There are many unique or overlooked billing and payment plays telecoms can make to cement subscriber loyalty and win new customers. In our recent playbook, “5 Plays to Improve Billing & Payments for Telecoms: A Communications Service Provider’s Playbook for Optimized Bill Pay,” Paymentus experts shared not only the top plays, but also questions CSPs can ask providers to optimize their performance.
One play that should be a staple of all telecoms is that of self-service, where customers can view and pay bills, as well as manage their accounts, without staff support. A simplified billing and payment experience that offers many forms of self-service both enables customers to best manage their accounts and relieves the burden on staff.
With so much at stake, here are a few winning self-service strategies to improve the billing and payment experience for your subscribers and team members.
The Demand for Self-Service is Growing
From customer service to bill pay, the demand for self-service capabilities in telecommunications continues to rise. Subscribers expect a frictionless experience that is both fast and intuitive. The ability to deliver this could mean more on-time payments, evidenced by 23% of Millennials reporting ease of making a payment as a key factor in which bills they prioritize.*
But self-service can take many forms, which makes deploying a modern, comprehensive billing and payment solution a necessity. To this end, capabilities such as AutoPay, Text-to-Pay and chatbots need to be considered almost table stakes.
The Power of AutoPay
AutoPay may be one of the most mutually beneficial self-service offerings a telecom can deploy. For subscribers, the set-it-and-forget-it convenience is coupled with the assurance of always on-time payments. They know their account will remain in good standing and never have to worry about remembering to pay their bill.
For telecoms, AutoPay ensures subscriber satisfaction while also delivering consistent and reliable monthly cash flow. What’s more, the adoption of this digital payment channel reduces the costs associated with processing paper checks and having staff process payments by phone. Plus, it often serves as a gateway to other cost-saving digital capabilities such as paperless eBills.
AutoPay is also a popular addition to any billing and payment platform. For one leading rural telecom, partnering with Paymentus enabled it to expand its self-service offerings to include AutoPay. After its introduction, AutoPay adoption grew 196% in the first few months post-implementation. Today, approximately 40% of the telecom’s subscribers pay their bill using AutoPay.
Key Self-Service Billing & Payment Considerations for Telecoms
As you consider your organization’s ideal billing and payment experience, it’s important to consider each subscriber touchpoint. Is it simple to use? Can it quickly help subscribers resolve needs or does it rely on manual intervention? Can customers self-serve through digital means and by phone? These are the questions telecoms should be asking of themselves and their billing and payment solution providers.
Want to see the complete list of plays your organization can use to get ahead of subscriber expectations? Download your complimentary copy of 5 Plays to Improve Billing & Payments for Telecoms: A Communications Service Provider’s Playbook for Optimized Bill Pay today.
