In Focus Collections
Left-right: Richard Fenton; Simon Bayley; Steve Scott; Stuart McFadden; Tushar Das >>
producing digital channels for our customers to engage with.
But from a Zinc perspective, where we are
really trying to develop is the practicality of that. So, if a customer initially comes in via an SMS and then three weeks later we get an e-mail from then, and then two weeks later they want a telephone call, then you have to look at the practicality of keeping all those interactions fluid. Of course, we want those customers to
have the capability to start on any channel and end on any channel, but do we have the right strategy to able to handle that segmentation as it happens, and to identify the segment. Because customers are not going to tell you ‘I sent you an SMS before and now I am sending you an e-mail’, you have to be able to track that and you have to be able to understand that customer has now moved that silo they want to be in. And that is where we are looking to develop next. As I say, I am sure that everybody says
that they produce the channels and the customers can use them or not as per their choice, and we still have telephony as a backdrop, but it is that strategic view of how we understand that customer’s behaviour to the point where one of the steps that we have taken is to introduce customer-journey information that our agents and e-solutions team collect at the point of contact that says ‘where would you like to go?’ If you ask the customer the actual
question, in terms of how they want to deal with things and if they want to stick to one channel, or is there something else that we can do for them. We have to be able to take that segmentation as we learn it and apply it back to the customer the next time we want to engage with them.
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TD: It goes back to how well you know your customer. There are solutions around understanding the customer using data, analytics and research already used in other industries and even functions in your own company that can be used in collections. For example, there were comments on
how sophisticated things are at the acquisition side of the business with respect to customer segmentation and evaluating each customer precisely.
information we have gathered about them through the customer lifecycle can help drive collections strategy and select the right communication channels. Collections at times is seen as a ‘back-
office’ function and therefore a lot of useful data may not be shared with it. Solving this data challenge can increase the value that Collections can add to the organisation.
If you ask the customer the actual question, in terms of how they want to deal with things and if they want to stick to one channel, or is there something else that we can do for them. We have to be able to take that segmentation as we learn it and apply it back to the customer the next time we want to engage with them
Taking some of those solutions onto the
collections side would solve a lot of the problems. In addition, having a single customer view of customer data can enable bringing together all information about customers – which channels to use for communication, how and when to engage and so on. Some of the customers we acquire end up in collections over time and all the
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How much can digital help customers who are vulnerable or in financial difficulty? NS: I have visited a company where they use online I&E which either the customer can complete independently, or with agent support over the telephone. The I&E offers Open Banking and pulls through credit- reference-agency information. An agent can pick up exactly where the
customer might have left off because the customer is not sure what to do next, and seamlessly continue to discuss and fill it in with the customer. The actual affordability position is far
more realistic, because, for example, customers may not remember that they have unsecured debt or not consider it to be relevant; by running the credit-reference report, you get true credit information, which can be included. So it does make a huge difference.
PN: There is also an important argument that we have agents precisely because we want them to be able to use their skills. We do not want them to be saying ‘oh, I will take a payment , that is not really a very good use of their skills. Conversely, that can lead to longer and more difficult conversations, so you need to start thinking about protecting and supporting your staff, so it presents a different challenge. CCR
November 2019
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