In recent years, the landscape of debt collection has changed drastically. Businesses have had to adapt to legislation restricting their channels of communication, while simultaneously dealing with more customers with debt because of Covid and inflation-related costs. In order to manage these changes in recent years, businesses are adapting their collections processes to be more customer centric; with the goal of making operations more efficient, maintaining collection performance and treating customers with fairness in this uncertain time.
For collections teams to implement customer centric processes properly, they need to be both intuitive and effective. This can be difficult for some businesses with outdated technology profiles, but innovative software can give them the tools to personalize their approach to benefit both customers and their collection performance.
Why are customer centric processes important?
Customer centric processes in debt collection refer to businesses using data to make customers’ experiences more personalized and repayment more manageable. Instead of using one approach for everyone, customer-centric processes are an aid to guide customers through their collection journey and improve their experience. Examples range from intuitive platforms that provide customers with all the information they need, to regular human-to-human contact to answer any queries they may have.
Customer centric processes are important for businesses creating treatment plans that are a better fit for their customers, especially in light of Covid and inflation. More people are in financial difficulty than ever before, and organizations have a responsibility to help their customers manage their debts. A byproduct of this is collections departments being able to scale their operations more sustainably through increased collections performance, and take on more customers that otherwise would not have been viable.
How can you make collections processes more customer centric?
Human-to-human
Customer centric processes should hold the user’s experience as the first priority, and empathetic human-to-human communication enables them to be understood, acknowledged and treated fairly. Collection teams should work in harmony with customers to help manage their debt and provide a system that best accommodates their situation. For creditors, the process should inform them of the real amount they should expect to recover and avoid miscommunication.
Simple yet effective
Sometimes less is more, and this is definitely the case for customer oriented debt collection processes. A simple platform enables customers to understand each process and allows them to manage their debts in the way that works for them. Alongside simplicity, there must also be a smart system design that is intuitive and makes the debt collection process as streamlined as possible. The simpler it is for a customer to pay their debt, the more satisfied they will be.
Allow the customer to self-serve
Wherever possible, customer centric processes should allow users themselves to input information, manage their obligations and serve themselves in their debt collection experience. Providing customers with control over their debt can help significantly improve their experience while boosting performance.
Treating customers fairly with C&R Software
Adopting more customer centric processes into debt collection is proven to help performance, improve customer retention and optimize the overall experience for both customers and businesses. Understanding where and how to implement these processes can be challenging, which is where C&R comes in.
We have over 38 years of experience in collections and recovery, and our role is to provide businesses with configurable, simple-to-use platforms that provide customers with a platform that makes the management of debt easier and more effective. Our Debt Manager platform is the leading end-to-end software in the collections space, proven to provide an experience that is configurable, effective, and intuitive.
Is it time to introduce more customer centric processes into your collection experience? Contact us today to learn how we can help you build a more tailored experience for your customers’ individual needs.
