4 Benefits of Driving Adoption
When compared to their traditional counterparts, digital billing and payment capabilities offer a range of benefits to customers and organizations that make adoption seem like a no-brainer. But for a variety of reasons, customers can often react slowly in adopting them – if they adopt them at all – while some billers view them as just different ways to pay.
Driving the adoption of these digital payment methods and channels is essential for maximizing your organization’s investment in a digital billing and payment solution. This is just one reason Paymentus created its proprietary Client Adoption Success Team (CAST). The benefits, however, go far beyond satisfying this initial investment.
Here are four reasons all organizations should consider dedicated marketing support to drive digital adoption:
Benefit #1: Cost Savings
It’s no surprise that driving digital adoption translates into significant cost savings. One of today’s largest budget busters is physical mail. Whether it’s processing checks or mailing out paper bills, paper-based processes are both slower and more expensive compared to digital payments and paperless eBills.
By driving the adoption of digital methods such as AutoPay and paperless eBilling, billers can save big on printing and postage costs (starting with $.68 per stamp!). The most important aspect in ensuring adoption is offering multiple communication avenues including mobile app, browser, text and email options. Through this, you can meet the preferences of any customer.
See how one Paymentus mortgage client transitioned more than 55,000 accounts to Paperless eBilling, resulting in approximately $343K in annual savings on postage and printing expenses alone.
Benefit #2: Staff Time Savings
Increased digital adoption alleviates the strain on staff in several ways. First and foremost, more digital options mean more ways for customers to self-serve. For those not inclined to adopt AutoPay, they can make one-time payments through web portals, chatbots, email and text. Second, expanded digital payment channels mean less reliance on staff-intensive channels such as mailed checks, in-person payments and phone calls.
A perfect example of the power of chatbots can be found in White House Utility District (WHUD), which alleviated the strain on its four Customer Care Specialists by implementing and promoting the Paymentus Chatbot. The team estimates that the chatbot saves approximately an hour per day processing payments, resulting in over 260 hours saved annually.
Finally, digital payments create a wealth of real-time data that automates and streamlines reporting and reconciliation. Staff gain complete visibility into every customer account and the organization’s billing landscape as a whole, without the need for manual intervention.
Benefit #3: More On-Time Payments
At Paymentus, we like to say that the easiest bill to pay gets paid first. Expansive digital payment options mean that customers always have their favorite way to pay right at their fingertips. This goes beyond inherently convenient payment options such as AutoPay.
Consider the case of your youngest bill payers. It’s likely that they’ve never used a checkbook and are most comfortable paying by digital wallet or credit card. They’re also the most likely demographic to report missing a bill payment. If they’re aware of the full depth and breadth of your digital payment offerings, you can ensure this demographic – as well as your full customer base – will have the payment options they prefer when it comes to making a payment.
Additionally, highlighting the various payment options allows customers to choose their preferred and most convenient method, increasing the likelihood of timely payments. Given that the easiest bill to pay is often prioritized, it is crucial to showcase all payment methods to drive customer adoption.
Benefit #4: Increased Customer Satisfaction
What today’s customers want are simple, intuitive bill pay experiences that allow them to pay how, when and where they want. By prioritizing customer-centricity through offering expanded, easy-to-use and always available digital payment options, businesses sustain customer engagement over time, fostering deeper connections and loyalty.
Shentel, a telecom company that focused on driving digital adoption and increasing customer awareness, improved their Net Promoter Score, from a negative rating of 3.2% to a positive rating of 39.7%, while also increasing customer satisfaction scores to 96%.
Whether your organization can experience all four or just a few of these benefits, driving digital adoption is always worth the effort. Dedicate organizational efforts to promoting these options to increase usage and drive adoption. Billers who prioritize driving adoption, and partner with the Paymentus Client Adoption Success Team experience a significant uptick in transaction volume, with an average increase of 15% - 30% compared to those reliant solely on organic growth. It’s the easiest way to realize the full benefits of today’s digital payment methods.
For more information on CAST and how you can take advantage of this complimentary service, visit paymentus.com/cast or contact us at cast@paymentus.com.
