When it comes to accounts receivable management, what does an omnichannel collections strategy look like?

While phone calls and letters remain the most common methods for contacting and collecting on past due accounts, changing consumer behaviors are requiring businesses to adopt a more omnichannel approach. Collecting from today’s consumer often requires multiple touch points that may start with a call or letter, but also includes email, text messages, or even a web chat.

Sure, there is a segment of your accounts that will answer a phone call or respond to your letter with a payment, but there’s still a significant number of consumers who are motivated more by convenience and flexibility. This group represents a growing slice of collectable debt that ends up unpaid when you overlook the power convenience has on consumer behavior.

Can you communicate or exchange information through digital channels?

There was a time when the idea of sending debt-related communication via text or email caused compliance managers to wake up in a full sweat.

There was also a prevailing thought consumers would recoil at receiving a text or email from a debt collector. However, times have changed on both fronts.

Can consumers resolve their balance without speaking to anyone?

An omnichannel approach in accounts receivables encompasses both communication and payment channels. But today, simply providing consumers a way to pay online isn’t enough. They want flexibility in how they resolve their balance.

In the past, this may have included working out a fixed installment plan over the phone. But what today’s consumer really wants—and what actually motivates them to resolve their balance—is full payment autonomy.