Adam Fayed, CEO of adamfayed.com.
I am a big fan of running remote and online organizations, at least in certain niches like financial services. I’ve found operating remotely has allowed me to scale my business more than I might have in a traditional setting that’s reliant on working in one location using only face-to-face communication.
With that being said, I believe there will be challenges online business owners could face in the years ahead that they should begin preparing for today.
Managing AI Risks
The increased use of artificial intelligence technology brings with it the risk that scammers will attempt to use it at companies’ or consumers’ expense. For example, deepfake technology, which uses a form of AI to manipulate images or videos, has already been used to create videos of “celebrities” giving fake endorsements. Consider the reputational damage that can be done if someone used deepfake technology to suggest you hold an opinion you don’t.
I believe this issue will likely be tackled by some of the big tech companies, but it’s still important for organizations to try to mitigate these risks as well. I encourage leaders of online businesses to invest in IT security protocols and be prepared to use applications that have strong safeguards. It might also become vital to ensure you use applications that can be verified as yours by being connected to something like a mobile phone number, for instance.
Facing Increased Competition
Beyond AI and deepfake technology, I expect that established companies in the financial services sector and beyond will increasingly face competition from more digitally literate generations. Right now, many companies are run by people who didn’t grow up on technology in the same way younger generations currently are. Even for people as young as their mid-thirties, when they entered the workforce, it wasn’t the norm to have remote sales and marketing teams or to focus completely on getting leads and sales online.
When I started a completely online and remote practice in 2018, I was amazed at how little competition I was facing. While I found the pandemic increased competition, I believe as younger competitors enter the market, there will undoubtedly be increased competition among remote businesses.
From my view, many of the younger competitors I expect to see likely won’t have a “confirmation bias” that selling and marketing online can’t work. The generation that grew up on tech will eventually be training the young interns who also grew up during the technology revolution, and that could change everything.
Leaders can’t predict the future with complete certainty, so there is no strategy that can completely futureproof any of us. However, experimentation with new techniques, reading, learning and having a strong personal brand will all help. Strong brands, both personal and corporate, could well become one of the few things that can’t get easily affected by technological change and could benefit from the scalability that technology brings.
Becoming A Victim Of Your Own Success
Finally, there is the danger that remote financial services will become a victim of its own success. More specifically, I think the number of customers who want zero human interaction could increase. As I mentioned before, some people prefer limited human interactions these days. For now, there are still plenty of people who want human advisors, but over time, I think people using AI tools to assist clients could become more common.
What is more, I expect that the overall pie for remote financial services will only get bigger as a massive wealth transfer in history begins to happen from baby boomers to tech-savvy Millennials.
With all of that being said, I believe a good digital strategy can help companies prepare for the years ahead. A good digital strategy involves being different, reducing hassles and processes for clients and having a strong personal brand.
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