By Kristen Lemoi, Manager, Client Adoption Success Team
How hard is it to change an ingrained preference? Consider the soda wars and what makes someone choose Coke over Pepsi (or vice versa). Flavor wise, they’re not terribly different, and yet, many people draw a hard line at which cola they prefer with their burger.
Which begs the question: what would it take for you to move away from a previous preference and form a new one?
It’s a question that we often consider as members of the Paymentus Client Adoption Success Team (CAST), and one we challenge our clients to consider as well. That’s because effective marketing blends the motivations or needs of a consumer, with the benefits offered by a product or capability.
But it’s this understanding of the consumer that is essential. Yes, a Coke fan may love the taste, but what if they’re ultimately driven by price or they’re a fan of the social outreach? They’re a winnable convert. The same can be said of today’s digital payments world.
Today's Customers
We swim in a sea of consumer information, but it’s important to understand a few key elements that can help inform marketing strategies:
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Bills paid through recurring payments (AutoPay)
Bills paid at billers’ websites in 2023
What can we ascertain? Consumers like digital and they love ease, but there is work to be done. For every statistic mentioned above, consider the flip side. 60% of payments are made as one-time payments, 23% of bills are paid in less business-friendly ways and 52% of payments are made through a mix of credit and debit (good), cash, checks (costly), money orders (unreliable), etc.
3 Pillars of Digital Adoption
1. Long-Term Engagement
Immediate adoption is great. Sustained adoption is even better. While many CAST clients have experienced an initial rise in their digital payment usage, there’s a reason we recommend clients commit to at least a 3-6 month campaign strategy.
The power of incremental gains cannot be overstated. Imagine Pepsi setting out to win just 1-2% of Coke’s audience each year. After a decade, the soda war may officially be over with Pepsi reigning supreme.
Organizations should focus on targeted wins that will add up over time. Early adopters are great, but they’re likely a smaller portion of your audience. Ingrained habits take time to change, making consistent outreach is a must. As such, tailor your KPIs toward longer timelines that may be measured in years, not months.
2. Self-Service Options
Consumers prioritize ease and convenience when paying bills. What’s easier and more convenient than 24/7 access to a bill payment method that requires no intervention from staff?
Offering a host of expanded, intuitive self-service options–AutoPay, interactive voice response (IVR), chatbots–allows you to meet almost any customer payment preference while providing anytime, anywhere payment convenience.
Beyond the benefits to customers and staff, self-service options such as these can instill confidence that creates further adoption. Once a customer is comfortable with AutoPay for instance, they may be more likely to sign up for paperless eBilling. Speaking of…
3. Paperless eBilling
Much like chatbots, paperless eBills can have a compounding effect on digital adoption. Traditional paper bills are valued as physical reminders of bills that need to be paid. Many customers are loath to lose this reminder, however, paperless eBills offer several things physical bills do not:
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Additionally, there’s also an option to allow consumers to receive physical and digital bills. But once a comfort level has been established, most consumers opt for the eBill option. Incentivizing this has proven effective for many CAST clients, and is something we recommend given the power of eBills to serve as a gateway to further digital adoption.
Of course, I’d be remiss to not reemphasize the importance of marketing as part of any digital adoption strategy. To learn more about CAST and how we can help your organization achieve its goals, contact us at CAST@paymentus.com or visit paymentus.com/client-adoption-success-team.
