In the world of receivables management, as with so many industries, digital savvy has become increasingly important for success. Similar to the union of legacy banks and fintechs, shifting consumer preferences and regulations have called for collection agencies to merge their traditional expertise with that of tech innovators and digital communicators to improve communications, compliance, and performance in a changing world. 

To remain credible and competitive, one of the things collection agencies must consider is their digital presence, including the exponentially growing consumer preference for mobile-friendly video content. Using Central Portfolio Control (CPC) and the CPC YouTube Channel as an example, this Branding Arc case study will zoom in on three key reasons collection agencies should be using video with specific examples.                 

1. To Speak for Yourself

The reputation of the receivables management industry faces an ongoing uphill battle. Despite the majority of ARM businesses operating with professionalism and integrity, investing in employees and strong cultures, and giving back to their communities, a debt collector is simply not a popular thing to be. Although the recovery of outstanding balances and lost assets helps to protect the interests (literally) of the credit ecosystem and consumers, online attackers and negative reviewers have the right to wield their power in speaking against your business. 

The foundation of building positive press should be positive consumer experiences that genuinely and organically generate positive reviews, such as CPC’s Google Reviews, but online reputation management also requires using your rights to control your digital presence on YouTube and other search engines. If you’re unsure how to get started, begin with the basics, keeping the consumer in mind as your audience. Answer key questions, keep it short, and start with the most basic question of “who are we?” such as in this CPC video, Who is Central Portfolio Control? 

2. To Engage with Consumers

Video content is wildly popular with consumers and often their preferred format for digesting new information online. A survey by Entrepreneur.com revealed that 59% of people spend a quarter of their time on social media watching videos, and 68% of consumers watch video on their phones. Engaging with modern consumers means meeting them where they are, building trust, and honoring preferences. Video content can effectively do each of these. 

Increasing your digital, pre-approved, scripted content also minimizes your compliance risk. Compliance and performance dovetail in a digital environment, where consumers would often rather self-serve and avoid personal interaction, unrestricted by office hours and instead able to conveniently and quickly handle personal finances at whatever time is best for them. Provide helpful content that engages your consumers, such as CPC’s videos on payment options and financial education resources available on their website.

3. To Optimize your Web Presence

A wide range of stakeholders are looking for your business online; Your search engine results need to be optimized. A great deal of thought and attention often go into our introductions in-person, but does the same amount of planning go into our online introductions? The majority of your introductions will be passive— someone will search for your business online and find whatever pops up on the first page of results. Try it and make sure you’re happy with your company’s introduction. 

Job seekers, consumers, potential clients, regulators, and your community are all audiences of your search engine results. Adding optimized video content to your web presence creates an additional platform for pushing down negative attacker results and boosting the results you want people to see. It’s difficult to attract quality talent if your business doesn’t appear to be quality. In addition to enlisting your team and satisfied consumers to provide their feedback, providing multiple search results to speak for your business is important for demonstrating who you are and the type of employees you want to attract. This CPC Careers video is one way Branding Arc has helped to proactively optimize CPC’s search results and attract high-quality candidates. 

About Central Portfolio Control, Inc.

Headquartered in Minnetonka, MN, Central Portfolio Control, Inc. is a full-service and nationally licensed collection agency focused on the recovery of distressed accounts receivable. Since being founded in 1998, the Central Portfolio Control team has continued to grow, providing top-quality services to our clients and jobs to our local community.

About Branding Arc

Located in Port Saint Lucie, FL, Branding Arc is a full-service marketing agency focused on providing website, marketing, and reputation management services to the receivables management and financial services industries. Our team is composed of communications and branding experts who listen to your vision, learn your story, and use that understanding to help each client position their brand, find new customers, and manage their online reputation. We customize each client engagement ranging from simple one-time projects to the outsourcing of your entire marketing department, adeptly handling creative direction, graphic design, programming, and project management. By closely monitoring the marketplace and competition, we can identify trends and leverage opportunities that drive bottom-line revenue for our clients.