How Digital Addresses the Stigma Around Debt Collection

No one wants to be in the position where they are contacted by a debt collector – and businesses don’t want to be in a position where they need a debt collector to chase up overdue accounts. A reality of doing business, there are ways to make the experience a more positive one for both parties.

The traditional debt collection industry comes with many negative connotations – a legacy of the aggressive tactics used to intimidate customers into paying their accounts. The image of debt collection is one beset with reports of poor customer experiences, inefficient and antiquated processes and collection methods that frequently cross the line into harassment. And of course, many customers feel shame and embarrassment at being in a position where they are contacted by debt collectors.

So how can debt collection bring about a positive experience for both the customer and the business? The answer is to adopt a digital approach to debt collection. A modern digital agency, such as InDebted, focuses on providing a service that aligns and supports customers and their expectations while at the same time removing brand and reputational risk to businesses seeking to recover their overdue monies. 

Customers’ expectations have evolved over time. Today customers want to engage with the organizations they do business with using the channel they want, at a time that suits them – and a digital approach allows for this. In fact, digital debt collection agencies allow for most interactions to occur without any people intervention. This means that instead of chasing customers on the phone about their overdue accounts and causing them to feel stressed, businesses can instead focus on growing the business and delivering exceptional customer service. 

A less stressed customer is one that is happy to stay with an organization.

Those that are unhappy move to different ones – leaving poor customer reviews in their wake. To protect their brand image and reputation, businesses need to ensure they are providing excellent customer service, especially around debt collection. 

InDebted’s success in providing a positive experience to both customers and businesses is achieved through its platform, which does most of the heavy lifting with the debt collection process. InDebted’s digital end-to-end approach means the entire process can be carried out online - as well as traditional channels if that’s a customer or businesses’ preference - including the sending and checking of content to customers and dealing with their payments. This digital approach also enables InDebted to gain a better understanding of customers as our technology can see when emails are opened and identify trends across customer behaviors on what payment plan works best. This knowledge helps with providing tailored information and solutions that meet customers’ individual needs – insights that are impossible to gain when a debt collector relies purely on phone contact.

At the end of the day, customers want a positive experience from a debt collection agency – as does a business, who wants to create greater loyalty among customers to not only keep them so they return for future interactions, but to protect their reputation and brand. Digital debt collection agencies are now the only option for businesses wanting to ensure a positive, supportive and human experience for their customers while ensuring their own reputations don’t suffer.