Despite the best efforts of every department along the way, the customer journey can sometimes be rocky and a client may find themselves unhappy by the time they are in contact with AR.

Because accounts receivable is built upon personal relationships, you’re in a position to help, whether that means clearing up confusion, rebuilding trust, diffusing blame, or just lending an ear.

These five AR tactics can go a long way toward salvaging a customer relationship that has gone south.

1. Send Accurate Invoices

The invoice is more than the balance due dollar amount. Invoices with wrong or missing information can further inflame an already upset customer. The same is true if the wrong invoice is attached to the billing email, which is a common occurrence with manual AR processes. Sending an accurate invoice prevents wasting your client’s time and can reestablish confidence in your company.

2. Make Connecting With AR Easy

AR builds a foundation of respect and appreciation through proactive outreach and being readily available for any questions or concerns. This includes maintaining continuous contact, even between billing cycles, and ensuring the contact information is clear and present in every email, document, or message.

If a customer is already upset with sales, customer service, or another department, the issue won’t improve if you are unresponsive. When you’re part of the solution, you will secure payments faster and protect your company’s bottom line.

3. Customize Dunning Campaigns

Sending an unhappy customer an impersonal dunning notice does not drive payments. People know when they’re receiving an email from a bot or a generic template. Use this communication touchpoint to check-in and ask how they’re doing and to see if their issue has been resolved. Ask how you can further be of assistance and follow up. You can more quickly repair a troubled relationship when you personalize your outreach and build connections with your customers.

4. Tag the Account for Special Handling

In some cases, AR might need to completely hold off on sending dunning messages until they’ve received word from another team that everything is resolved. This can quickly be accomplished with an AR platform that lets the collections team tag the customer’s account, automatically removing them from regularly scheduled dunning campaigns for a specified period or until further notice. Additionally, other teams can tag the account to quickly and proactively share updates on resolution progress.

5. Provide an Easy Payment Process

Once the customer’s issue has been resolved, and trust and satisfaction are on the mend, continue to provide loyalty-enhancing solutions such as safe and simple payment tools. Make it easy for your customer to use a credit card, ACH payment, or any other widely available payment option. And, make this information available in all outreach. Continue to provide courteous, frustration-free solutions, and you’ll see your once-troubled customer relationship grow stronger.

AR’s power to correct an unfortunate customer trajectory proves that collections is all about connections.

Want to see a demo of an AR platform that helps delight happy and unhappy customers alike? Contact Tesorio today.