Consumers today want to engage with companies how they want to, not how your operational team deems it possible. Fewer consumers are retrieving voicemail messages or opening your email due to the large number they receive on a daily basis. The new norm to reach consumers is via SMS—otherwise known as text messaging.
Why SMS is the New Norm
In fact, “texting is the most widely-used and frequently used app on a smartphone, with 97% of Americans using it at least once a day,” according to Pew Research Center. The company added that who “over 80% of American adults text, making it the most common cell phone activity.”
Text messaging consistently appears to be the one kind of notification few of us are willing to turn off. As a result, if you use SMS, or text messaging, to communicate with your customers, you’ll likely find a faster resolution to the issue at hand if you use this method to reach out.
Additionally, the simpler you make the message and method of response, the more likely the recipient will not only read it, but react to it—which is exactly what you want to happen.
How Triggers and Automation Make SMS Easy
By automating this process within your CRM, you’ll be able to prevent missed payments or collect on a missed payment much faster. For example, you can use triggers to automate the sending of a text message to customers to remind them that they have a payment due in one week.
By reminding customers in advance, they might be willing to make a payment right then and there or they’ll be sure to set those funds aside for when the payment is due.
For customers that are late on a payment, you will be able to set a trigger to automatically send an SMS that their payment is late and make it easy as possible to make the payment.
For example, you might send:
- Press 1 to request a late payment and speak with a customer service representative
- Press 2 to make the minimum payment with a payment method on file
By providing your customer with a simple way to choose the option best for them, you’ll undoubtedly see an increase in customers either willing to work on a payment arrangement or make a payment via text due to how easy you make it.
By using triggers to automatically send SMS to your customers, you’ve either prevented a missed payment or removed the need for a customer service representative to pick up the phone and call a customer, who is unlikely to take your call or read your email.
If you’d like to learn how DebtPayPro can help you close the gap on missed customer payments with integrated text messaging, reach out to us here.