Texting in collections, is starting to deliver huge benefits – in terms of improved efficiency, better use of call centre agents’ time and late stage repayment deals with customers. So why is text messaging in collections working so well?

A day in the life..
You’re in trouble with a credit card. You’re behind, and the company keeps chasing you with letters and calls… which you stopped trying to deal with weeks back. It’s 89 days in of the 90-day window before things go to a deeper level of seriousness.

And then you get a text, which you answer. And before long, you have come to an arrangement with the finance company you were too stressed out/ashamed/embarrassed to call back.

You are on the way back to financial health, and a full nights’ sleep again. Welcome to the power and effectiveness of text conversations.

The power of text
What I’ve described is an incredibly useful business process that customer contact organisations are starting to utilize, based on customer contact technology. It’s one that is starting to deliver huge benefits: in terms

• improved efficiency
• better use of call centre agent time
• late stage repayment deals with customers
• Enabling conversations where traditional methods have failed

So why is this so and why is text messaging so effective in area of collections ?

Texting a way of life
We’ve all become a nation of texters: Ofcom released data last year that showed the average British person now sends 50 texts a week, with over 150 billion text messages sent in 2011 alone – and 96% of 16-24s use some form of text-based application on a daily basis to communicate with friends and family.

Texting is making the right connection
However, the fact that people love to text and find it a medium they are comfortable with is only part of the reason why ‘Text Conversations’ are hitting the mark for customer contact teams. The other is that it’s a format for communication that balances intimacy with distance in a way a telephone call in real time with a person just doesn’t.

That’s why the stressed-out customer we discussed felt able to deal with that text. He or she knows it’s about a difficult issue, but they don’t feel so put on the spot (they might be at work, or travelling, or relaxing), as they would be if they’d answered a call from an agent.

Less personal investment
And there’s less personal investment or risk of losing face by offering a payment suggestion by SMS as opposed to calling up, fearing it might be rejected and the situation will worsen.

Don’t pound your customers with outbound calls
This is why text conversations work. A leading financial services firm says on this: “Sometimes people just end up embarrassed about a problem. In some cases, if you pound them with outbound calls, they will just stop dealing with you.”

Streamlining business processes and using the power of text to stop ineffectual ‘pounding’ and work on smarter ways to get the ££s you are owed?

Download tip sheet on how to get the best from text messaging
Download a tip sheet that outlines the key things that you should be considering when using or planning to use text messaging as part of a collections strategy.

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