The world may have an endless myriad of problems but technology isn’t one of them. The impact of technology is so immense that it’s present and unavoidably applicable to all sectors; communication, economy, education, health care, entertainment and the overall social landscape. Operations in these sectors have witnessed massive ease as technology proves to break the ice and an arduous ridden cycle the traditional setting introduced. New media is so proliferated that no one can escape it, unless there’s an urge to recede back to the Stone Age which has very little importance in the world today. Whether you’re a passive or active professional, jobs done have to be interwoven with one technology or the other.
The digital age is a transformative era that establishes modernized tools powered by intense technology geniuses to solve problems and get things done at a quicker pace. Information has become easily obtainable and instantaneously shared amongst a heterogeneous audience scattered around the globe. This significant impact spread most of its light in computing and telecommunications, projecting it as an indispensable tool for business coaches to utilize in order to enhance their craft. Understanding the digital era is a must for business coaches as no professional thrives with just offline effort. Attention needs to be poured on content creation, data analysis, data marketing, AI and other tech-driven tools for their practice to earn an innovative stance in the current modern world.
Technology, according to renowned experts, reports that it has no halt in evolution. The dynamic of technology takes different approaches and inventions as ideas spring up everyday to better different sectors. This surge will know no end as the tech industry witnesses massive growth and participation from people all over the world. In the business coaching field, technology has evident strides to revolutionize the methods coaches attempt on their clients.
Business coaches are expected to take cognizance of emerging technological tools such as video conferencing, virtual white boards, instant messaging (email), and social media as these tools will prove an unmatched mode of operation, fitting into the digital landscape and achieving better outcomes while communicating with clients regardless of the geographical location.
Skills to gain in view also include data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI). These skills are emerging soft skills that has huge impact on the business coaching industry as this empowers coaches to gain understanding on the concepts related to client behaviors and preferences, online guidance and tracking of performance using simplified metrics and a list of other benefits. This technological power, in no doubt, needs to be harnessed as this shapes the drive of business coaches to get tangible results for their clients,
Exploring Suitable Technologies for Business Coaches
- Video Conferencing Platforms: Digitalization has brought about a video experience that allows more than two people to be connected online via the internet to virtually see themselves regardless of the locations of the people involved. This is a communication technological tool that aids and eases the exchange of information across diverse sectors. Through the development and birthing of high-powered smartphones this has been easily achieved, hence a strong need for business coaches to dive in. Most of the platforms offering this include Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet, Skype, Ciscowebx etc. Each of these platforms offer unique capabilities as it captures how people communicate from interpersonal levels to large scale/corporate virtual assemblage. Business coaches utilizing the power of video conferencing, clients could receive lessons online without stress, directions could be given on-the-go as all of this sums as a mutually beneficial experience for both parties leading to a sustained collaboration.
- Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems: The bedrock of any business is the customer. The customers are the sole reason why businesses are initiated, the management of these customers in order to get them retained as key stakeholders of the business is a huge deal. Beyond the traditional management through lobbying and PR, the digital space has birthed Customer Relationship Management systems to allow business owners prioritize customers and manage her customers in a single platform; tracking their input and collating feedback. Some of the platforms offering this service are HubSpot, Posist, Salesforce, and Zoho CRM. Business coaches need to dive in tune to using one of these platforms as this proves to fashion administration in ways that enhances productivity and professional efficacy.
- Online Learning Platforms: Staying competent as a professional in any field demands a consistent awareness with trends and recent knowledge from your field and bits of other fields in consonance with yours. Going to conventional schools has become too tortuous for professionals as juggling corporate jobs and schooling is Herculean. Learning online is now the easiest way to advance academically as these platforms offer a variety of courses that enable you to learn from the comfort of your home or working space. These platforms include Udemy, Coursera, and LinkedIn offering intensive resources to enable students to expand their knowledge and sharpen skills in their given industries. For business coaches, taking courses on these online platforms could boost their knowledge bank on how to get growth for their careers and manage or acquire clients easily and legitimately. This is more than a necessity for business coaches navigating the digital world.
- Social Media and Content Marketing Tools: Social media are interactive multimedia channels used to exchange information and share meaning across the globe. It is ubiquitous and highly advanced. The advancement of social media happens on a daily basis as it gets more proliferated by its users. Each medium offers a unique service narrowed to enhance the overall communication experience. With social media a brand can be formed and recognized as a corporate identity. The use of content creation and digital marketing, business coaches can easily stand out and gain better insights from their competitors and prospective clients. Social media offers a vast advantage for business coaches, thus making it a pressing need to not just use it but actively use it as a voice to command given audiences. Popular social media platforms including LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook etc serve as credible platforms for coaches to accelerate their careers and share valuable content to garner engagement and seamless interactivity with audiences.
- Data Analytics and AI Tools: Digital creations like Data Analytics and AI are hot takes in nearly all industries as this gives a massive improvement in operations and broadens their scopes online. These platforms are used to study client behavior and supervise the algorithm framework of specific social media sites in order to guide investments and give precision to decision making. Business coaches have nothing to lose if this is factored in their operation as it gives an outstanding edge in the labor market.
Technology in most sectors have been widely adopted. For the business coaching world, the survey carried out by the International Coach Federation (ICF) shows that 70% of coaches build presence and give reports using technological aids, specifically video conferencing for adequate coaching delivery. Furthering the adoption scale of technology in Business coaching, McKinsey & Company through their study reveals that businesses gripping the use of Data analytics and AI outperform their competitors up to 30% in terms of revenue growth and profitability.
In addition, proving that online learning has taken a boost in business coaching, Statista has recently revealed that online learning by business organizations will peak at $370 billion by 2026. This confirms the urge and potential growth for business coaches as they promise to amass knowledge to better the dimensions of the industry
Conclusion
It’s no longer news that technology is the asset that has come to stay. Its dominance in business coaching and in other disciplines cannot be overemphasized as this improves the coaching experience to a crystallized peak. The beauty of technology should be highly appreciated and harnessed as this would only secure the tenacity and sustainability of the coaching industry proffering endless opportunities to guarantee maximum impact and fat profit margin.
Technology; Use it. Love it. Ace it.
Oladipupo Timothy Clement is a highly accomplished Real Estate and Business Coach with a career spanning over two decades. He is the Founder and CEO of Lifepage®️ Property & Investments Limited, a leading real estate company in Nigeria.
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