Coronavirus business loans, known as BBLs and CBILS, are different to run-of-the-mill commercial loans. In our blog The call for a new approach to Recovery Loan Scheme, CBILS and BBLS account servicing, we outline why servicing these loans poses unique challenges for lenders. And how to tackle these with an approach rooted in empathy, insights and agility.
Lenders risk missing the opportunity to address these challenges in a holistic, strategic way by reacting to surfacing issues in a knee-jerk fashion. To prevent this, we mapped foreseeable challenges and solutions specific to Recovery Loan Scheme, CBILS and BBLS account servicing. The outcome is this checklist. Go through this to understand where your strengths and opportunities lie in enabling empathetic interactions, insights-driven communications and an agile approach to customer service.
Empathetic interactions
Challenge
Does your current account servicing approach allow you to
Handling sensitive conversations
- Identify and support vulnerable customers
- Service fraud targets and otherwise distressed customers with appropriate level of care and sensitivity
- Provide training to staff around handling sensitive conversations
Taking the emotional burden out of financial conversations
- Reduce call volumes with integrated digital communications e.g. email, text and chatbots
- Support customer communications with intuitive web-based self-service backed by human voice calls when needed
- Create personalized communications templates with tacit empathetic messaging, verbiage and text
Insights driven communications
Proactively identifying and handling risky account and areas
- Deploy AI and analytics to identify fraud attempts faster and with more accuracy
- Adjust contact strategy across channels for at risk and secure customers based on their interactions
- Use intelligent automation to reduce manual, repetitive tasks and free up colleagues to focus on high-value work
Adjusting operations and communications based on profile data
- Define a tailored contact and collection strategy, suited to individual borrowers’ needs
- Deploy machine learning to predict the best time, channel, and contact approach to drive engagement and collections
- Use predictive modeling to forecast customer call and chat volumes and adjust resources accordingly
Agile approach
Agile solutions
- Meet changing servicing needs by adjusting balance of voice to digital
- Reach goals by fine-tuning communications e.g. more or less assertive tone of voice
- Scale support up and down to handle variable call volumes
- React swiftly to increasing customer servicing needs e.g. with fast recruitment and training
Flexible strategy
- Create a servicing strategy that reflects brand promise and customer needs
- Turn servicing strategy into a set of operational-principles and day-to day practices
- Be ready to pivot in response to customer needs and market demands
Checking all of the boxes is no easy feat to achieve. If after going through this list you have some blank boxes you’d like to address then we’re here to help. Firstsource is an experienced end-to-end customer service specialist with a range of solutions ready to meet lenders’ challenges. We offer:
- Years of expertise to advise lenders on account handling strategy
- Analytics and AI capabilities to help lenders refine their contact methodology
- The technology to provide insights needed to balance empathy and recovery
- Solutions that span digital and traditional channels to drive engagement and collection
To learn more visit our Banking and Financial services page. Or see how tech solutions such as automation can help improve customer experience and support collections.
Read More : Explore Coronavirus Lenders Hub
