October 3, 2019

How to Use Text Messages as Part of Your Collection Strategy

Texting has become almost a universal way to communicate with friends, family, colleagues, and even clients. Sometimes, it’s the fastest and easiest way to reach people. But in the world of collections, can you — and should you — send text messages? 

How to Use Text Messages

Text messages don’t just come into play after your customer is late paying his or her bill. You can start using text messages with customers at the start of your relationship. 

You can use them for: 

  • Payment notifications – Send reminders to customers via text. 
  • Payment reminders – Sometimes, people simply forget to pay, and you can use a text message to remind them a bill is due soon. 
  • Follow-up confirmations – Confirming their payment and saying thank you. 
  • Account information – Some people prefer to receive information via text, and you might send account details this way. Your text might explain payment plans, interest rates, or issue updates about their account. 
  • Monitor communications – A text messaging service can help you study your interactions with clients to look for improvements, glean data about response rate, and see what methods are working best.  

Critical: Get Customer Consent for Texting

While texting can be a useful communication tool for companies, you can’t just start sending messages from the front desk person’s cell phone. 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) regulates the way companies reach people by phone, fax, and text. If your team wants to reach people using one of those methods, you must obtain consent in advance. There are exemptions for healthcare communications, and those include messages about appointment reminders, information about wellness check-ups, pre-operative or pre-registration instructions, prescription updates, or health instructions. 

If you want to send messages about billing and payment — whether healthcare related or not — it’s essential to get prior consent. The best way to do this is via any intake forms or paperwork your customers fill out when starting a relationship with your company. You can also obtain consent via email, which is not subject to the same restrictions. 

Having this consent will help your billing department. Prior consent will also significantly assist your collection company if you end up turning the account over to a third party. If you have questions about consent forms, contact us for more information.