Expert Networks Calls: Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Industries

Gone are the days when a business could narrowly focus on a single segment of the market and expect to thrive.

Today, successful organizations must be aware not only of their own niche but also of the constantly changing dynamics of tangentially related industries. This includes supply chains, near competitors, and emerging technologies and developments that could serve as disruptors.

With so much going on, how can any business expect to stay informed and remain competitive, especially against larger or better-funded rivals?

The short answer is experts for hire.

Working on a freelance basis, these experienced and very knowledgeable professionals come from all walks of life, backgrounds, and careers. Organizations can get in touch with these experts via specialized platforms - the Expert Networks.

In this article, we’re going to do a deep dive into exactly how expert networks operate, the specific benefits that they bring to companies, and the key roles they now play in the modern business landscape.

Understanding Expert Networks

Prior to the Internet age, an organization or investor seeking to gain specific knowledge about a given industry, market segment, or emerging dynamic in the business landscape had only two options:

1. Newspapers and the media (or publicly available information)
2. Whatever personal contacts they had happened to have nurtured (limited information).

If a business wanted specifically tailored knowledge about a given industry or enterprise, they had to hope that they knew someone working in that industry or ask around to see if anyone they knew had a contact.

These days, the situation is much more different. Thanks to the internet and companies that create verified databases of individual experts for hire, businesses can now reach out and find an experienced professional from nearly any background, from nearly any part of the world.

Collectively, these databases of experts-for-hire and the companies that operate them are known as expert networks.

The first well-known expert network was the company GNG, which was founded in 1998, right on the cusp of the widespread adoption of the Internet.

However, over the last couple of decades, a variety of firms have arisen to offer more specialized services, including data-driven tools and automated analyses.

One such company is ENC, which draws on its powerful algorithms and cloud-based architecture to offer businesses a comprehensive one-stop-shop for all things related to expert networks - from direct engagement to reviewing experts and booking calls.

The Role of Expert Networks in Bridging Knowledge Gaps

While it may sound redundant, one of the key functions of individual experts these days is often to consult with a business in order to identify where knowledge gaps exist.

An organization or investor seeking to expand into a new industry or analyze a business competitor may be unaware of new developments in the field, and consulting with an expert professional is a useful way to chart these unknown waters.

Once an organization or investor is aware of what they need to know, they can use experts with the right experience, knowledge, and career position to fill in the knowledge gaps.

For example, an investor considering acquiring a stake in a biotech company may reach out to an investor to learn more about what existing competitors exist as well as the limitations of the technologies or therapies that the biotech company is developing.

Some of the most common industries in which consulting experts play a role include healthcare, finance, and tech. All three involve highly specialized knowledge and continuously evolving dynamics that could quickly shake up the existing business landscape.

Another important role that individual experts play in bridging knowledge gaps for an organization or investor is by integrating insights.

Whether gaining a big-picture view of the feedback provided by consultants or forming an overview of the merged company strategy with the identified challenges, experts can help organizations make clear-eyed decisions before, during, and after making a move into a new industry or market segment.

The Benefits and Challenges of Using Expert Networks

There is quite a large number of advantages to using expert networks. These include the ability to gain inside knowledge from one or several professionals ideally placed to share it for:

• Better informed decision-making
• Accelerated problem-solving
• Enhanced innovation and competitiveness.

However, any organization or investor considering consulting with an individual expert should be aware that a number of challenges exist:

1. First, all experts need to be properly vetted, not just for their expertise but also for the quality of the information that they can provide.
2. Secondly, organizations speaking to individual experts should be very mindful of confidentiality and intellectual property concerns

On a broader scope, other challenges for enterprises consulting with individual experts include understanding and identifying potential biases, both of the expert him or herself as well as from the organization consulting with them.

Organizations should also perform due diligence to uncover any potential conflicts of interest that the expert may have.

Depending on the situation, experts may give conflicting or contradictory advice, incomplete feedback, or offer information that is at odds with the organization’s values and/or goals. Therefore, all information received from consulting with experts needs to be carefully weighed, evaluated, and properly integrated for it to be of any competitive advantage to the organization or investor.

Future Trends for Expert Networks

It is obvious by now that artificial intelligence (AI) is going to play a bigger and bigger role moving forward in all industries, including expert networks.

AI already works to provide readable transcripts and instant translation services for voice calls with individual experts.

However, it is likely that AI’s role will expand, including:

1. Integrating the insights and feedback provided by expert professionals with other software apps, databases, company documents, and business goals.
2. Putting to work synthesizing and summarizing the advice given by expert professionals as well as helping to integrate it with an organization or investor’s internal processes.
3. Expanding an organization’s global reach with new ways to identify and better communicate with experts from different backgrounds and locations.

Beyond solely AI, however, it is clear that expert networks, as a whole, will become more ubiquitous across all segments of the business landscape.

Consulting with expert professionals has already saved businesses and investors billions of dollars by providing them with advanced warning of pitfalls and clueing them in on innovations and new opportunities. If you’d like to launch your first project with an Expert Network, do not hesitate to contact ENC today.