Customer statements and bills are moving to the forefront in marketing-savvy organizations. Increased competition in many industries, coupled with the recognition that the statement and bill may be the only regular contact a customer has with a company, has elevated these pragmatic documents into a vital element of customer retention strategy. Moreover, the slow but steady increase in consumer adoption of electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) adds a whole new dimension to what were once considered routine backroom accounting and operations tasks.
Reduced Confusion = Greater Retention
The customer-retention value of the bill or statement is a two-pronged issue. First, a clean, easy-to-understand bill or statement eliminates customer frustration and reduces call center traffic. When customers can tell at a glance who sent the bill or statement, how much is due, when it is due and adequate details of charges, they don't need to pick up the phone for clarification or help.
The results of a well-designed statement can also lead to significant cost savings. In one dramatic example, a video services provider was able to reduce call center traffic by almost 70% and reduce customer churn. In some cases, the benefits in hard-dollar cost savings can run into millions per year. When customers become frustrated or confused enough to call, they are less likely to remain loyal when presented with a competitor's offering. So lowering call center volume reduces costs, and it can also translate into decreased customer churn.
Your Statement, a Marketing Tool
The second benefit is the increased marketing opportunity a statement can provide. A current customer is, after all, the one most likely to buy more products or services. And since every customer reads every monthly statement or bill, these communications are ideal vehicles for promoting new offers.
Many organizations have taken advantage of the marketing opportunity by using a variety of devices. One automotive finance company routinely uses its statements to promote the services of its dealers based on geographic segmenting. Though the promotions do not directly affect the finance company, they strengthen the dealer organizations it relies on for new customers.
As customer relationship management (CRM) tools become more robust and easier to integrate with billing data, it is becoming easier to segment a customer base and target campaigns. Now, instead of marketing and advertising efforts operating independently of statement production, campaigns can be easily coordinated and carried across multiple media. The trick lies in being able to convert the information gathered into useable marketing campaigns.
To address this need, one innovative company, DST Output, is now offering a suite of services called InTouch, which provides virtually unlimited segmenting and one-to-one personalization. From his or her desktop, an authorized marketing staff member can specify segmenting routines and select or create marketing messages that will appear as personalized messages, inserts, coupons, envelope promotions and even email campaigns. ·
These capabilities can unleash the creativity of marketing groups. For example, the same automotive financing company mentioned previously uses its customer information to offer purchasing incentives when vehicles reach certain ages. A large waste management company segments its data into its 480 districts and includes custom messages the districts want to send to their customers each month. An investment firm produces different types of customer account statements depending on the size of an investor's holdings. And another client, a long-distance provider, uses printed statement messaging and incentive offers to encourage its customers to switch to electronic statement delivery.
The Need for Professional Communications Design
The need for vital customer documents, no matter what the form, points clearly to the importance of effective bill and statement design. It's no longer a paper-only world. Customer account statements and bills must be designed with multiple media, or channels of delivery, in mind. The complexities increase almost exponentially when companies must design complex statements or bills for production print as well as Internet delivery. And before long, companies will also have to deliver the same information to wireless devices like PDAs and cell phones.
Firms like DST Output are helping customer organizations stay ahead of that curve and manage the coexistence of paper and digital documents. For example, the company formed a national Communications Design Group that specializes in designing all types of printed and electronic customer communications. More often than not, the team of specialized information designers develops the print and electronic versions for clients at the same time. The benefits are huge. Clients deal with only one source for print and electronic communications messaging and segmenting can often be applied to both simultaneously, and marketing campaigns can be synchronized across both channels seamlessly. Best of all, as customers elect to switch to electronic viewing and payment, the conversion is already in place. It's just a matter of flipping the switch to turn off paper statements and eliminate redundancy as well as the expense.
As companies struggle in a highly competitive market, they must use every advantage possible to contain costs, retain customers, increase market share and boost revenue per customer. Make no mistake: The era of the e-bill and the e-statement has begun. Smart companies are already providing these options. Customer trends show clearly that the adoption rate will continue to climb. And with postal costs rising, even small increments in EBPP translate into very substantial cost savings. Including statements in customer retention strategies is one of the opportunities most often overlooked, yet it is one of the few enterprise initiatives with the horsepower to improve customer loyalty, lower costs and improve revenue, which is the goal we all strive to achieve.
Wes Ervin, Ph.D., is with DST Output, a firm that integrates advanced relationship management and communications techniques to create personalized customer communications via integrated paper and electronic statements, bills and marketing pieces. His work in the field of bill and statement design has won numerous awards including a number of top-rankings from DALBAR and the Innovation Leadership Award from CAP Ventures. You can contact him by email at wes_ervin@dstoutput.net.
