By Kristen Lemoi, Manager, Client Adoption Success Team
In the introductory Bill Better® article of our Reduced Cost to Serve Series, we shared how credit card processing fees are eating away at millions in revenue for merchants and billers each month. The impacts of these outsized costs cannot be understated, especially considering that credit card usage for bill payments continues to surge.
The solution to achieving savings by reducing or eliminating these costs lies in moving from an absorbed-fee model to a user-fee model. But this is easier said than done. Introducing fees is a sensitive subject, especially at a time when family budgets are so tight.
A recent PYMNTS.com article emphasized the situation at hand:
65% of consumers are living paycheck to paycheck
24% are struggling to pay their bills
This impacts how many bill payers pay:
41% of Americans use AutoPay for recurring bills
Only 26% of those in financial distress rely on AutoPay
The takeaway is that those who must click “Pay Now” on a monthly basis are more likely to notice fee increases and most likely to be impacted by these fees.
Change Management is an Essential Part of Any Transition
Let’s acknowledge that change can be hard. Whether you’re implementing a new billing and payment solution, adding a payment method, or implementing a fee, the success of your endeavor begins well before the go-live date.
Proactive education and preparation are vital. Informing your customers of upcoming changes well in advance serves to give them a sense of comfort and allow plenty of time for them to ask questions and get answers.
Client Adoption Success Team Support
The Paymentus Client Adoption Success Team (CAST) was developed specifically to address our clients’ change management needs. CAST delivers complimentary marketing support for Paymentus clients, helping them promote upcoming solution launches, product launches, fee implementations, and more.
Not only does CAST work with our clients on specific projects, the team has also developed a Change Management Marketing Guide that shares best practices, key milestones, timelines, and messaging based on years of successful implementations and launches.
And the proof is in the results. Clients working with CAST have experienced larger payment adoption numbers than those relying on organic growth. This shows that when customers are informed of changes, they will acclimate and choose the right path for their particular needs.
Communication Tools
Having the right messaging is great, having the digital tools to share this messaging is even better. Intuitive customer communication tools have proven their worth for many Paymentus clients, as evidenced by a 50% reduction in delinquencies.*
One such tool offered as a standard part of the Paymentus billing and payment solution is Enterprise Communication Manager (ECM), a proactive and reactive advanced customer notification feature that simplifies biller-to-customer communications. ECM allows billers to easily segment audiences and create customized notifications that can be sent via text, email, and phone messages.
For one client, a single automated payment reminder resulted in 50% of their bills being paid within an hour of the message being sent.
The Keys to Successful Change Management
Here are three ways your organization can approach change management in support of your business goals.
Of course, one surefire way to offset credit card processing costs or blunt the impact of a fee implementation is to offer your customers greater flexibility in how they pay their bills. Request a demo from a Paymentus expert to see how our best-in-class billing and payment solution can deliver the payment choice proven to increase transaction growth.
*Paymentus client data
