CCR2 Technology
Connected collections
NEXUM Software is a UK company offering hosted or on-premise collections and debt recovery software with over 100 clients including utilities, debt purchasers, law firms, collection agencies, universities, manufacturers, housing, and High Court enforcement. Although their roots can be found within collections and debt recovery, their influences and approach to these areas – together with how to manage risk and compliance – come from thinking outside the conventional ‘box’
Jim Stanley Managing director, NEXUM
jstanley@nexumsoftware.com
CCR: NEXUM often refer to behaviour as an important element in collections, can you explain this? Jim Stanley: Behaviour plays an important role in much of what happens within the credit management and collection functions of a business. Understandably, much emphasis is placed on customer, or debtor, behaviour; but the behaviour of your business, and those within it, plays an important role too. We have also stretched this to the behaviour of external DCAs that may be appointed. It is interesting.
CCR: How does behaviour impact a business? JS: I see the main impact being on Customer Value. Their value to you, and yours to them. Whether a creditor managing their own customers, or an external agency managing their client’s customers, the importance of Customer Value has risen in recent years, partly fuelled through compliance needs, but, in the main, risk. In my opinion, Customer Value is pounds and pence at the top level as you want to retain the right customers and ensure they pay you as expected, but how they value you is equally important. In essence, it boils down to how much you understand their behaviour and how your behaviour impacts them.
CCR: Customer Value is a marketing term and very front office, how does marketing apply to collections? JS: The Chartered Institute of Marketing defines marketing as ‘management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably’. To me, the blurring of lines is pushed by the words ‘profitably’ and ‘anticipating’. As
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Satish Ganatra Chief technology officer, NEXUM
sganatra@nexumsoftware.com
with the marketing function, collections tries to identify, anticipate and satisfy, but I would replace ‘requirements’ with ‘payments’ and say collections is the ‘management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer payments profitably’. Collections and marketing are symbiotic, both are concerned with ensuring the business has profitable customers. In addition, customer complaints and disputes, and willingness to pay impact both marketing and collections. Plus marketing is concerned with ‘reputation’ and non-compliance around collections ruins a reputation.
CCR: How has NEXUM’s inclusion of marketing concepts within collections software influenced design? JS: Our background had been focused on designing, developing and implementing collections, litigation and enforcement solutions, but a button was about to be pressed in 1997 as I read an article published by the Chartered Institute of Marketing defining the meaning of marketing I just mentioned. Communication is a major component of marketing, the approaches employed by marketers are transferrable to the credit and collections functions within a business. Marketing communication techniques are honed to illicit a response
from the recipient and focus on the best channel to use, based on a target audience’s profile; collections communications should follow the same techniques. Marketing concerns itself with the relationship and interaction between the business and the customer; collections should also concern itself with the same. The value of marketing principles to collections is evidenced by a growing trend to blend customer service functions with the accounts receivables and collections functions and vice versa. External collection agencies are further evidence of this as many will offer a ‘white label’ service as a gentle approach to chasing payment and in the same vein outsourced customer contact businesses are discussing unpaid bills with customers. Blending and merging roles across functions is being enabled by advances in IT and NEXUM is at the forefront of this. The tools we have to manage and monitor the activities and performance of external DCAs is just one example.
Communication is a major component of marketing, the approaches employed by marketers are transferrable to the credit and collections functions
www.CCRMagazine.co.uk
CCR: Can you list some of the main features included in your software reflecting this blended approach? JS: The NEXUM Self Service portal is first to mind, it is a kind of online shopping application but aimed at customers and debtors that need to pay. As you would expect, they can login via a website or phone app, view outstanding invoices, pay by card or direct debit, raise a dispute or complaint, offer a payment plan and download relevant documents and information. The Self Service portal not only frees up the collectors and customer service team, who would normally manage these requests, but it also enables the customer, or debtor, to view and manage
July 2017
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