Shoppers Still Stick to Payday Purchases

Read the headline of an article in the Wall Street Journal 8-30-10 by Anjali Cordeiro. In summary, the very good article deals with the pattern of people timing their purchases to paydays and government payouts such as Social Security, in other words, they are living paycheck to paycheck.
What does this mean for your business whether you sell consumer goods or services or have a medical practice? The most immediate impact should be on your accounts receivable and timing your invoicing and phone calls. You want those calls and bills to coincide with paydays and payouts. These most common paydays and payouts are:

1st of the month
Friday's
3rd of the month (Social Security)
15th of the month
MAJOR PAYDAYS would be Fridays that fall on the 1st and 15th

Contrary to popular opinion, 1st class mail is pretty efficient, we find that we get and our letters are received next day mail within Texas and 2nd day delivery within the rest of the US. So, when you give deadlines for payment, use the calendar and tack on a day or two after a payday. When you make collection calls, you'll have better luck if you spend your time a couple of days prior to and on actual paydays. Mailing your invoices or collection letters so that the customer or client receives it a couple of days prior to payday will yield better results. If you use a collection agency, make your placements between paydays.

For those of you that try this or may currently use this payday timing, I'd love to hear how it works for you.