What makes this watch tick?
In this post I’ll be breaking down one of my favorite products: the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music smartwatch. This is a watch that is made for all things running (although it can be used for other sports too!).
I have found it to be incredibly reliable, useful, and insightful as I’m training for different races, or just maintaining a base – much more so than other watches with fitness tracking capabilities I’ve used in the past. (I’m trying not to cry about the time my Apple Watch glitched and failed to capture my 20-mile run…)
Let’s break down why this watch is so great!
Product mission & customer impact
Garmin has been in the fitness-tracking game for a while, especially compared to other competitors like Fitbit. It has strong brand positioning with athletes, who can usually spot the rugged Garmin watch on another runner from a good distance. The entire Forerunner lineup consists of premier running watches that provide lots of features and stats specific to the sport, along with some basic smartwatch features.
Garmin states that the Forerunner 245 “measures crucial running metrics such as cadence, stride length, ground contact time and balance” – while also featuring “music streaming, music storage, wrist-based heart rate” and more.
This watch brings a running coach – and all of their insights – and more, right to your wrist. It lets even the most casual runner get more serious about understanding their running performance.
User personas & Jobs to Be Done
Casual and serious runners alike can rely on this watch – and while the Forerunner line is made for running, other athletes (like cyclists, swimmers, triathletes, hikers, skiers, and more) can also use it.
Rather than rely solely on user personas and stories, I like to use the Jobs To Be Done framework as it illuminates specific problems and their contexts that the product helps address. Here are some jobs to be done that the Forerunner 245 Music accomplishes:
When I go for a run, I can record the activity to track my progress and goals so that I can understand and improve my performance across a range of metrics (pace, heart rate, distance, interval training, autolap, transfer training, sleep time, stress, vo2max approximations, training plans, recommended recovery time, and more).
When I run, I can listen to music I’ve downloaded onto the watch so I don’t need to take my phone with me.
If I’m feeling stuck with my performance, the watch gives me insights and access to a virtual running coach so that I can improve my times.
When I run, I can stay safe by turning on the LiveTrack feature so that family/friends can see my live location.
When I complete a run, my activity is automatically saved and aggregated (and synced with other apps like Strava), so I can review my performance/stats when I choose with confidence that my data will be available whenever I need it.
When I complete a run, I can get feedback on my performance from the watch (e.g. estimated vo2max and necessary rest time) so that I am training optimally versus under-/over-training.
The more runs I complete, the more opportunities I have to achieve different badges, so that I can stay motivated to be active and keep track of all I’ve done.
When I use the Garmin app, I can connect with friends so we can share activities, motivate each other, and create time-bound activity challenges.
When I want to plan a specific workout (e.g. interval training), I can pre-program and load a workout onto my watch so I can easily execute it with nudges from my watch.
User journeys
Before using the Forerunner, a runner might have relied on:
Another smartwatch with fitness tracking capabilities (like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, or wearOS). These might work for runners who aren’t interested in diving deep into their performance. I used the Apple Watch while training for a marathon a few years back, and I made it work (minus some glitching - not ideal!). However, I didn’t get information that I wanted to take my running to the next level–e.g. cadence, vo2max approximations, stride length. Plus, the faulty reliability was a big turnoff – and battery life wasn’t as strong, either.
A smartphone app that tracks running / fitness activities (like Nike Run Club, Strava, or MapMyRun). In this case, the runner would need to open the app and start tracking an activity. They would need to carry the phone with them during the run, and pull it out to see any real-time data during the run. Accuracy of distance and speed might be compromised, as well as comfort (smartphones are pretty bulky these days, and can be annoying to hold on a longer run even with a phone pocket). Most running apps used without syncing to a watch don’t provide the wealth of metrics a runner might need, like cadence or stride length or even heart rate.
A basic watch or timer, or even nothing at all. A runner might manually keep track of activities using a basic watch or timer and an Excel/Google spreadsheet where they manually calculate splits. In this scenario they would also need to rely on predetermined routes that they or others have calculated, to know the rough distance of their run.
After using the Forerunner, a runner’s experience is more streamlined and simplified. A user might sync their favorite songs or podcasts from Spotify, manually upload listening content, or manually prepare intervals for that day’s run – but little else is required beyond putting on the watch and pressing “start”. No phone is needed, users can connect bluetooth headphones to the watch, and long-distance runners can rely on incredibly long battery life that lasts for days. The runner’s friends and family can also rest easy knowing they can track the runner with a key safety feature, and the runner can automatically sync their runs with the Garmin app or Strava to share their progress. Key details and insights into the specific activity (and over time) can be viewed in the mobile app after the run, and the watch will indicate to the runner their overall performance score for the run and an estimated recovery time.
Metrics
The one metric I would use to measure the success of the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music would be WAU or MAU (weekly or monthly active users). This north star metric would get at how frequently users are tracking and recording a run, a key indicator of success for this product.
Other key metrics I would rely on to measure success of this product include:
Total number of runs recorded
Total number of badges received
Total number of users who recorded 3 runs in the first month after purchasing the product (understanding habit and stickiness)
Percentage of users recording runs 3 months after adopting
Number of runs whose data was re-visited (engagement)
Improvements
Every product has weaknesses and opportunities for improvement, and this watch is no exception. My biggest gripe with this product is that some features can only be used via USB sync on the desktop app. Additionally, there are two mobile apps required to adjust different settings and features, and the UI/UX on all apps and the watch itself is very dated. These represent a few incremental improvements that would have a significant positive impact for users of the product.
The major improvements I would explore for this watch would be additional integrations with other apps, particularly Audible. Garmin has integrations for a range of music apps (including Spotify and Amazon Music, but interestingly not Apple Music) – but runners don’t only listen to music or podcasts when they run!
How does this product make money?
I’ll speculate that this product is likely not Garmin’s biggest revenue stream. Garmin provides a range navigation systems for military, auto, naval, avionics, and other customers. They also have some related subscription services that likely represent a solid chunk of their revenue.
That said, this product likely makes money from the sale of the hardware and accessories, subscriptions, and data sales.
