Why a Frictionless Collections Experience Is So Important

When someone stops paying on their agreement, the collections process begins, ideally starting with first-party efforts to receive payment and escalating to third-party collections after a period of time. Nonetheless, the collections process doesn’t guarantee results and comes with challenges. But you can increase the chance of recovering as much lost dues as possible by creating a frictionless collections process.

How a Good Collections Process Helps With Results

The goal of collections is to recover lost dues. That’s why it’s so important to take away as many roadblocks as possible, making it extra easy for clients to move forward with their payments.

People are complex creatures, and everyone is different. That’s why it’s so helpful to offer options. This makes it easier for everyone to respond to collections communication and make their payment in the way that fits them best. For instance, some people tend to avoid the phone, so it’ll be harder to get a payment from them through phone call reminders and phone payments. Instead, they may quickly respond to an email and make a convenient digital payment. Some people may prefer to pay in person, while others prefer the separation of paying the collections company directly. Having options reduces friction because it gives everyone the method that suits them.

Also, clients may be intimidated by collections and may experience emotions like embarrassment or try to avoid your business from then on. But, communicating how easy it is to pay and move forward could remove difficult feelings and improve the relationship. You may even have some people continue having a relationship with you when they realize that all they have to do is make the delinquent payment in order to make the problem go away.

How to Reduce Friction in the Collections Process

The main way your business can streamline collections is by providing simple and convenient ways to pay. Here are tips for both stages of the collections process.

During First-Party Collections

When your business is starting the first-party collections process, which is when you take steps to retrieve the money before sending the customer’s info to third-party collections, give them options for payment, such as:

• Paying through the website
• Paying through an app
• ACH payments
• Credit/debit card payments
• Phone support
• Paying in person

During Third-Party Collections

Even after you have sent the contact info to a collections company, you should still be willing to take the payment directly if approached, rather than directing the person to the collection group. This way, you make it easy for the person to get on track and solve the problem when they’re ready to do so.

Also, ensure you’re working with a collections company that offers numerous ways to pay, so customers find the third-party collections process frictionless as well. At Aldous & Associates, we reach out in different ways and provide numerous simple ways to pay, including:

• Following a link in an email
• Paying through our website
• Using our automated phone system
• Talking to a live representative
• Sending a check in the mail

Our communication and collection methods connect with a variety of people despite their personality style and payment preference.

Overall, making communication and payment options simple helps create a frictionless collections experience. This is a great way to increase the likelihood of retrieving as many payments as possible, which is the ultimate goal.