Historically, customer care has taken a backseat to other goals within the collections business. But recently, the positive relationship between humanized collections and better performance has become evident. Let’s unpack how the industry has evolved into one that prioritizes customer centricity as high as repayment strategies.
The history of customer care in collections
In the past, debt collectors were taking any legally allowable steps to collect outstanding debt. This meant customers faced strong-arm tactics, poor service and almost no flexibility in making payment, negotiating terms, or finding a win-win outcome.
Within the last few years, that’s changed for the better.
The shift towards customer centricity
Customer care and centricity have become as important in collections as debt procurement. This can be attributed to a number of reasons:
- Regulatory changes, such as Regulation F, have protected customers from the strong-arm tactics.
- Banks and financial firms are being increasingly scrutinized for their level of customer service.
- Positive business reputation and word of mouth led to new customers and the retention of existing ones.
Why customer care goes hand-in-hand with collections performance
A humanized approach to delinquency is proven to enhance the likelihood of customers reaching a resolution. This is achieved in a number of ways;
- Supporting the contact preference of customers so that they are more likely to engage with you.
- Providing self-service opportunities so that customers can resolve their own debt on their own terms.
- Having flexibility of payment options based on the customers’ situation, as no single customer is the same as the next.
- Being readily available and engaging with your customers so that you can provide the support and guidance they need to reach financial health.
Placing your customers at the heart of your operations increases the likelihood and quality of engagement. They have access to the tools and support to reach financial health, and you get increased collections performance, customer retention and satisfaction; It’s better for everyone involved.
Humanization is about more than just performance
Due to the global cost of living crisis, consumers are already struggling to pay back their distressed debt. Why put them through an uncomfortable collections process as well?
Humanizing the collections process is about more than just hitting KPIs and improving collections performance. It is about helping real people through financial hardships that are affecting their lives.
Financial businesses are in a position to provide real help for people that are facing unprecedented circumstances. A single positive interaction can be the difference between distress and someone getting their life back on track. This is the opportunity to put the human in humanization by helping people, which is what this industry is evolving towards.
Use a platform that lets you help your customers
A high level of customer service and humanized processes are the new normal in the collections landscape. Guiding and supporting your customers not only enhances collections performance, but helps real people through difficult situations.
C&R Software’s Debt Manager is designed with humanization in mind. It has omnichannel support, integrates with a wide number of customer support systems, and automates arduous tasks so that your team can focus on what matters most - helping customers reach financial health.
To find out more about Debt Manager and how it can improve your level of customer care, contact a member of our team today.
