The Internet Is Killing Intermediaries—Fast

Without the Internet, life might get a little difficult. This is the life we are all living in today. The major chunk of the benefit of having the Internet lies in information acquisition. We can easily access almost everything the world has to offer. In short, the internet has democratised information. It practically dismantles the gates around once-exclusive knowledge. 

This very reality offers not-so-good implications for intermediary service providers who are still creating walls between the people and the information they’re holding disguising it as a service. 

Remember when we needed to invest in stocks those days? There’s a stockbroker we need to call to get it done. Another one is the travel arrangements. Travel agents were the ones holding the keys to the best deals. These particular industries thrived because they possessed specialised knowledge and access to resources that were out of reach for the average person.

But not anymore. The internet has changed the game. Today stockbrokers and travel agents are no longer in their prime. Thanks to the wealth of information, it is now freely available online. Many people are skipping stockbrokers and travel agents whenever they wish to purchase stocks, book flights, make hotel reservations, access the marketing how-to, watch movies and others.

Now people have knowledge and control. They are skipping the intermediaries completely.

However, this doesn't mean the end of all intermediary services. No, it’s not. While basic tasks can be handled independently and directly, complex or specialised needs often still require expert intervention. For instance, while online resources can help with simple marketing matters, complex marketing scenarios still necessitate marketing expertise to acquire the remedies needed. That’s why advisory services matter—still.

If your business still generates money as intermediaries, then perhaps you might want to revisit your business model altogether. People will skip you. To survive this new era, the way forward is to shift and elevate your value proposition by making it even more significant. The value proposition here must not be easily replicated online. You are at the end of the road when it comes to the service or information they are looking for. The internet has undoubtedly empowered consumers—slowly but surely. Change now or you are going to be phased out in no time. 

Now with AI in the picture, it might just speed up the whole thing.

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