Advertising And Marketing Debt Collection

Advertising and marketing firms are necessary for the success of practically any business. Regardless of the benefits of any good or service, companies that try to sell them will not be successful if they cannot reach their client base. Experts in marketing provide their experience and knowledge to the benefit of companies of all sizes. Despite their importance in the success of their clients’, many advertising and marketing firms often find it difficult to collect payment for their services. To efficiently collect debts that are incurred in this sector, it is necessary to have a concise understanding of the reasons many of these issues are caused in the first place.

Late payments in the marketing space are an ever occurring situation for advertising firms. In research that was carried out by Oarex, a leading factoring firm that is prevalent among media agencies, it was discovered that late payments increased to 55% from 14.5% in the second quarter of 2020 alone. Advertising agencies typically offer favorable invoicing terms to their clients with net terms often as long as 60 days. Unfortunately, Oarex projected that they expect average invoice payment times to increase to over 100 days in the near future. The continued delay in receiving payment from clients can be devastating for media companies as the expenses they incur in running advertisements, paying employees, and covering overhead costs do not change. Many media companies are finding it difficult to survive in this environment. In 2019 Media company F+W Media which was heavily involved in print advertising, filed for bankruptcy with a mere 2.5 million in cash reserves and 105 million in uncollected receivables.

Collecting revenue from clients can be difficult for media companies for several reasons. Advertising and marketing companies provide services that can be difficult to quantify a return. When a company spends $15,000.00 on a billboard advertisement, it can be challenging to track the return on investment. Often companies will withhold payment for advertising services because they cannot directly correlate a rise in business to any specific activity. Many advertisements also take time to produce results for a business that will not be realized overnight. For example, a magazine publication may not result in a specific increase in sales for any particular quarter. Still, it does expose the company to potential customers that will now consider them in their next purchasing decision. Despite this, the advertiser who paid money for the ad will typically expect an immediate measurable return on investment, which is just not realistic. When faced with paying the obligation, many of these companies will avoid paying altogether.

When faced with unpaid invoices, many media companies will turn to a 3rd party debt collection agency to assist with the recovery of their funds. Our agents are trained to utilize various tools when addressing these issues. The agents handling the claim will focus on identifying the cause of the debt, explore remedies to cure the problems, and when appropriate, use the proper leverage to incentivize the debtor into resolving the matter. Unlike other agencies that use cookie-cutter demand letters and scripted agents often in overseas call centers, our agents thoroughly investigate the claims to ensure that no stone is left unturned in securing payment. When a company still refuses to address the obligation, we have a network of collection attorneys that will not only dispute the claim but collect through garnishments, liquidations, and other court remedies that force a recovery.

In addition to recovering the debt, our agents are also versed in business etiquette and conduct to ensure that our clients are being represented professionally and that their customers are being dealt with respectfully. In times where anyone can write a yelp or google review, it is vital that marketing agencies are represented by a collection agency who conducts business professionally.

If you are in the media sector and faced with the problem of collecting on a delinquent debt, contact our office to speak with a specialist to discuss your collection needs. Unlike other companies that will simply provide a standard quotation and a slick sales pitch, our intake specialists will consult with you to better understand the challenges that you are facing and devise a plan and pricing option that will serve your needs. The advertising sector is highly competitive, and allowing our expertise to aid you in the recovery of your past due accounts will not only increase recovery rates, but provide you with more time to devote to the growth your business.