Much has been said and written about the customer journey and the value of customer retention. A few examples from the web:
However, the customer journey often focuses on customer acquisition, customer engagement and customer follow-up. And all of these disciplines are typically rooted in efforts based in the commercial part of the organization (marketing, sales and support/customer service).
All too often at Debbie, we find that a customer who doesn't pay becomes a debtor, and there's less focus on a "debtor journey" than on the customer journey. And often, debtors are not handled by resources that have the training and skills for customer dialogue and support, because debtors are handled by the administrative part of the organization (billing and finance).
However, the concepts are not that important - the important thing is to keep in mind that a customer with an overdue invoice is still a customer! It's a customer who has a problem that needs to be solved, and the better a company helps its customers solve their problems, the higher customer satisfaction and loyalty will be.
We don't say that all customers can/will pay, but we work on the basis that non-payment is generally neither a lack of desire nor ability - but a structural problem that needs a quick and simple solution.
In the case of continued non-payment, the starting point is that it is probably due to inability rather than unwillingness - and thus there is now a liquidity challenge that needs to be focused on and resolved.
Ultimately, of course, the last step towards actual debt collection must be taken, and this is also the time when the company must admit that the customer relationship will be difficult to save. Because, of course, something happens between a supplier and a customer when the "customer relationship" is transferred to someone outside the business relationship.
But until then, consider the customer as a customer and seek to resolve the challenge as ambitiously as if it were, for example, a fault with a product or delivery.
Accounts receivable management is customer service for customers who are in arrears. And it's in the company's best interest to do everything possible to help solve the challenge, maintain the customer relationship and get the relationship back on track.
Resources must be released for initiatives where resources make sense - let digital self-service solutions help customers achieve debt freedom wherever possible.
A little math: If a good debtor journey can save 500 customers per year with an annual turnover of DKK 5,000 and a lifespan of 5 years, that's DKK 12.5 million in revenue the company is missing out on by not managing it.
