Taking a brief look back at 2019, the debt collection industry has seen some massive shifts in the way collectors run their businesses. For the most part, this can be attributed to the major CFPB and FCDPA rulings that gave clarification onto multiple practices that have been teetering on the edge of compliance. With this, in addition to the prominence of technology in the industry, we should expect to see some interesting technology-based debt collection industry trends in 2020.
“Communication technology has evolved significantly since the FDCPA was enacted in 1977. Today, consumers may prefer communicating with debt collectors using newer technologies, such as emails, text messages, or web portals, because these technologies may offer greater efficiency, convenience, and privacy.” – CFPB
Omnichannel Collection Strategies
The way that consumers prefer to communicate with businesses has changed drastically over the last few years. With their lives being chained to multiple digital devices and platforms, it only makes sense that collectors meet them where they want to be met – on their mobile phones.
An omnichannel debt collection strategy allows collectors to take a more consumer-centric approach to collections. The personalization an omnichannel strategy deliver gives off what consumers feel as a “seamless experience”.
Omnichannel strategies not only improve the consumer’s experience but with the amount of information on file by utilizing an omnichannel approach, they also enhance your agents’ productivity and reduce their average handle time.
The Cloud Remains
Last year, we gave some insight into how many call centers and collections agencies will begin to leverage cloud capabilities for remote employees, omnichannel service, collaboration tools, and more. This year, we suspect that the utilization of the Cloud will become even more prominent in the industry – specifically for businesses who use free agents.
Automation Will be Key
Research shows that by the end of 2020, consumers will manage 85% of the relationship between themselves and a business without interacting with a human. With convenience being such a high priority for consumers, it’s no surprise that automation interactions are at the forefront of the changes ahead in 2020. Automation technologies, such as DirectDrop Voicemail technology are not only helping businesses foster a more consumer-centric approach to collections, but also helping them drive 4x the callbacks at a fraction of the price. With this trend in particular, the sooner you leverage it, the better the outcome.
Have any trends you’re keeping an eye on that we don’t have on our list? Let us know!
