When the payment term has expired, and your customer still has not paid your invoice, it is time to remind your customer of the outstanding invoice. You can do this with just a simple but clear reminder. But there are also companies that go to a lot more trouble to remind their customers of the fact that they have not yet paid. Whether it has the desired effect is not known to us. But perhaps it gives some inspiration when you want to send a payment reminder to your customer.
Send the debtor a gift
Do you only send your customer a gift on special occasions? Why not consider sending one with your payment reminder from now on? If your payment reminder stands out, your invoice will be more likely to be paid. And as the famous saying goes, "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar”. So, next time you send out a payment reminder, maybe send your debtor a tie, an apple, a muffin basket or even a real couch as well. But make sure the link is clear.
- A tie: "Don’t get tied up with a debt collection agency, send us a payment today"
- A couch: "We want you to be comfortable, can you make us comfortable too? Pay our invoice?"
- An apple: "Your health is important to us as is the health of our company – send us payment for invoice XXXX"
- A muffin basket: "Enjoy these sweet treats whilst paying our invoice”
Whether this will also make your debtor management colleague happy is of course questionable. And your delivery costs will probably also skyrocket. But your debtor will definitely not be able to ignore you and that's what it's all about!
Make your debtor laugh
Being reminded of an outstanding invoice will rarely make you laugh. At XXL Webhosting, however, they are convinced that a funny payment reminder will have a better effect on your customers than when there are threats to take further steps. That's why, a few years ago, they sent the following card to all customers in arrears. It is not known whether the customers then started to pay their outstanding invoices more quickly but they were likely to be laughing!
Congratulate the debtor on their performance
Do you really want to make an unforgettable impression on your debtor? Then you can pay the debtor a visit to congratulate them. A company devised a so-called "Debtors' Congratulation Service”, in which the debtor is unexpectedly visited. With cake and garlands, the debtor is reminded of the outstanding invoice. The "Worst Paying Debtor" certificate is then awarded to the person responsible for paying the invoices in a festive way. As a debtor, they will then be put in the limelight and are more likely to pay all invoices from now on. Whether this is the best way to remind your debtor of the outstanding invoice, is up to you…
An effective payment reminder
Although these special payment reminders will undoubtedly impress your customer, it is not certain that they will have the desired effect. In addition, of course, it takes a lot of time and money to visit your debtor or to send him gifts. Our advice is therefore to send a clear (but boring) payment reminder to your debtor. With these 9 tips for an effective payment reminder, you ensure that your customer still pays the outstanding invoices quickly.
More information
Would you like more information about collecting outstanding invoices? Our collection specialists and lawyers will be happy to help you. Feel free to contact us for more information.
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