INTERACTIVE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

MANAGING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IN EARLY STAGE COLLECTIONS

It may sound a bit odd to talk about managing your customer’s “experience” when you are attempting to collect a debt, but in fact, that’s just what you must do. Keep in mind that when we talk about a “positive experience” we are not talking about being nicer. We are talking about clear, consistent communications with your early stage collections customers – communications that cleanly describe the problem, and offer immediate options to take action (for example, pay in full) in a fashion consistent with your best practices.

“Every day, we successfully reach nearly four times as many overdrawn customers than before—at a fraction of the cost. Our customers appreciate the heads-up, and we're keeping more of our NSF [non-sufficient funds] revenue—everybody wins.”

- James Morris, SVP, BOK
Financial

There is a great deal of data that strongly suggests it costs a lot more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing customer. In fact, many businesses now consider the lifetime value of their customers as a primary financial lever. So, even when collecting a debt, it’s important to make every effort to avoid losing an otherwise good customer.