Nicole Haskins, Vice President, Paymentus
Our recent three-part series on affordability highlighted one of the largest challenges facing all organizations. Costs continue to rise, relief is hard to find, and no industry is immune. A few recent data points really stuck out to me in regards to this challenge:
- Since January 2025, more than 108 million electric utility customers in the U.S. have faced increased costs or proposals for increased costs
- 49 million gas utility customers have faced the same
- Medical costs face a projected 9.2% increase within North America, putting greater pressure on insurers
- The average cost of full coverage car insurance experienced a 12% year-over-year increase from 2024 to 2025
Unfortunately, there’s no magic savings button, no special discount code. In this previous article, we expanded on three actions your organization can take to improve customer relationships:
Be Proactive
Offer Assistance
Add Value
Before any of this can effectively be delivered, however, there’s one important organizational aspect that must be addressed to make 2026 a success in spite of rising costs.
The Need for Enhanced Customer Service
One of the most important realizations all organizations must make is that they are in a battle to win more payments. Economic uncertainty, plus rising costs and a slowing job market spell more pressure and potential trouble for household budgets in 2026.
This is why service is now a fundamental underpinning of today’s most successful organizations.
Service Commerce: The sale and delivery of services involving digital platforms and technologies to facilitate the buying and selling of services. Service based. Ongoing relationship.
No industry is immune from the challenges at hand, making it imperative that all organizations focus on building internal cultures dedicated to service commerce. Even if you operate in a non-competitive industry, you are still competing against the financial pressures impacting already constrained budgets.
But while on-time bill payments are certainly essential, there’s something far more important at stake here: customer satisfaction.
Prioritizing Customer Satisfaction Will Win In the Long Run
During our most recent earnings call, Dushyant Sharma, President and CEO of Paymentus, defined what Paymentus is all about:
When he said this, he was talking about much more than deployments and integrations. For Paymentus, this is where the partnership begins. This is where we get to work turning a new client into a client for life. This is our version of superior service.
For our clients, our solution helps them to simplify bill pay, increase engagement opportunities, and maximize an often underutilized component of their business. But this must be accompanied by a culture dedicated to customer service to achieve its full potential.
Consider the example of a landlord with a great tenant. The tenant pays on time until suddenly, a financial hardship upends their ability to pay. The landlord has a few options:
Work with the tenant to create a plan that keeps them in the house, guaranteeing a quality tenant will occupy the property.
Create a strict deadline for payment that could end with the tenant leaving, resulting in a search for a new tenant that may be able to pay but is completely unknown.
Yes, dollars and cents do factor in, but which option here seems like the best strategy from a long-term standpoint? Not only that, but the landlord has used this hardship as an opportunity to cement a bond. The tenant will likely care for the property to a greater degree, and may even be helpful in finding a tenant if they are to move out.
Creating a Service Culture
There’s a simple yet profound statement that I like to share with my teams: customer service is everybody’s job. Yes, everybody. Each action we take must make it easier to work with us. This is the culture we have instilled within Paymentus, and it’s one that all organizations can adopt as their own.
Whether you’re in a competitive industry or not, this is your opportunity to create a lasting bond with your customers. The upshot is about more than on-time payments. You can develop advocates, and earn goodwill at times when service may fall short of expectations.
The key is to prioritize the customer at every turn. Yes, every. Simple things like providing clear payment links can go a long way toward driving an action. A timely notification can be just the reminder someone needs to keep their account from a late fee. A friendly voice on the phone with the ability to create a plan may be exactly what a customer needs at a difficult time.
The important thing is to operate as if you need to win each payment every month, because service commerce is not just about getting paid today. It’s about having a satisfied customer tomorrow.
Want to see how a modern billing, payment, and engagement solution can help increase your customer satisfaction? Let’s talk! Our team can share an exclusive demo and show how we can add outsized value to your end-to-end customer experience.
