Omni-channel communication is key to collecting overdue payments faster and maintain great relations with your customers.
August 30, 2021 
With business-to-business (B2B) customers it is very popular to make sales on credit. It is convenient, fast, and easier to make a sale. However, there are many risks, such as missing deadlines on the invoice. This in turn negatively affects the cash flow of the company and the Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). Omni-channel communication is key to collecting overdue payments faster and maintain great relations with your customers.
It is common for your business clients not to rush to pay the invoice right after the sale was closed. They too are trying to optimise their Cash Conversion Cycle, meaning they are better off by paying their invoices as late as possible. Besides, the invoice terms state that the customer does not have to pay immediately but in a period of a certain number of days. So, it is completely normal that the invoice might become overdue.
It does not mean your B2B client wants to neglect to pay the bills, they probably forgot about the deadline. The survey of U.S. businesses has shown that 50% of Accounts Receivable are paid late. Moreover, the aging reports show that 30 industries out of 230 surveyed experience around 10% of all payments 90+ days past due. There is no reason to panic, as successful communication is key to every problem. The right reminder letter should fulfil the debt collection function. Below we explain why the omni-channel communication channel is especially effective with collecting overdue payments
Different communications channels may have different impacts on your debtor. Some people are not fond of email reminders, and they may ignore it with the bunch of other emails that flood their inboxes. The same person might react completely differently when receives the automated call reminder or the text message. The best thing is- no matter, which communications channel worked, the Kolleno machine-learning technology will take this into account. The next time the customer will receive the reminder via the most effective communications channel. The channels include calls, videos, text messages, emails, and others. The most important thing is that you not only will show your customer a quick way to a payment portal but also will appear as a tech-savvy company.
Different communication channels have a distinct reach-out level. The text messages, for example, 60% of people open the SMS in 5 minutes after receiving it. Moreover, there are projections that the SMS interaction level will rise in the next year. Furthermore, millennials and younger generations are keener on this communication channel. What is more, people tend to switch between devices constantly indicating the need for an omni-channel approach. The key to successful omni-channel communication is to take a record and analyse data on how the client interacts with the messages and what actions are taken. The infrastructure is not as complicated as you might think.
Kolleno is the accounting extension software that will seamlessly integrate with your existing business tools, analyse the data of your accounts receivable, provide analytics for you, and a user-friendly payments portal for your customers. Additionally, the communication channel will depend on the data extracted from your accounting records and using machine-learning technology to make the collections more effective and hustle-free.
The omni-channel communication channels are not new. They have been around for quite a long time. Traditionally large corporations used this method to collect debts. The reason is simple- the software was expensive for smaller businesses. Also, the large corporation had more staff to perform these duties. However, due to modern technology, AI-powered cloud-based solutions are now cost-efficient for SMEs. Kolleno SaaS solution is perfectly fit for businesses of all sizes.
When the customer misses the payment, it is important to communicate to them about the overdue invoices in a friendly way. The right tone of voice and timing are essential for keeping the client relationship positive. The manual reminders might be hard to compose, as different people have varied views of the appropriate wording. Moreover, your staff might experience stress about reminder their customers to pay their bills and be nervous on the phone. With Kolleno omnichannel communication capability you do not have to worry about reaching out to your customers.
The software will seamlessly reach out to clients via different channels- texts, phone calls, deep-fake videos, emails. You do not need to worry that the client will be bombarded- smart algorithms will estimate the most appropriate channel, timing, and tone-of-voice. Besides, the difference between omnichannel communication with multi-channel, is that all outbound communication does not happen parallelly, it takes into account the previous actions and responses to them, including the fact whether the client initiated the payment or not.
Effective communication is not only the key to a great customer relationship but also an integral part of healthy cash flow. Not sending reminders at all is one of the worst things you can do for your collections. Sending the reminders using the wrong tone of voice is damaging to your future sales. So, why not try the best digital tools the technological innovation has to offer. Contact Kolleno today and find out how omni-channel communication can improve your cash flow!
