While business may be booming for the accounts receivable and collections industries, they (just as any other industry) are finding it hard to figure out where they should be headed in this confusing proliferation of contact channels and new technologies. Not every new technology is right for every company, and most purchasing managers fear selling the idea of a new solution (and having the company spend money on it), only to find it’s not effective.

It’s no wonder collections companies are finding navigating new technology waters frustrating. Younger customers today often don’t respond to traditional channels like landline phones or postal mail (they may not even have access to these channels). But they are heavy users of smartphones and social media, so clever collections firms have had to make inroads into these channels (while being sure they follow applicable laws, of course).

For some companies, though, success has come from improving some more traditional channels: the tried-and-true interactive voice response (IVR) solution, for starters. Today’s IVRs are not like the IVRs of 10 or 20 years ago. For starters, rather than being a premise-based box in the IT room that required a Ph.D. in computer science to administer, they are likely to be a cloud-based solution that is easily changeable and configurable. Collections firms should be making use of these more innovative and feature-rich IVR solutions to improve their contact rates and payment rates.

According to Chris Bohlin, writing for InsideARM, there are a number of ways that the IVR can be used to effectively improve operations and collection rates:

• Make it easy. For starters, writes Bohlin, companies should be linking the customer’s account number to the customer’s phone number. This means that the caller no longer is required to enter in their full account number in order to make a payment.
• Go with automation for lower balance amounts. Automated outbound calls with an option to interact with the IVR on an inbound basis may be a great option for customers with lower balances. It frees up live agents to use their skills and expertise on higher balance accounts and make better use of the contact center’s time.
• Automate routine tasks. Many customers call in simply to check balances. This shouldn’t have to be a task for live agents. A good IVR solution can completely automate mailing address requests, balance checks and other routine information.
• The IVR can be the back-end of a live call. Once a live agent finds a customer ready to make a payment, the customer can be switched over to the IVR to complete the process. This allows agents to make more live outbound calls each day. It can also present a great opportunity to keep customer financial information more secure and away from the eyes of contact center workers.