Collections are one of the necessary evils of the business world.

Though there’s nothing wrong with showing compassion to those who might be facing tough times, businesses owners also need money to keep their doors open, make sure their employees are paid, their families fed and their own bills stay current. Besides, there’s a general obligation to pay if someone requests products or services from a business.

Many businesses turn this service to collection agencies to assist with the sometimes tough task of getting money from delinquent accounts, while others look for easier and less expensive solutions, including trying to handle the matter themselves, such as a sms text messaging program.

While texting is more commonly used for people to talk amongst themselves, it can also serve a useful role in contacting delinquent account holders or working with them to arrange payments.

A texting program that offers also texting from the computer can also reach even more people. It lets people send out and receive messages from anywhere, not just mobile phone or desktop users.

Here’s why adding texting into your collections tools is a smart idea:

• It’s much easier to track people down. Collection agents can only visit so many homes in one day, and will spend a lot of time trying to look for people and discover their current physical location. Instead, if you have their number, it’s easy just to begin sending them texts. Even better, larger companies with many delinquent accounts can use their texting site to create and send one mass text to the entire group that contains the same automated message, rather than repeating and rewriting the same general message with every caller. This is much more efficient.
  
  
• Texting can be faster than phone calls. Even if you have a person’s phone number, someone may not necessarily want to answer your call or call you back, which may require lots of calls and voice mail messages until you finally catch them or they give in and answer. But they are more likely to notice right when a new text comes in, rather than they would a voice mail or email. It also may even be easy for them to respond with a quick text back, rather than dreading a tough phone conversation or arranging an in-person meeting.
  
  
• Texting can be discreet. People may not want to discuss the potentially embarrassing topic of payment arrangements or delinquent accounts over the phone, especially if co-workers, family members, or the public may be able to overhear. But texting, either from their mobile or device or Texting application for computer or phone gives them a chance to have these conversations quietly without anyone judging. All they will see is someone typing or texting, which makes it more comforting and easy to interact.
  
  
• Other businesses are trying it. Working with a Texting site can be a smart use of a company’s resources, and companies have reported increases in contacts with accounts and a better increase in people paying or creating payment arrangements that they comply with than working with phone calls only. One retailer used a traditional and landline texting service to contact delinquent or late accounts. If the customer receives the message, they are directed to a page on the site that gives information about how to resolve the matter, including the choice of responding by text or by phone. A case study of the retailer indicated that clients who were contacted seemed to appreciate the options available, and more of them went with texting vs. voice. This positive response encouraged the retailer’s collection department to increase their efforts and even try to contact older debt-holders or those deemed too challenging to work with.

The only caution that’s required of working with a texting service for collections is to always identify yourself and don’t let your collection efforts move into harassment. The Federal Trade Commission only recently allowed collection companies to use texting as a tool but put some specific requirements for anyone who wants to use this option. There have also been some well-publicized penalties for businesses which have done this wrong, such as sending texts that portrayed themselves as lawyers rather than being from the business, linking to unpleasant photos, and threatening severe action in the texts such as taking away the debtor’s home or property or massive lawsuits for this unpaid debt.

Though collecting from people who don’t want to pay or can’t pay their bills is always a challenge, adding the option of texting adds one more tool to the tool box businesses have available to get what’s owed to them. Businesses have reported increased ability to pay when someone uses texting, and debtors may even prefer this method compared to calls or visits.

For more suggestions on texting, including texting for pc, visit www.trumpia.com.

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