The Olympic Games in London are to be the “greenest” ever, according to the 2012 Olympic Committee. From minimising carbon emissions to using recycled material, and from efficient water use to kilometres of walking routes, there’s clear and determined intent to be environmentally-aware this summer.

Coca-Cola has pledged to get its used bottles from the stadium back onto the shelves after as little as six weeks after the closing ceremony.

The reason the committee is making such a big deal of this issue? Simple, it’s important to people right now. If the entire event is to be a success one contributing factor will be how it is organised and arranged in a way that appreciates what the public want today.

Today, ‘green’ is a top priority.

As the Olympic Torch passed by our London offices this week my mind re-focussed on how this particular approach and desire to be current or relevant creeps into effective selling strategies and sales training. When you think about it, aligning your product or service to what is happening around you is absolutely critical.

So, instead of asking ‘what do my customers want?’ the best sales teams are asking, what do my customers want right now?’.

To illustrate the point we’ve come up with a few businesses that have made ‘relevancy’ a priority in their selling strategy…

The Gym Group

What is it?

A collection of gyms scattered across London and the UK. The group was set up in 2008 and claims to “provide the most affordable, most flexible and most accessible gym membership” around.

What’s the situation right now?

A recent survey by the Leisure Database Company showed that gym use is at an all-time high with 7.6m users in the UK. However, the economic downturn has caused uncertainty throughout the country and people are less willing to spend large amounts of money or tie into long-term contracts. Also, one of the biggest problems with gyms is the number of people using them at ‘peak hours’. We all know there’s nothing worse than turning up for a workout and you have to queue to use equipment.

How is The Gym Group relevant?

• No long-term commitment
• Suits ‘flexible working’ culture
• Meets key challenge: peak hours

By giving users a unique code to access the gym and by installing effective CCTV systems The Gym Group has managed to cut staff costs right down.

This also means that the gyms don’t just stay open late, they stay open 24 hours a day seven days a week – which is perfect for the growing number of people who work erratic hours or are embracing the latest fashion: flexible working. The money saved from staffing costs means that the group can also offer very low cost membership without long-term contracts. It’s the perfect solution for the average man or woman in London right now.

What’s the impact of staying relevant?

Well, last year turnover grew by 88% from £7.2m to £13.5m. Membership numbers grew by 67% from 58,000 to 96,000 and the number of sites increased from ten to 16. What sort of impact could these percentage lifts have on your revenue?

Netflix

What is it?

Established in 1999 Netflix was originally set up as a media distribution service specialising in physical DVD distribution. Since then the business has branched out into the digital world – which now accounts for half of its revenue. Netflix provide packages with a simple flat rate fixed monthly price, giving users access to a wide range of films and TV programmes via their computer, TV or smartphone.

What’s the situation right now?

Our demands around television have changes. Ten years ago the phone was taken off the hook at 7.30pm most nights because my mum was watching Coronation Street (she didn’t like to be disturbed). Today’s technology gives her complete control to watch it whenever she likes – and the phone stays attached to the wall. People want the latest movies and TV instantly, and don’t want to take a trip to the local video store. With WiFi spots cropping up everywhere as well, the demand for smartphone supported entertainment has never been greater.

How is Netflix relevant?

• Constantly evolving
• Available anywhere
• Affordable

Noticing the migration away from the DVD, Netflix jumped on the digital bandwagon. It made that leap with one crucial element to its business plan: The ability to adapt and refresh its offering on a regular basis.

New content is updated in real time onto the site so customers never feel as though they’ve bought something that stands still – it evolves and changes every week and month. Developing their streaming site so that it is transferable on to a variety of platforms has been a key success too. By making it available a variety of formats (from interactive TV’s and games consoles to tablet computers and mobile devices), Netflix customers have the freedom to access when they want, where they want.

What’s the impact of staying relevant?

Netflix’s flexible and offering has helped it go from strength to strength and by the end of January 2012 it had over 24m registered users in the US alone. At one point last year Netflix was the biggest source of North American web traffic, accounting for 24.71%.

Money Saving Expert

What is it?

A free and impartial website that offers money tips and advice while showcasing the latest saving deals of the moment. Set up by the now famous Martin Lewis, the site has proved extremely popular within the current economic climate.

What’s the situation right now?

We are recovering from an economic downturn that has forced a shift in the way we spend. Once money-off coupons were hidden under the bill, today they are celebrated and encouraged. Value has never been so important to so many. There is also a growing dislike and lack of trust towards large corporations, particularly banks. Many believe they were responsible for the downturn in the first place. Therefore more trust is placed on independent writers who simply use their investigative noses to sniff out the deals of the day.

How is Money Saving expert relevant?

• We live in a ‘deal’ culture today
• Simple and collated and in one place
• Real time offers revealed like exclusive stories in the press

Simplicity has been one of the watchwords for the past few years – as consumers we want all the answers in one place. Don’t make us hunt around on the internet for them. Realising the hunger for deals and offers on absolutely everything, Money Saving Expert collated all the offers and made sure it was first to ‘reveal the deal’ on a daily basis. The website positioned itself as one of the people, helping consumers get a fairer deal in a challenging environment.

What’s the impact of staying relevant?

Monthly, the site attracts over 13m unique users. Large companies such as Tesco and The Body Shop have their deals displayed on the homepage. On the back of the sites success in June 2012 MoneySupermarket.com made an offer for the site valuing it as £87m.

There is no doubt that the dominance and success of these three businesses is down to a constant drive to align themselves with the external environment. Their market shows a desire to watch TV on the move and the product moves accordingly. A change in taxation on petrol and a website immediately shows customers where the cheapest places to fill up. These are reactive companies, showing just how much value there is in responding immediately to changes in market appetite.

Is there a focus on relevancy in your sales team?

Here at Natural Training we believe that being natural in your approach to sales is essential. Just as critical is a constant re-evaluation of the products and services you’re selling to ensure your customer needs are not evolving faster than you are adapting.

If you want to read more about our sales training programmes or read about some of the companies we have worked with – call the team on 020 7613 7830 or email hello@naturaltraining.com.