My friend and I were talking the other day about a start-up she had worked for and for whom she is now a client. She had been with them through rapid growth, when they were an “it” solution, and merely two years later she felt they wouldn’t exist in another year or so because they were failing to remain relevant to their customers. The competition was already starting to eat their lunch.

Sound familiar? Being and remaining relevant was one of the main themes at last week’s Twin Cities Business Magazine’s Middle Market Forum. SurModics CEO Gary Maharaj included in his introduction a graph of his role with the company. Relevance was the base that revenue growth, capital and shareholder were built on—that is how strongly he sees his role as the leader to ensure SurModics is remaining relevant to customers. He pointed to his colleagues on the panel and said, “We’re all Chief Relevance Officers.” All agreed. They fight the fight to keep their companies relevant.

What does it mean to be relevant?

One definition includes “being meaningful or purposeful in current society or culture” which definitely speaks to meeting changing client needs. That’s the goal, the outcome. To achieve and maintain relevance, leaders need to be willing to change business models that are no longer working, to have the vision to transform their company for tomorrow, and to create a culture that fosters change and innovation. All while providing inspiring value for customers.

Who is lagging?

When it comes to the importance of being relevant, big brands in our backyard—Target and General Mills—are on the cusp. There’s recognition that they lost their hold in certain areas and time will tell if they’re able to get back on track. Target has lost its relevance with consumers, at least online, so it’s becoming leaner and reinvesting in areas to create a better client experience in an attempt to regain the we-are-in-with-the-in-crowd status once again. General Mills is also playing catch-up. It ignored Greek yogurt, then discovered consumers loved it. Now they need to figure out how to phase out Hamburger Helper and canned peas while defining new products and markets.

As a category, big box grocery stores are losing relevance (also impacting the two mentioned above). Millennials now make up the largest generation group and they don’t want to shop in bulk, or for the ingredients for two weeks worth of recipes (I beg the point that this is not unique to one generation).

Becoming relevant again

In the age of instant experiences through video games, 3D movies and the internet, the View-Master was no longer a popular toy. Mattel wants the heritage brand to be relevant once again, so it is teaming up with Google to provide cool new visual experiences. By partnering with a technology company focused on continuous improvement to enhance consumer experience, Mattel has a pretty good shot at making an old toy new and relevant again. Barbie is another story.

This is an unscientific survey with board game potential. Feel free to tell us who is relevant in your mind and who is not by commenting on this blog.