A Billing Experience That Creates Brand Loyalists
Message fatigue is real. Your customers receive a constant barrage of messages every day, over multiple channels, making it difficult for them to focus on—and act on—your billing communications. But your billing messages must drive action. With 22% of U.S. adults in debt collections and half of consumers willing to switch providers for a better billing experience, your billing outreach has a major impact on your cashflow and customer retention
Among consumers who made a late payment in the past year, 28% said it was because they forgot about the bill.
Some businesses are addressing this with proactive notifications. But their messages often lack personalization, and they target broad segments of customers instead of individuals with evolving needs. Other businesses neglect proactive communication altogether, failing to send payment reminders, missed payment notifications, or explanations for billing changes. These communications failures drive up late payments, call center contact rates and customer frustration.
Traditional Billing Communications Fall Short
They’re reactive. Some businesses fail to inform customers about missed payments or changes in bills until it’s too late. This can lead to unexpected service disruptions, late fees and even damage to a customer’s credit score. For brands that require auto-pay, missed payments cause service cancellation—essentially, forcing customers to churn.
They’re unhelpful. Generic messages or bills are often overlooked by customers. Even worse, when they don’t account for the sensitivities of a customer’s billing situation, payment reminders can come off as intrusive and punitive.
They’re costly. Live agent phone calls for payment recovery or billing explanation are costly. Overdue notices that lack personalized payment options can prolong outstanding balances, disrupting cashflow. That leads to more accounts requiring costly payment recovery efforts, not to mention incentive offers to retain customers during collections.
A Winning Approach:
Improve Engagement, Collect More Payments
How can you cut through the digital noise and drive customer action? By sending customers personalized, timely and clear communications to keep customers engaged and encourage on-time payment.
32% of consumers made a payment within five minutes of receiving a digital “payment due” notification, a healthcare study found.
73% of customers in late delinquency made a payment when contacted digitally, according to a McKinsey study.
Proactive intervention and clear explanations nudge customers to pay promptly, avoiding late fees and account suspension while enhancing customer satisfaction.
How CSG Xponent Does This
CSG Xponent is a customer engagement platform that brings your systems and departments together, giving you a complete understanding of each customer. This allows you to engage them individually across their preferred channels with relevant messages and tailored explanations, while suppressing non-essential communications. Xponent focuses on the critical areas to get right:
Digital payment collection and reminders. Streamlined payment options and proactive, personalized reminders.
Statement and billing explanation. Clear and concise explanations of charges and fees. Easy-to-understand communication about plan changes and price adjustments.
Proven Results
CSG encourages timely payment to employees and businesses with 109 million billing-related notifications orchestrated and sent annually. Organizations using CSG Xponent are getting results:
3X
Increase in responsiveness from at-risk customers by sending digital payment reminders
18%
Reduction in billing contact rate within first four months of deploying bill explanation
CSG Xponent helps your brand stay on top of mind when it’s time to pay their bills.
Cut through the noise and give your customers what they need from the billing experience. Let’s explore what critical area you need to get right to cultivate lasting customer loyalty, all while increasing revenue and reducing costs.
28% of customers click through to make a payment after receiving tailored billing explanations