Are You Relevant?

WHAT DOES ‘RELEVANCE’ MEAN?

It doesn’t matter what business you are in it is truly about being relevant. We happen to be in the accounting industry, SMSF specialist and business advisory space.  But the same thing applies for a hotelier, a butcher, a property developer, a retail outlet, a motelier, an architect, a doctor, a builder, a fast food outlet…… You get what I mean. You can be in any industry in any location. It doesn’t matter. In other words the world is moving so fast today and we have such little spare time so it is getting harder to capture people. 

The world used to be a much simpler place. You just had to be in business or have a shop front and as they say you were in business. People had far fewer choices than they have today. If a business had a good story, product, or service, that was typically enough to earn a sale.

No one would describe the world as simple today. It’s complex and getting more complex each day. Businesses face a new and difficult challenge. Consumers have an expanding universe of options and new ways to select them. There are zettabyes of information at their fingertips, and networks upon networks to discover their friends’ preferences and experiences with the things they are considering. Remember as well we now also have less spare time.

The increasing speed at which we all operate in today’s new world explains why such an old concept—relevance—is suddenly so important.

It is certainly true that what you are offering must solve a clients/customer need and do it well. But increasingly, that is not enough. Clients/customers are becoming progressively fickle, as well as spoiled. They expect superior outcomes from you. That is the price of entry, and unfortunately not something that will guarantee a long-term relationship. A slip, an encounter with someone who does what you do slightly better, has better customer service, a better value proposition (more on that below) a feeling that you don’t care (called perceived indifference) when actually you do care or even a lower price, and your consumer’s relationship with you could be over.

And that is where the emotional part of relevance comes in. If your product, service, or idea resonates with a customer, if it means something to them then the relationship will be deeper, longer lasting, and more profitable.

Remember, the question at the start. What does relevance mean? In simple terms, relevance is that which provides meaning in our lives. Relevance is the full experience of a product, brand, or cause that we can relate to; it’s an experience that not only changes minds, but, importantly, changes behaviour—and sustains that change.

So how can we be relevant to ensure we capture people’s attention, their imagination and in turn their trust and confidence?

WHY IS RELEVANCE IMPORTANT?

Relevance focuses on results. Relevance is about the ultimate goal—triggering the desired behaviour. 

People have so many choices about where to spend their money and place their loyalty. If you aren’t relevant, they will go somewhere else. We must therefore be relevant to survive and thrive in the World today.

One way to be and remain relevant in our clients and prospects eyes as forward thinking advisors is to make sure we embed the strategic advice/financial wealth creation advice and also business advisory services into our business. The business camp will highlight how to do this effectively and efficiently so you can stand out.

Our business camp is all about making you even more relevant than you are today.  Some key themes that will be addressed over the 3 days:

• Mark Holton will cover integrating value added services into your business and how that affects your value proposition, your valued clients and in turn your business. With all of the changes occurring he will highlight why we must be constantly thinking what else can we help our clients with?. 
• David Smith will cover the dramatic disruption that our profession and our clients industries are facing due to all of the technological changes. He will focus on ways to help consider how you can take advantage of these changes to add value to your clients and in turn your business.
• Andrew Geddes will cover off on how important forward thinking and the right leadership is especially in these challenging times. There are some key skills that he will be getting you to focus on that will make a major difference to your business. 
• David Bates will cover how important it is to manage and minimise the risk of one of your most important assets being your team.
• John Tsoulos will cover why you must determine where you want your business to go before you actually set off to go there. He will focus on the planning required to introduce value added services, technology changes, ,customer service, leadership and people issues and more. He will work through growing your business and highlight the importance of constantly valuing your business and always having it running as smoothly as possible. 

All of these experts will leave you walking away understanding the key steps you need to take to become or remain relevant and drive your business forward.

If you are a SMSF Advice practice, join us at the exclusive SMSF Advice Global Business Camp event on the Gold Coast from the 5^th to the 7^th December 2016. The rates being offered are heavily subsidised and exclusive only to SMSF Advice practices. Come along with all of your key decision makers and work ON your business for 3 days. You will hear from speakers that will move you and your businesses towards being more relevant in these fast moving times. You will also work ON your business and not in your business to create the future you want.