Achieving collections and cash flow goals is very challenging in the new normal. Many companies in industries affected by the business recession are delaying payments and stretching suppliers to conserve cash until the economy recovers. To achieve your collections goal you need to use effective collection tactics, including contacting customers by email. This may sound simple, but emails are often not read by customers because they are caught in SPAM filters, or they do not catch the reader’s attention when they are scanned to see if they’re worth reading.
Professionals have more than 200 emails in their inbox. They receive 120 new ones each day but answer only 25% of them. If you want your customer to notice your email, and decide it is worth the time to read, then you need to craft perfect collection email subject lines.
Here are some ideas on how to craft perfect collection emails subject lines.
SPAM Filters
To get a chance at being noticed by your customers, the emails you send need to make it past SPAM filters. Approximately 69% of email recipients report email as SPAM based solely on the subject line. This means you have to be very careful not to use trigger words in your email subject lines. Some trigger words to avoid include:
- Money
- $
- Cash
- Check
- Credit
- Credit bureaus
- Discount
- Price
- Accept credit cards
- Avoid
- Act now
- Call now
- Don’t delete
- Don’t hesitate
- Now
- Please read
- !
You also need to be mindful of the context of your email subject. Avoid contexts that sound:
- Shady – illegal or unethical
- Far-fetched – too good to be true
- Needy – pleading for help
- Manipulative – using subterfuge
Clear Message
If you make it past SPAM filters, you will probably have only one chance to catch your customer’s eye and have your message read. Busy professionals with overloaded email inboxes skim email subject lines to see what is important for them to read. Subject lines that are vague or appear to be unimportant will likely be passed over. Be specific and tailor a subject line to a customer to increase your chances of being opened and read. Make it clear to the customer what exactly you are sending them. Include account specific information such as invoice numbers, amount due, and days past due.
Overcoming collections barriers is time consuming. Automated credit and collections solutions can help you overcome collections barriers, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your collections.
Lockstep Collect, a leader in cloud-based credit and collection platforms, provides automated solutions for managing credit and collections. Lockstep Collect is an experienced software partner that can help you maximize your collections in the new normal.
If you would like to learn more about how you can benefit from automated credit and collections solutions, please contact Lockstep Collect at www.lockstep.io.
