Comedian Gary Gulman once said "to me, the phone is this seldom used app...on my phone. And if you use it on me...I'll be furious! You should text me first, to see if I'm even taking phone calls that day."
It isn't a secret that the preferred communication methods for consumers have and continue to change.
With new legislation in place, businesses are now pioneering through a new landscape, trying to understand the most engaging and effective ways to communicate with consumers.
A simple google search will show that most generations hold texting in some form or fashion as a preferred method of communication over phone calls. Texting allows for personal, one on one engagement, that can be responded to when the consumer is ready to have the conversation.
Intelligent Contacts backed up Gulman’s sentiment sharing that “in general the best use (of texting in collections) is to lead the consumer to a way they can make a payment… We see texting as part of a suite of solutions… for the consumer, so they can choose their desired means of communication.”
Even with the evidence of texting being a preferred method of communication in collections, we see that more agencies are still exploring versus those that have deployed texting solutions. We asked Intelligent Contacts to weigh in on this. “…there is some fear and unknowns. However, if used appropriately it is a great tool and with time will be one of THE ways consumers prefer to be contacted.”
We then asked what they would track to ensure texting strategies were performing. “Mainly monitor your payments in your self-service areas like Portal and Pay by phone… plus, inbound calls.”
Texting isn’t a fad that will soon pass but a real method consumers prefer to have conversation. As you investigate text and new forms of communication, be sure to have visibility into your results so you know what is working.