By Cosmo Iannopollo, Senior Marketing Communications Manager, Paymentus
If there’s one constant about marketing it’s that it is almost uniformly good news. There’s a new product to make your life easier, a new pill to make you healthier, new ways to save more money or make more money. Everything is great and your life will get immensely better if you just buy this or subscribe to that.
But during my nearly 20 years in marketing and advertising, I’ve worked on several projects that were more straightforward and informative than creative and fun. At times, it was as simple as showing people how to use a new feature, or that something they had been using would be altered.
While the subject matter varied greatly, the overriding principle in determining the project outcome was fearlessness in confronting the situation at hand.
As a member of CAST, the proprietary Paymentus marketing team that offers complimentary services to clients, I’ve helped numerous clients address sensitive issues including the introduction of fees and the closing of lobbies. Here are a few principles that have helped our clients achieve their business goals without impacting customer satisfaction.
1. Be Honest
Surprises are great for birthdays, less so when it comes to billing and payments. Avoiding an unpleasant conversation today likely means having several tomorrow in the form of angry calls and emails.
When it comes to delivering “bad” news, honesty is the best policy. Customers may not love hearing it, but they will feel much worse if it seems like you’re trying to slip one past them.
One hot button topic that really generated interest in the past year has been the implementation of fees. Several billers, for a variety of reasons, opted to implement convenience fees for certain payment types. It’s never comfortable to tell customers that you’ll be charging them more, especially when the payment was previously fee-free.
CAST has helped several organizations fearlessly address this situation by simply acknowledging it. Education and preparation are your best tools in instances where a change may be detrimental to your customers.
For one Paymentus telecom client, the deployment of the Paymentus solution was accompanied by a $3.50 charge for all online payments. This was a lot of change for customers, but instead of hiding the fee, the telecom included it in all of their launch materials (which included social posts and bill inserts). As a result, customers were quick to take advantage of new offerings, ensuring a seamless transition for all.
Another example of fearless marketing revolves around a municipality that implemented convenience fees for ACH/eCheck and credit/debit card payments. The fee was the only change being made to their system, which meant it would be the sole focus of any communications.
Rather than shy away, the city sent a direct letter to its residents informing them of the fee. CAST drafted the letter to explain the exact fees, the reason for them, and the date of implementation. The letter was sent well in advance of the date, giving customers plenty of time to adjust. Unsurprisingly, the city experienced no interruptions in payments.
2. Be Helpful
Several years ago, Paymentus partnered with award-winning chef and restaurateur Tom Colicchio. One thing Tom instilled within the culture of his restaurants was that they were always on the side of the customer. This not only formed a bond between the customer and the restaurant, it automatically created a scenario where staff would seek solutions to problem situations from the customer’s point of view.
Billing and payments is no different. As a Paymentus client, you are in the unique position of being able to offer the widest variety of payment methods and channels for your customers to pay their bills. Acknowledging this is the first step in blunting the impact of potentially negative changes.
Two examples immediately come to mind.
Example 1
- A leading insurer implemented a convenience fee on credit cards and made a point to also promote its fee-free payment options that included AutoPay, digital wallets, and IVR.
- Through this strategy, the insurer saw its AutoPay adoption rise to 54%, with 85% of all payments now made through self-serve channels.
Example 2
- A utility undergoing a renovation project due to the reconfiguration of a major roadway.
- The gas and water provider was forced to close its lobby and payment window—forcing in-person payers to find an alternative way to pay their bill.
The challenge here is that most in-person payments are made by cash and check. These are customers with either hard-to-break habits or needs that rely on cash, i.e., you can’t just send them a link to the customer portal and expect payments.
The utility took a comprehensive approach to supporting these customers by communicating the closure, the reasons for the closure, and the alternative payment options that would fit their needs through a brochure, email, window sticker, and special customer service representative messaging. These alternatives included IVR and Walmart Bill Pay.
To the utility’s surprise, customer calls and inquiries were very limited, with data showing that these former walk-in payers quickly adopted both IVR and Walmart Bill Pay. Rather than leave customers in the dark, this utility confronted this drastic change by shining a light on the many ways customers could pay.
3. Be Stategic
Nothing beats preparation when it comes to navigating a complex or sensitive update to your billing and payments. Working with CAST to deliver multichannel marketing in support of these updates is just the tip of the spear. It’s important to clearly identify your goals and objectives, as well as your messaging to gain total internal alignment.
Alignment is essential, as there will likely be a few customer calls and questions. If a customer service representative is unable to explain the reason for something like a convenience fee, customers will feel greater dissatisfaction and could potentially delay payments (or worse, if you’re in a competitive industry).
Create an action plan with your teams to ensure everyone is not only aware of the upcoming changes, but also how to best communicate them. This should include relevant alternative options based on the customer themselves. If they’re calling to ask about credit card fees, they’re likely to pay by other digital means. This is the perfect opportunity to promote digital wallets and AutoPay.
Bills are no one’s idea of fun, but the peace of mind that an organization can deliver through a simple, intuitive, and clear payment process is priceless. From time to time, this will rely on addressing pressing issues head on, and with strategic clarity.
And if you’re unsure of where to start, CAST is here to help. We apply these three principles to our fearless marketing, which has already helped numerous clients of all shapes and sizes navigate difficult challenges.
Contact us today to learn more.
