How Are You Communicating With Your Customers?

A picture is worth a thousand words, but in the bill presentment arena, an insert in your invoice package is worth a whole lot more, especially for those telecom providers seeking to increase their margins and retain their customers. The concept of using marketing materials in your monthly invoice is hardly new; however, providers are beginning to find innovative ways to use these materials to regularly connect with their customers.

Cost-Effective Marketing
If you can measure it, you can manage it, and using the invoice package to test the market is an extremely cost-effective technique that captures results. One local and long-distance provider based in New York City – catering to Russian, Polish and Spanish speaking customers – has found a way to touch each demographic by using a selective inserting process that tailors a message to each audience. The company speaks to people in their native language, which fosters a comfort level that keeps customers loyal.

When this provider wanted to increase adoption of its local service, different programs were tested to uncover what rate plans, incentives and features were more appealing to its customer base. In a three-month campaign using three different inserts, the company learned that unlimited calling and reduced rates were what lead 60 percent of its customer base to adopt its local service plan.

Community Appeal
For many Tier 2 and Tier 3 providers, it is critical to develop a grassroots, local approach to building brand awareness. In order to compete with the bigger competitors, these providers need to ensure customers they have the same technology as their Tier 1 competitors while also showing customers they care about the community they serve.

One cellular provider based in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia utilized the back of the invoice as a way to generate retail traffic, improve customer relations and generate interest in two local charities. The company held a coloring contest by placing a black and white picture on the back of the invoice, thus launching in-store events filled with cartoon characters and prizes for the children. Winners were chosen in each retail location, and the company raised money for the local charities in the process.

As the marketing and relationship manager for this company put it, “We live in a community where there are six wireless choices, so it's important to be the one that's remembered for doing something really special, combined with great products and network.”

Creating a newsletter also can lend to providers’ community appeal. As one Kentucky cellular company reports, “Our customers look forward to our quarterly newsletters.” Inserting a newsletter into the invoice package allows this provider to inform their customers about community events, new company initiatives and the services they offer. “It provides us with an economical way to speak directly to our customers.”

An Educational Experience
The marketing insert can be used as an educational tool as well. “How to Check Your Voice Mail” and “How to Get Your Bills Delivered by E-mail,” are extremely popular topics among providers. A North-Florida CLEC combines community awareness with education, and sends its business customers a hurricane-preparedness brochure that provides tips on what businesses need to do before, during and after a storm. The brochure also touts an “Emergency Call Reroute” program.

Other providers use invoice inserts to educate themselves through customer surveys. When a local cellular provider located in Idaho wanted to poll its existing customers about potential data service offerings, it created a survey and asked customers to vote for their favorite services. The incentive to send the survey back was a contest with prizes such as an iPod, a SmartPhone and a $10 credit.

Overall, the company received a five percent response rate, but the real contest winner was the provider, which discovered that the services it was counting on being in the top were not. This experience afforded the provider an opportunity to re-adjust the offerings, and helped it gain insight into what services it should promote.

It’s All About Keeping the Customer
Churn is a costly issue among all telecom providers. Once a customer leaves, there is a matter of the lost revenue that will not be generated, as well as a few hundred more dollars in revenue to acquire another customer. Many providers now are creating “win-back” programs, offering incentives like free gas cards and steep discounts for previous customers to come back. Another economical method many providers are using to mitigate churn is a “refer-a-friend” program, which offers cash to existing customers for referrals. These cards are inserted into the invoice package, and they offer up to $25 for each customer referred that signs up for service. According to one rural cellular provider in North Carolina, “Referrals are a great way to build your business, and utilize one of the best advertising methods – word-of-mouth.”

The Bottom Line
For today’s provider, reaching out to customers is an essential part of business. The invoice package contains a financial document that brings in money, but it can bring in more than the amount due.

The invoice and what you put in it helps companies build businesses and relationships with the people served.

Ron Whaley is vice president of sales and marketing for OSG Billing Services. He can be reached at +1 201 871 1100 or ron.w@osgbilling.com.

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