Marketing is the key to any successful business. Word of mouth is nice, but pretty ads in magazines and newspapers help bring in customers, as well. However, how do you market something that businesses love, but customers hate? Collection agency marketing is easier than you think, and the majority of help could potentially come from your collection agency merchant account processor.
First off, forget about print ads. Print ads are rarely for this field, so save your money to use elsewhere. For instance, you can pay to be put atop the Google searches for certain words and phrases, such as “collection agencies”, “collection firm”, “collection companies”, etc. While you do not have to pay to be on a Google search, you are not guaranteed to be anywhere near the front of the searches. Try Googling “collection agencies” and you will see that Google computes 99,900,000 sites that refer to “collection agencies”. It is a great investment for a growing collection agency.
Scour the legal section of your local newspapers. You can easily find businesses that are suing individuals over unpaid bills. These are the businesses you need to target. While a phone call is nice, an in-person meeting with an account manager or owner can show initiative, as well as show that they will be dealing with an actual human, should the time arise that they need a collection agency.
Visit businesses in your area that could potentially use a collection agency. Not all businesses, such as a pool hall, but others such as small car dealerships and appliance stores may not know where to turn to collect unpaid fees. Businesses like to support local businesses, so that can help get you in the door to talk to the account manager or owner.
Also, be sure to ask your collection agency merchant account rep or processor about marketing. Merchant account processors deal with multiple businesses every day, all from different business areas, and can give you advice on marketing techniques that they have seen work, and not work. They might also give you the info of other businesses in your area that may be in need of a collection agency. By helping you find business, your merchant account rep is not only helping you but helping themselves as well by helping you stay in business.
Marketing a collection agency is tough, but it can be done. Using free resources, such as consulting your merchant account service provider and the legal section of the local newspaper can give you leads on local businesses that could potentially need a collection agency. You can also pay to be placed atop a Google search for certain words and phrases. This marketing can be done, and with effort on your part, you can successfully garner new clientele.
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