Striata, global leader in paperless communications, was announced as a finalist in the Best Use of Technology category at this year's Debt Collection Awards, UK. The event, which took place in November at the Midland Manchester, recognised the industry's outstanding efforts and commitment to best practice.
Striata's application highlighted how its e-mail technology is helping organisations streamline their collections processes while delivering customer satisfaction.
"Today, collection departments have to balance the cost of communicating with a delinquent customer, restrictions by the FCA that limit 'intensity', and the law of diminishing returns that reduces the value of the recovery. In addition to these challenges, letters and calls are extremely cost-prohibitive and not delivering ample results anymore," says Sarah Appleby, Striata's Financial Services Guru.
Across the UK, utility, telco, finance and insurance collections are turning to the digital world in hopes of finding a suitable low cost channel to attain significant customer contact, drive faster payments and decrease operational costs.
It's all about segmenting and communicating the right message to the right customer at the right time - through the most appropriate channel.
E-mail is the channel of choice
In a recent channel preferences survey, ExactTarget found that e-mail is almost seven times more popular for financial alerts over traditional direct mail, and nearly four times more popular over text messages (SMS). An e-mail benchmark report of Jan-Jun 2012 by Communicator Corp also highlighted the effectiveness of the e-mail channel in various market sectors, naming the utility sector as the greatest benefactor of e-mail.
This evidence points to e-mail as the number one choice.
Appleby explains that Striata combines superior electronic messaging capabilities: best-in-breed inbox penetration (not simply 'deliverability'), innovative one-click payment functionality which is device agnostic, and interactive PDFs - which help drive customer engagement and retention throughout the collections process.
"By placing the customer at the centre of the process, our push e-mail solutions help businesses communicate effectively by sending the right message at the right time via what is now the most preferred channel for financial communication. Striata's advanced e-mail collection strategies are revolutionising the way in which businesses facilitate their debt collection efforts," concludes Appleby.
Sarah Appleby - Business Development - Financial Services, Striata
Sarah manages the financial services portfolio Striata, UK. She has a rich understanding of the banking industry, particularly in collections and card operations.
Sarah started her career in IT in the wake of the dot com bubble in San Francisco where she owned and managed a translation firm offering copy and eCommerce solutions to international companies. She has become a career specialist in eCommerce, marketing optimisation and the related technology that reduces costs and increases operational efficiency.
Sarah graduated with Honours from the University of Wisconsin. Her professional qualifications include double Bachelors in both Political Science and French. She also holds a minor degree in International Relations. Sarah is also Six Sigma certified.
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