Heights Finance is a fast-growing leader in personal installment, same-day loans with nearly 400 neighborhood branches in 11 states. The company needed a single platform to shift to a digital-first customer communications approach while centralizing and managing multi-channel communications across the business, which includes four brands. The company’s geographic footprint is throughout much of the Midwest, South and Southeast.
Almost everyone hits a financial hurdle at some point, and Heights Finance is there to help. The company offers personal installment loans designed to help customers get the money they need when they need it. Customers can apply online or visit any of the 400+ branches.
“We were looking for a ‘one to many’ technology that would allow us to communicate with our customers with accuracy, speed, and personalized content,” said Trudy Boyles, Chief Marketing Officer at Heights Finance.
Using Nordis’ cloud-based Expresso™ customer communications management platform, Heights Finance is achieving that goal.
The company is capitalizing on Expresso to prioritize digital communications. With Expresso, the company creates and delivers customer documents digitally first when possible, tracking bounces and open rates. Emails are sent with a secure link for customers to view a PDF of a letter after entering two authentication credentials. When emails are unopened or not deliverable, the same document is automatically printed and mailed.
Nordis is producing tens of thousands of emails and letters per month for Heights Finance, including welcome kits, financial education materials, collection communications, and marketing information for related products and services.
Enabling compliance and consumer choice
“With branches located in 11 states, we needed a centralized way to ensure our content was compliant based on the myriad of applicable state and federal regulations. We now have direct access to edit letter and email copy, and instantly know when our file is processed. Conversely, if an email isn’t opened within three days, the customer gets a letter. A centralized system is a huge win for us,” said Boyles. With Nordis, the company needs to send only one consolidated file per day, which makes the process very streamlined.
Cloud archive improves customer service
Another valuable feature is Expresso’s cloud-based archive, which provides company team members access to previously delivered print and digital communications. This ability improves both customer service and compliance.
Enables collections efforts
“Collections is an important component of our business, and good communication is critical, especially when consumers are struggling to make payments. Reducing delinquency is a big deal for us. We’ve found that consistent, effective collections communication can make a difference in recovery,” Boyles said. “And sending late notices via email speeds up the communication process since there is no mail delivery lag.”
Heights Finance has been working with Nordis for 18 months now, and the lender is eager to expand its digital platform to include texting. “Texting is queued up. And we’re getting ready to go,” Boyles said.