E-billing adoption rates are improving steadily as more billers offer electronic document delivery, and more consumers take up these options. But there is always room to encourage the numbers through targeted initiatives aimed at pushing the adoption of e-billing faster and higher.
Billers have the most to gain from this, as well as the most work to do. Encouraging e-bill adoption isn`t just about marketing. In many instances, it requires changes to day-to-day processes, which in turn can mean changes to impacted systems and potentially to job descriptions.
One of the ways in which to increase adoption of something is to `incentivise` the customer. This can be done in a positive way (reward) or a negative way (punishment).
For example, a bank wanting to move customers across from paper statements to e-mail statements is considering whether to offer a financial incentive to any customer who opts for electronic statements. Assuming e-billing costs the bank less, then that benefit can be passed onto the end customer (reward is lower cost). Alternatively, going the opposite approach to motivation, the customer wanting a paper statement pays more.
There is no correct answer. This is a business decision that will be made by each biller individually. What is interesting is that this decision could have far-reaching effects on business systems, staff training, internal processes and of course, customer communication.
Encouraging e-bill adoption isn`t just about marketing.
Alison Wright, Managing director, Striata
The bank that wants to amend its charges to favour e-mail bill recipients needs to define the difference in cost as well as be able to manage this through its systems. If the original e-bill costs less, does a reissue of an e-bill also cost less?
In the utilities or mobile environments, where the supplier provides an invoice for payment (rather than a statement), does the biller provide a discount on the amount payable if the recipient opts for e-mail billing? If yes, how is this discount passed through the accounting system?
The team needed to tackle this decision will not only include the marketing person, but also those responsible for customer services, internal change management, revenue streams and compliance.
Another way in which to increase adoption is to offer something in the e-bill that is not offered in the paper bill. Fortunately, technology enables this to be done relatively easily, as e-mail presentation of information is far more interactive and functional than presentation on paper.
Retail customers will be motivated to opt for e-billing if they believe there are features that give them more control over their billing. This is done by including calculators, sorting and grouping of transactions, graphs and special messages in the e-bill.
Business customers will be motivated to opt for e-billing if the features offer convenience and improve efficiency in their payment process. This is best achieved through providing the information in a way that can be used by the business in its own systems. Most businesses spend hours every month reconciling their invoices and statements. This is a tedious process of cut and paste, or inputting into spreadsheets. If the biller were to provide a data format along with the invoice, the financial manager will leap at the opportunity to streamline his own processes.
Simply creating a feature-rich e-mail bill is not going to increase adoption, however, without a marketing and communications plan that informs customers of the benefits. The way the e-mail bill is marketed should be different for different customer groups, to make sure the message is fitted to the customer profile.
Monthly paper billing presents an ideal opportunity to communicate the electronic option to customers. Put a message onto the paper bill detailing how the customer can move to e-mail billing. Make sure the signup process includes recording the correct e-mail address in the customer database. If you have the means, put a `statement stuffer` into the bill envelope in the form of a brochure explaining the benefits of e-mail billing and providing a registration form.
On the other side of the chain, customers can also impact the speed of adoption of e-billing. Do a quick review of everything you receive in your personal and business post boxes. Then send off a quick e-mail to the customer care centres of each of your `suppliers` to ask them if they have an e-mail billing option. If they do, sign up, and tell your friends.
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