Introduction

In lending, communication with your customers is critical to your success. A communication strategy, if well-planned and well-executed, can be the difference between borrowers missing payments and borrowers paying off their loans in full.

Highlights

LoanPro's communication options can include a Base Communication Suite with add-ons for Interactive SMS and Smart Mail House.

• The Base Communications Suite includes our native email tool as well as webhooks which can connect to third-party communication tools. 
• Interactive SMS is LoanPro's tool for sending and receiving SMS messages. It can send out both automated bulk campaigns or individual responses to borrower texts. It also helps you manage compliance with the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA), such as sending out opt-in and opt-out messages and recording which borrowers have agreed to receive texts. 
• Smart Mail House is LoanPro's tool for sending personalized direct mail to borrowers and co-borrowers. Using Dynamic Templates, you can send mail with dynamic borrower and account information. Letters can be sent individually or in bulk campaigns.

All of our communication tools can be automated to send after account events or when the account matches a custom-made trigger. And all communication (automated and manual) is recorded in a comprehensive audit trail.

Where Does Customer Communication Fit? 

Customer communication is one aspect of servicing loans. The means you use to communicate with borrowers will depend on a few factors. First, the loan amount and interest rates will determine how urgent any given communication is and how much money is a reasonable expenditure for a given message. When you're dealing with an account worth tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, a 58¢ postage stamp is pretty palatable—not the case with a Buy Now, Pay Later loan where the whole payoff is $100.

Federal and state (or provincial) laws may also rule out some forms of communication. For instance, the CFPB's Small-Dollar Rule stipulates that borrowers may opt out of electronic communication at any time, and that some information must be sent in retainable mediums like a letter or downloadable file.

Lastly, lenders should pay attention to what methods yield the best results. Different clientele may have different reactions to each communication type. Some borrowers will put mail in a neat stack with their other bills to be paid on time; others will cram it someplace and forget about it until a week or two after the payment was due.

What’s Next?

With the basics out of the way, you're ready to learn the specifics about individual communication tools:

• Emails
• Dynamic Templates
• Webhooks
• Interactive SMS
• Smart Mail House

You might also be interested in automating communication with Event-based and Trigger-Based Notifications.