Author: Isobel Crosse, Head of Customer Experience at TDX Group
Summary:
We are thrilled to be the winner of the Transformation Programme of the Year, at the Vulnerability Awareness Conference Gala. This was awarded for our new communications library that we have now rolled out with great success across almost all of our clients. The three key results brought about by our customer focused messaging are:
1. Consistency and fair treatment for customers
By ensuring that all agencies are sending the same, best in class, communications, we are able to provide consistency in customer experience and messaging. This improves the customer journey with us as we know that regardless of which agency their account is assigned to they will receive communications with an optimised narrative.
2. A more efficient sign off process for clients
Clients no longer have to sign off 40+ pieces of communications for each customer contact strategy produced. They approve a single communications package that’s built for their customers from our library. We then provide that suite of communications to agencies for implementation to save time and resources in making changes to segmentation and communications.
3. Encouraging more customer engagement
Our communications have been created to encourage customer engagement, whatever their circumstances and channel preferences. We believe that engagement is the key to resolution for customers in the collections process and have tailored the messaging to remove any barriers to contact.
Responding to Covid-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has created the largest change to consumer circumstances in our lifetime, directly impacting uptake of credit, attitude towards debt, and ability to pay. In response, TDX Group has created a new approach to customer experience, based upon a set of fundamental principles, which allows us to operate effectively in the new socio-economic environment.
Our new solution starts by using the wealth of data and knowledge that we uniquely have about our customers to segment them into appropriate customer groups based on their circumstances. We then write the narrative that they will receive in their communications, which will form a key part of their collections journey with us and our DCA panel. The largest innovation is that we have created a complete library of communications, made up of 60 letters, emails and SMSs, designed to adhere to our core principles for communications writing - no stigma, no jargon and no barriers to resolution. We believe that treating customers fairly starts before you even speak to the customer and we have changed our narrative so that the customer experience sits at the heart of how we deliver responsible collections.
We have rolled this process and our communications packages out across all our clients, including those within the utilities and telecom sector. By the end of the roll out process we will have over 20 clients and their 3.5m customers benefiting from the service annually.
The key benefits for clients and consumers are:
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Ensuring a balanced focus on consumer and client needs for recoveries management
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Better communications for consumers which lead to more resolutions
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Agency consistency across recoveries management, ensuring fair customer treatment
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A more efficient communications sign off process for the client
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Simpler way to performance manage agencies and guarantee best in class customer experiences
The key ways we’ve achieved them:
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Created new segments, treatment paths and communications packages after careful consideration of why consumers require different behaviour, and what journey would be most appropriate
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Reflect our principles with our decision making – ensuring the consumer understands that their circumstances are not a barrier to resolving their problem and they should get in touch regardless of their ability to pay
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All treatment paths contain the full escalation of key messages for maximum chance of success, using communication packages with varied activity types and rates to ensure cost effectiveness for every segment
This has not come without barriers and challenges, in particular bringing our clients and suppliers on the journey with us. We are working through these by highlighting the core benefits for customers, clients and suppliers, especially in light of the global pandemic, and we’re working with them to get their feedback.
We really see this as the natural next step for us in our fair outcomes based debt recovery evolution. Ensuring that there is a cultural shift that embeds treating customers fairly into our DNA, at every part of the customer journey and into every decision we make.
To find out more contact us here.