CCR2 Communications
Collections and AI: what about the customer?
Modern technology gives new options to contact the customer, but they need careful thought to do well
Bob Welsh Independent collections consultant
bwcw1@btinternet.com
You will have heard about artificial intelligence, and be thinking about using it or already be in implementation, but make sure that, before doing so, you think long and hard about it. If your sole use of this is to reduce costs,
you will end up with reduced revenue, and, ultimately a wasted investment.
Wrong thinking So, all that your customer has to do, on receipt of an SMS or e-mail is to set up an account with you to facilitate initially chatting with an agent online and, in time, as the system learns, actually chatting with a chatbot to conclude a payment arrangement or whatever, unattended. Right? No, very wrong! Most customers, in a debt position, have
many accounts in arrears so, from the above, we are expecting him or her to converse using your vehicle of choice (and other creditors) and not theirs? It will not happen, or rarely. We need to look at this from the
customer’s point of view and converse using their preferred vehicle to maximise revenue and increase capacity.
Conversational middleware I have seen this described by one company as ‘conversational middleware’ and that to me sums it up perfectly: an application that sits between the customer and lender and facilitates communication and resolution. The customers preferred vehicles range
from WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS, Apple Business Chat, and RCS to even Alexa or
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Google Home, so you need to facilitate communication across many applications.
Deployment In practice, what are the steps to deployment? Well, in high-level summary: l Know your customer and their channel capability and history. l Ensure multi-channel capability. l Reach and be reached across all digital modes. l Build services and skills that manage the full conversation – automated bots, payments, search and route. l Do not dive in! Create a test pilot so you know which accounts are appropriate for this capability. Why are you doing it? To get callers to be served unattended, or
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stimulate non-contacts to connect. Just as the machine has to learn, so do you. lMachine learning – data to drive insights and effective conversations. Potential benefits can be:
l 13% payment uplift. l 52% increase in repayment plans. l 40% of conversations completed by automated bots.
Be careful But, be careful. Do not simply assume that means a 40% reduction in staff needs, that is the wrong way to go. You can now talk to 40% more
customers than you did previously with the knock-on impact to payment and arrangements. Remember when diallers emerged and
some players were late to embrace them? Remember behaviour and payment
projection scoring with a similar impact? Be on the front foot with this, or you will be left behind. CCR2
I have seen this described by one company as ‘conversational middleware’ and that to me sums it up perfectly: an application that sits between the customer and lender and facilitates communication and resolution
February 2020
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