimes doesn't easy. You have to remember, that users and numbers don't lie. enduco had routes feature and number of those who used the tool is not in relation to the costs it causes.

Resources vs impact. Formula that must works.

They are quite active on Linkedin and this part I love more. Why? You can see not only product recent activities, updates and etc. You can follow real people from the company and see what they are talking about. I think that from a trust relationship perspective it's an ideal combination.

On Instagram, you see only visuals, the main concept, but you don't know who is responsible for this. Linkedin is another story.

What else?

They are making quality. You can see that from their visuals, brand style, feature presentation, and even photos. That's giving credibility. You would like to be a part of this community. At least, I did.

Inside the app.

I was frustrated, that they don't have a referral program. You can share a link directly from the app, but there are no benefits for the user. I am gonna share it anyway if I like it, but adding some motivation with additional discounts will be beneficial.

• An app has everything you need for your training.

• Calendar

• Your fatigue level

• AI coach

• Recovery and nutrition recommendations

• Crushes ( to compete with others)

• Performance data

• Profile info

What I like as well, it's Feature Request Board. Yes, I am a person who likes to influence the product as a user. You can add or vote for desired features.

Ideas

I like to think about some implementations I would like to see in the future. There is no true reason to do that because first of all, you have to think about your users and customer and analyze your data. Anyway, let's see how imagination works.

1) Collecting more information about habits and illnesses will help to predict injuries, and health issues and probably create a better training plan.

2) Adding training plans for swimming, and triathlons will open more opportunities for the product.

3) Would be great to have a combination of multiple sports, such run + swimming. In this case, you're opening a road to the SwimRun audience.

4) Biomechanics analysis. The technique is crucial if you would like to get a result. With current devices and AI it's possible to record a video to get more insights on how you could improve your running.

5) Group training. What if I would like to have a training session with my friend, who is 1000km away? That's great if we could follow almost the same training plane and have access to the data.

Only a few ideas, but I'm quite excited about it. 😄

Personal experience

That's really cool when you evaluate products not only from the marketing side but as an athlete and user. This is an overview of my experience.

I used an app for about 3 months in my preparation for a half marathon. I had a big break for about 1 year due to my injury, but before I started, I had some basic performance-

My goals were:

• preparing for a half-marathon

• following a training plan and consistency

• having more focus

• enjoying the process without pressure

• would like to have entertainment elements

enduco has integration with the main giants like Strava, Garmin, and Polar. You can sync all your daily activities easily. Based on your activities application is adapting your training plan.

You're setting up your profile, performance level, and how many days would you like to train. The app is creating your training plan, BUT as I noticed it doesn't take your recent activities into consideration. This is a huge problem for amateurs and a high risk to get injured. At least, it worked like that in Summer.

Why is this important?

Every health or sports-related app must have the main goal to increase awareness and overall health. If you are a beginner, you don't know too many processes. Sometimes, it's difficult to evaluate your current performance level. In my case, I have experience since 12 years old and graduated bachelor's degree in sports. So, before my first session, I was pretty sure that capacity is good.

Using an app.

I enjoyed the training plan, but still have questions sometimes. I don`t follow a plan for 100%, I would say about 70%. Why? I listen to my body, and instead of doing some sprints session, I know that I have to increase my overall endurance, or I have to run longer distances. Again, the only reason I did this is that I know the process.

If we are talking about the experience, I really enjoyed the app and would recommend it for sure. UX and UI are on the top. AI coach is helping you all the time. You have a video with exercises for strength training. You have access to your data and performance and can analyze everything by yourself. It's kind of a game and that's what I love most.

Last week till the half-marathon was completely wrong based on my feelings, but I decided to use an app and followed a training plan. So, I can say that I could show a better result for sure.

I tried to understand where was the issue, but from my point of view intensity and load decreased too much. I wasn't at my peak.

Achieved goals.

• 5k personal best with 3:57 pace per km.

• Half-marathon personal best with 1:28:22

Summary:

I have to be honest. I achieved the goals I set. Even if you're a beginner, it definitely costs every penny. At least, you have 14 days trial, and afterward, you can decide.

Wrapping up 🍣

To sum up.

I was enjoying this app. I like their approach to marketing. As with every product, the development process and improvements are endless. You can test, add, remove and repeat all over again.

I hope that very soon they will add swimming and triathlon into the app thereby will scale the audience they can target.

The idea to create a community worth it. That`s what I can see.

A note from author 👀

First of all, thanks for reading this. 🙏

Numbers are from open sources and can be different. This blog is mostly about approaches, improvements, and personal experiences. From sports enthusiasts directly to you.

If you like this you can share it with your friend.

P.S. In case you would like to chat, or leave feedback you can always drop me a message.

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