Editor’s Note: Welcome to our weekly Reader Forum section. In an attempt to broaden our interaction with our readers we have created this forum for those with something meaningful to say to the wireless industry. We want to keep this as open as possible, but we maintain some editorial control to keep it free of commercials or attacks. Please send along submissions for this section to our editors at: [email protected].
How often do service providers interact with their customers? If they’re providing the agreed upon service at the agreed upon price, chances are the interaction is limited. For many consumers, the scenario of walking into a brick-and-mortar store and actually having a conversation with a service rep has become foreign. Today you can buy a phone, establish service and activate a device while never engaging with an actual person. You can search for services and change your rate plan with a few simple clicks.
While the benefits of the digital world – convenience for consumers and cost savings for service providers – are definitely welcomed, it’s interesting to look at the flip side of how this change in interaction is impacting customer relationships and placing increased pressure on each and every touch point.
The bill has always been a consistent means of communicating with customers but with this shift in how customers are engaging with their providers, for many, it has become the only touch point. It’s the link between the value that you promise and what you actually deliver. It can build enormous trust or in a matter of an instant, tear it down. Yes, the bill needs to be accurate. It needs to be on time. It needs to be easy to understand. Some would argue that it even needs to look pretty. But is there a more strategic opportunity related to the monthly bill?
For many telecom providers, billing inquires attribute to more than 50% – some as high as 80% – of their customer inquiries. Is this because customers don’t understand their bill? Or that they’re confused by the charges for a recently added service? Or that they’re amazed by how 5 megabytes of data usage translates into cost?
It’s all of the above.
Billing is never viewed as an easy task but regardless of what’s happening “behind the scenes,” translating the information that appears on a bill into a way that’s meaningful to customers is a must. Rest assured that this doesn’t require an extensive integration project and the consolidation of billing systems; it means pulling all of the data into a single source to deliver an enhanced billing experience. Consolidation of the data is the first step; applying analytics to help customers understand their bill, save them time and build their trust with their provider is the next step.
As a company, if you only have 12 times per year to engage with your customer, you better make it count. Thinking back 10 or 15 years ago, the paper bill was “it” when it came to customer communications. Product teams stood in line to make their case to the marketing team, hoping to earn the marquee placement on the next month’s bill. For those who succeeded, they anxiously awaited to see the uptake rates. For those who didn’t, they waited for the next month to pitch their product as the next big offering. It was a fairly basic decision process – determine which product had the most uptake potential and promote it on the bill – to every customer. Some basic segmentation was put into play, but if you and I had the same income we’re both “careerists,” had a good payment history and subscribed to two of the same services, there’s a good chance we received the same communication. So as we look forward to today, has the process really changed?
Operators have all of the data to move beyond generic product promotions to engage customers in a relevant, more personalized manner. Instead of product teams lining up for marketing to determine the best product to highlight, operators need to shift to a more customer-centric approach and determine the best communication for each customer at the right time. What this means is that for some customers in the right context the best communication may be the new product offer while for others it may be education regarding their existing service or a change in plan recommendation based on usage. The bill is an opportunity to create a relevant dialogue with customers to not only help increase revenues, but also drive long-term loyalty. For example, if a customer who has signed up for a new data plan in the past three months but has shown low usage, the bill can be used to educate them on data services that they will find valuable. Or if a customer is trending to exceed their covered voice services within the next three months, the bill can be utilized to provide them with personalized usage and trending information. In many cases, the bill can be used as a preemptive strike, eliminating the need for customers to call due to bill shock – and potentially churn – because the value they realize doesn’t align with the charges incurred.
With telecom products and services becoming a commodity, customer experience has become the key differentiator for many providers. Whether you use online billing or receive a paper bill, are a consumer with one account or an enterprise with a thousand, are a new customer or tenured, you depend on your service provider to provide you with a consistent, accurate view each and every month. Now if your service provider goes one step further and proactively provides relevant and personalized information, the bill can have an even bigger impact on customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Instead of viewing the bill as a necessary evil in terms of volumes handled and accuracy rates achieved, operators need to embrace the bill as a valuable touch point – one with which they can build ongoing trust and value.
