The ARM Industry’s Major Problem; Undervaluing Invaluable Technology

Let’s face it: Your company doesn’t value today’s technology.

And you don’t need me to prove this. Ask yourself one simple question, “What percentage of your payers self-pay online or through a mobile device?”

At a conference earlier this year, I sat at a table where one c-level exec was boasting that his company now collects 20% of their payments via an online payment page. The rest of those sitting at the table, myself included, were shocked by this proclamation. While the others seemed to be fantasizing about what their organization's bottom line would look like if 20% of their payments were made online, sans-agent, I was sitting there reeling from a much different kind of shock: Fail.

A US study released in 2017, examining Q3 of 2016, found that 56% of all bills in the US are paid online. For Gen Xers and Millennials, as a standalone group, the rate is over 60%!

So who are you in this scenario? Are you the “boastful executive who unknowingly embarrassed himself in front the millennial” or are you closer to the 2016 US benchmark? Do you even know where you fall?  

There are a number of reasons why the accounts receivable industry is behind. A single article won’t give you all the answers and, frankly, my answers may not be the ones you’re ready to hear. However, you should pay attention because the ARM industry is looking for fresh perspective and ripe for disruption; new players will take the place of those unwilling to change.

It takes more than just knowing buzz words, like “AI” or “machine learning,” or the desire to send a text message to a consumer. It takes accepting that what you’re doing now is outdated, and understanding where you need to invest next, that will keep your business not just alive but thriving into the future.

Just like hotels never anticipated Airbnb; just like the taxi industry didn't conceive of Uber; and just like the advertising industry was turned upside down by Google -- if your company doesn’t start understanding and investing in transformative technology then it will be replaced by one that does.

In the following weeks and months, I will share a series of articles that will prove adopting new technology should be your #1 initiative –- even if that means making uncomfortable change.