By Gerri Shanks, Senior Director, Enterprise Account Liaison, Paymentus
As we come to the conclusion of our five-part Reduced Cost to Serve Bill Better series, I am excited to speak about one of the most fundamental underpinnings of the Paymentus billing and payment solution: Partnership.
In my role, I have the distinct pleasure of working side-by-side with a number of our clients, including some of the biggest names within our industry. What technology builds, our teams work to emphasize through research, experience, and ongoing analysis. It’s the perfect blend of art and science, driven by the sole goal of client success.
Which is why it is fitting that our final pillar in helping our clients reduce their cost to serve is ongoing analysis over the end-to-end billing and payment ecosystem.
Areas of Analysis
Helping our clients optimize their costs begins with a thorough understanding of their set up. Your mix of payment options may differ dramatically from others, depending on needs, capabilities, and your customer base. Regardless, we make it our mission to deliver the ideal mix for your organization, and then work to fulfill your performance goals.
Client performance can be tracked in a number of ways. Platform usage is, of course, the most prominent but it doesn’t tell the whole story. The who, what, where, when, how, and why are all critical elements of unlocking the full story behind data.
To that end, we initiate reviews in close collaboration with our clients that cover a wide range of topics including:
Though not exhaustive, this list provides a basic overview of focus areas that can lead to platform improvements. It is here where a multitude of savings opportunities are unearthed.
Savings Beyond Processing Costs
Surcharging may be a fairly simple and straightforward way for organizations to save thousands per month on payment processing, but it’s not the only tool in the bag. After all, if credit card usage isn’t particularly high, implementing surcharging won’t do much to increase your savings.
It takes a full view of your billing and payment ecosystem to gain a complete understanding of where money can be made (or is being lost). For instance, let’s say that your credit card usage isn’t an issue but your costs still seem to be on the rise. Our teams use their expertise to analyze your data and deliver tailored recommendations based on your unique circumstances. Maybe your paper suppression is low. In this case, we can deliver a full strategy to implement paperless billing (if needed) and promote its adoption through our complimentary Customer Adoption Success Team (CAST).
We also work with your teams to identify trends that can impact performance. Consider if you’re a utility in a college town. You know that based on prior years, many students who are new to the area will initially make most of their payments in-office. We can help build a strategy and marketing that accommodates this seasonality and ensures usage of more cost-efficient channels.
Set It But Never Forget It
The key word I like to focus on when it comes to this particular pillar is “ongoing”. The world of billing and payments is highly dynamic, and the pace of change is accelerating beyond belief. In fact, this month’s companion Bill Better article, authored by Paymentus CEO Dushyant Sharma, focuses on AI and its increasing role within our industry. Imagine the savings opportunities with AI!
With so much innovation occurring almost daily, it is our mission to ensure that our expertise is always applied to your solution. Just as our payment options are designed to help you leave no customer behind, our continuing consultations are designed to help you leave no savings opportunity behind.
Whether it’s implementing Secure Service® to save on call-in payments or giving you the tools to send fee-free notifications, we work to help your organization save as much as possible, wherever possible. It’s more than our job—it’s our mission. And that’s the value of real partnership.
Want to learn more about how Paymentus can help you reduce costs while expanding your ability to serve? Let’s talk! Your future billing and payment partners are ready to learn more about your organization, its goals, and how Paymentus can help you exceed them.
