Ashley has received six consecutive payment reminders for her past-due credit card balance. Due to her sub-par credit score, her debt gets sold to a collections agency where she begins to receive phone calls and letters requesting payment. When Ashley is finally ready to make a payment, she returns the call to the collection's agency to be greeted and assisted by an AI-powered virtual agent to make a payment on her balance. In the scenario outlined above, Ashley is provided the assistance she needs in a seamless manner thanks to the power of virtual agents. Due to the rise of omni-channel communication, these virtual agents are proving to be a key in collection methods now more than ever. In fact, virtual agents have not only transformed the industry forever, but have also changed the way agencies approach their collections strategy. According to a recent study conducted by FICO, automated communication resulted in a 52% increase in self-service payments.
In addition, virtual agents help businesses achieve results including the following:
Most importantly, virtual agents address the biggest challenge of collections: Improving the quality of customer service while staying in compliance. Virtual agents provide a seamless customer experience through 24/7, natural, human-like customer support. This provides customers with the ability make payments on their own time, without the pressure of judgement from a live agent. In fact, when given the choice, 55% of consumers select interactive voice messaging as their preferred contact channel resulting in an 79% satisfaction rate overall.
In short, virtual agents are a staple to the modern-day collection strategy. With the confidence, professionalism, and compliance that customers have become accustomed to, virtual agents will continue to evolve, providing both debtors and agencies with a scalable and efficient collections solution.
Ready to see results? Start a conversation with us to learn how a virtual agent could help improve your bottom line.