Using a Range of more “Active” Incentives to adopt e-billing and payment

With a planned and consistent information-led approach which stresses the many benefits of the transition, as much as 15% of a customer base may adopt your new electronic billing and payment system. This information-led approach is like to use a range of gentle encouragement approaches such as:

1. Letters explaining the new system
2. Short notices about particular benefits
3. FAQ’s on a merchant website explaining the new system
4. Pamphlets/Leaflets/Brochures on the new system
5. White papers (on benefits such as being more “green”)
6. Trials (try using the system but keeping getting paper bills)
7. Offers such as planting a tree (for every 10 customers who switch to e-billing)

However, to get the majority of customers to alter old habits, greater incentives are needed and this will depend on each merchant deciding how much extra pressure to change to apply. This falls into two categories-what we call “active encouragement” and “aggressive encouragement”. Let’s look at each of these in turn.

Active encouragement

Active encouragement uses a range of methods to incent customers to switch but all of these fall short of forcing them to change or imposing new costs on them. Examples here include:

1. Offering donations to charity (for each customer/every 5 customers who switch)
2. Using email campaigns to use e-billing
3. Engaging in planned text messaging campaigns to explain the benefits
4. Educating customers over the phone (via a call-center) on a push basis
5. Running advertisements (print, radio and even cable)
6. Running sweepstakes or other competitions around the new e-billing system
7. Using on-hold messaging to encourage adoption

If gentle encouragement achieves the first 15% to adopt e-billing, the above may add another 25% over a 3-6 month period (with consistent effort).

 

Aggressive encouragement

Give that the first two encouragement approaches described above may convert 40% of the customer base to the new billing system on a combined basis, the last 60% may need to be pushed even harder and this is what we call “aggressive encouragement”. Examples of this might be:

1. Running a loyalty points scheme for prizes (in-house or third-party) for switching customers
2. Offering coupons or discounts for products or services (in-house or external) when switching
3. Offering third-party gift certificates for adoption
4. Forcing customers to opt-out of electronic billing (simply by turning off paper bills for example)
5. Offering discounts on bills viewed and paid electronically  (e.g.1%, 2% or even more off)
6. Charging customers if they want a printed invoice
7. Charging customers a surcharge to call in make to a call center

These more aggressive encouragement approaches need to be carefully discussed before implementation and will also depend on the new system being offered. In the case of using a service such as BillSwyft for example, customers can still print invoices and generate PDF’s, thereby making the switch to no paper rather easier to bear.