“My kids idea of a hard life is to live in a house with only one phone: – George Foreman 

Having worked with different businesses in different industries, we have noticed a stigma among business owners that keeps on popping up every now and then; the reservation to use mobile SMS messaging for debt collecting purposes. Most of the time the reservation to use this method in debt collecting is coming from small businesses and the reason behind it is ‘not to push too hard and compromise the relationship”.

From our experience in working with thousands of people from all walks of life, we have noticed the opposite: a ‘regular customer’ is very busy and time poor to always attend to all required administration tasks promptly (and that includes making payments)! A ‘regular customer/client’ would not be offended, but would think of your notification as being efficient in your business dealings!

Many have asked, “Why would you send intrusive “SMS reminders” when you can courteously email or post?”

So, here it is – listed below are some of the reasons why every business owner must & should look into utilising SMS and the mobile technology for their business, including payments for their goods and services.

• Most smart phone users are spending almost every waking hour with their device and some can’t remember the last time they wore apart.

• A new IDC (International Data Corporation) survey of almost 7500 Smartphone users reveals nearly two thirds (63%) keep their phone with them for all but one waking hour and claim they feel more connected to others as a result.

• The IDC survey found almost four in five (79 per cent) spent all but two waking hours with their mobile phone

• One in four (25 %) couldn’t remember the last time it was out of reach.

• On average, users spent more than two hours (131 min 43 sec) daily communicating using phones.

• Almost half (46-50%) reported reading their SMS messages within minutes of receiving them.

• It is advisable to use a measured approach to chase debt and to select the most appropriate method to recover the debt while maintaining the relationship with your client. So, why not promote, market & administer your business with the same technology?

• People love to get special notifications as soon as they are available, so why not use the SMS and mobile technology for both, promotions and courtesy notification for due payments? It sounds like a great marriage for your business presentation – so no customer/client would think of your SMS messages as being intrusive and pushy!

The rapid use of the new technology is making Smart phones little computers and the way to go in business is to jump and utilize them for your future growth.

Today we do everything using our mobiles; we communicate, we play, we shop, we money transfer, we park, we order, we book, we pay – so why would you not chase debt?

Still need convincing to jump your business to mobile technology?  Watch out for our upcoming post on Mobile Statistics and business growth predictions.