Web-based online self-service is eclipsing e-mail as the electronic channel of choice for delivering statements, bills and invoices to customers because it offers a richer user experience and a more secure environment than e-mail.
This is according to Kevin Meltzer, development director at Consology, who adds that marketplace trends point towards e-mail losing favour as a channel for communicating sensitive information, both among consumers and companies.
He says one major reason is that e-mail is no longer seen as a trusted channel. The battle for e-mail communication has been dominated by spammers and phishing.
“Over the past few years, e-mail has become so bedevilled by security issues such as phishing, spam, malware and scams that service providers such as banks are telling customers not to trust anything they receive in their mailboxes.
“E-mail is not the world of legitimate business anymore: the spammers and scammers have won,” says Meltzer.
A recent report by the global anti-virus company Symantec says spam made up 92% of all worldwide electronic messages sent in July 2010.
According to Meltzer, an increasing number of online users are embracing highly interactive Web services, such as Facebook and Twitter, over e-mail as their preferred means of communicating with friends, families and even companies they deal with. Electronic communication has shifted and e-mail has been left behind.
He adds that bills contain a wealth of data and can easily be manipulated by users.
“Once companies start to present bills to customers through an online portal, they can begin transitioning to an online self-service model that allows customers to carry out many tasks online at their convenience.”
Meltzer adds that many companies are still thinking about online billing as a way to achieve cost-savings for companies by removing paper and postage from their billing process.
But the real value of the online channel, says Meltzer, comes from getting customers to answer questions and perform transactions themselves, rather than picking up the phone to call the company.
“In industries such as telecoms, 60% to 80% of call centre enquiries are related to account issues such as a customer disputing a bill or requesting that copies of the past year's statements are faxed to him or her.
“An online portal can allow a customer to download historical statements or initiate a bill dispute in a process that is cheaper to the service provider than telephonic support and more convenient for the customer,” states Meltzer.
He says online banking is an excellent form of self-service and an example of how online Web services will soon revolutionise other industries. "If your bank said it would no longer send you your statements by e-mail, you probably wouldn't care. It is obvious which the preferred choice is and where the industry is moving to,” concludes Meltzer.
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