What Percent Of Your Marketing is Being Wasted?

For many companies, this may be one of the most challenging years they have faced.  Many businesses are focused on productivity improvements and ways to get paid faster, while others are implementing new approaches for driving revenue.    That’s where your bill comes in to play.  A surprising fact about your bill.  It can be a powerful marketing vehicle for driving revenue.

One of the most common marketing quotes bantered about is from John Wanamaker, the pioneer of the department store concept.  Wanamaker said, “I know half my advertising money is wasted, trouble is, I don’t know which half.” 

What would Wanamaker have said if you told him he could place personalized messages onto a document that would be reviewed daily by a large majority of his target audience at no additional cost?  You are already incurring the cost of sending your bill.   By adding a marketing message you are simply maximizing the value of your “real estate”.

An InfoTrends 2007 survey found that 95% of bill recipients open their bill and review it for over three minutes.  Imagine if your marketing communication could achieve that kind of a response.  The bill becomes more than a piece of paper that communicates how much your customer owes you; it becomes an opportunity to drive demand by delivering a targeted message to a captured audience.

Rockingham Electrical Supply has been taking advantage of their bill as a marketing vehicle for the past few years.   According to Jim Pender, EVP and COO at Rockingham, “by taking a strategic approach to the messaging we place on our bills, we have been able to achieve double-digit sales increases on key products.”  Rockingham customizes the bill message based on the location of their customer and they rotate the message on a frequent basis.   They have also used the message on their bill to triple the use of eBilling by their customers, resulting in significant cost savings.

With the challenges of today’s economy, it is more important than ever to innovate in all facets of your business to drive sales.  For many distributors, the bill is an underutilized asset with tremendous potential.  Make sure that your bill is getting the “billing” it deserves.

Billing Strategy

The Billtrust blog post by Flint Lane on Making the Move to Electronic Billing does a good job of describing what’s involved in a billing strategy and important considerations in selecting an billing services vendor.  Mr. Lane believes a billing strategy should consist of a comprehensive set of solutions that allow a company to distribute bills and accept payments electronically, along with a comprehensive plan to how to migrate customers to electronic billing.  He makes important points related to economic and marketing considerations which distinguish a solid billing outsourcing provider from standard software vendors and mail-order houses which provide billing solutions.

Cost Savings and Improved Customer Service

This is a good article written by Credit Today that summarizes the benefits of having a well thought out billing process.  The article has many interesting statistics on DSO, billing costs, and managing customer billing issues.

The importance of electronic billing is also discussed.  The report highlights the role eBilling plays within a company beyond cost reductions.  Electronic billing also helps companies get paid faster and satisfies a set of customers that are looking for easier ways to manage and pay their bills.

Lastly, the article goes into the role third party billing companies can play and what kind of expectations a company should have when choosing a vendor.

Here is a link to the article:  http://www.credittoday.net/public/1962.cfm?sd=42

The Cost Of Getting Paid

In today’s economy, there is more pressure than ever to drive sales and make sure that cash is coming in the door.  Given the increased pressure to get paid on time, CEO’s should have the same kind of strategic perspective towards their billing as they do towards other areas within the supply chain.  Having a well thought out strategy for the billing process can mean the difference between success and failure.

Many B2B companies have not taken the time to understand how their customers want to mange the billing process.  How do they process invoices?  What accounting system are they using?  What information do they review prior to making a payment?  How do they want to pay?  Knowing more about a customers needs will result in companies being able to take the strategic actions that will result in making it easier for their customers to do business with them.  This ultimately leads to an improved cash receivable position.

Strategic Bill Management is the answer.  It allows organizations to achieve revenue growth and greater liquidity.   It starts with recognizing the potential of the bill beyond a simple piece of paper.  A bill is a way to communicate to your customer.

What does your current bill design say about your company?  Is it easy for your customer to review?  Are you giving your customers options for how they receive and pay your bill such as online billing?  Are you using your bill as an up-sell opportunity?  When companies mange their bill as a strategic asset they can significantly impact organizational performance.

Mitch Rose is VP of Product Development at Billtrust

Billing Services Blog Overview

The benefits of outsourcing billing processes can be substantial in terms of reducing dso, cutting billing errors and improving customer satisfaction.  This blog is dedicated to educating the business community about billing services and how online billing can be used to achieve these benefits.