December 22, 2005
Friendly texting helps collection agency
icLiverpool reports that a debt collection agency has seen a four-fold increase in responses from debtors after using text messages to contact them.
Agilisys Contact Services substituted stern letters and curt phone calls to people who had fallen behind on repayments with friendly text messages asking them to call and discuss an issue with their account.
Within two hours of texting 1,000 people, 40% of them had responded to the message and contacted the group. This compared with a 9% success rate from spending two hours telephoning people, or a 35% success rate if the whole day was spent making face-to-face calls.
Mike McGuckin, managing director of Agilisys Contact Services, said: "Texts are less threatening and more effective because they put individuals back in control of their finances, without being put on the spot or made to feel embarrassed."
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