CREDIT MANAGEMENT
Empowering The Customer
Through The Debt
Collection Process
By Wasilwa Miriongi
I
f you visit our neighboring Countries
you will realize how difficult it is
to transfer a payment. This is not
easy for any customer as their level of
empowerment is low.
The last decade has seen a tremendous
emphasis on customer service and
convenience by major organizations. In
the banking sector for instance, results
being today, customers are able to bank
online at the convenience of their handsets
– and this does not mean just checking
their balance. They can make payments,
save, apply for loans; all at the touch of
an app icon. The various banking agencies
that have sprung up in the estates of major
towns have their roots in empowering the
customers as well as accessibility.
It is strange to see how far loan collections
and debt recovery have lagged behind this
shift to customer-first operations. But
things are beginning to change. Many
financial institutions are now turning to
technology to bring collections into the
digital customer engagement area for ease
of engagement. of charitable or political donations, debt
collection and market research.
There is no gainsaying in the fact that
a client focus in debt collection is not
just a merely nice-to-have; it is a central
component in attaining and maintaining a
high return on equity. These changes need
not be extreme or hard to implement.
Maybe you could ask how can this be
implemented? Here are a few you could
begin implementing in the relative short
term. Call centers have been in use for a number
of years but are still, a ubiquitous feature
of the debt recovery process. They have
also become notorious among consumers
for adding to the problem, rather than
helping to solve it. This is so because a
good percentage of consumers usually
report having to contact a company
multiple times for the same reason and
being on hold for too long.
Using Debt Collection Call
Centers As impaired loan ratios soared as per
central bank reports and various financial
reports released by banking institutions,
customer service suffered as many call
centers became overwhelmed. While the
traditional approach has shown that it
can’t keep up with the customer needs.
A call center is a centralized office used for
the purpose of receiving or transmitting
a large volume of requests by telephone.
An inbound call center is operated by a
company to administer incoming product
support or information inquiries from
consumers whereas outbound call centers
are operated for telemarketing, solicitation
Debtors want to settle their debts quickly and
satisfactorily and could simply be unaware of
their options. The question for lenders is not
how to make customers pay: it is how to make
it easier for t hem to do so. The answer lies with
self-service.
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This may be the reason why 24/7 online
solutions are such an important addition
to your recovery process. When consumers
are empowered to help themselves, the
call center staff are freed from the burden
of fruitless pursuit.
Instead, your call centers can be
repurposed and refocused. Not all debtors
are technologically inclined either -
sometimes you just need to speak to a
trained person. Well-trained call center
staff should always be on hand to help
resolve problems and help walk customers
through repayment options.