Customer Mail Communications are a Major Business Opportunity

Too often, I have seen companies who see the sending of documents to customers as a task that is borne of necessity. It is a background task, costs money but is essential. So we do it. We print documents and send them to customers.

Except in the most enlightened companies, rarely are these customer communications seen as a business opportunity. However those same companies may often spend very large somes of money on direct marketing as part of the sales & marketing process.

One of the things that we know is that for most businesses, it is far more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a customer. It is a more cost effective exercise to increase share of wallet with a existing customer than is the expense of acquiring a new one.

Too often, we hear end consumers saying how good the sales experience was, the promises that were made and expectations set. However once bought, the experience of working with the supplier becomes so-so and very me-to.

One thing that research tells us is that customers will spend far more time looking at a bill, statement or other important and essential communication than they ever will a direct mail item. I call these document types transactional documents. And it is here there lies one of the biggest opportunities for organisations.

I believe that there are two key factors to be understood in evaluating these transactional documents as a business opportunity:

1. Make good use of available White Space on transactional documents

2. Your company likely holds a wealth of data and knowledge about your customer. Use this data to make it easier for the customer to do business with you. Create customer value through the use of the combination of White Space and Data.

Sophisticated, customter centric organisations have demonstrated leadership in these areas for some time. Examine a bill from somebody like Virgin or Vodafone and you will see what I mean.

These documents are information rich and they are useful to the recipient. They tell customers how they could make their relationship with the company more cost effective through different tariffs. They advise of new products that the customer is likely to find useful. They clearly explain how to make payments. They make offers and the make up of the document is clear. Customers can find key information quickly and efficiently. This is all achieved by making good use of organisational data and through making the most of every customer interaction whether by mail, email, phone or on a face to face basis. Let's look at these ideas individually:

Making the customer company relationship more cost effective

This might seem like cutting revenues deliberately. However, it is more likely to enhance the customer relationship. By reducing customer costs, you can probably expect the customer to trust you more and to stay with you longer as you demonstrate your willingness to be competitive. If the customer perception is that you are more competitive and more trustworthy, in the long term, they are likely to buy new products from you. It really is a win - win situation.

Using the transactional document for Product Promotion.

Because you know this customer well, you can have a pretty good idea what else they are likely to buy from you. If the promotion is relevant to the customer, they are likely to take notice. Remember that people will spend more time looking at a transactional document than they will a piece of advertising or direct mail.

How to make payments / How to interact with you organisation

This is important. In an age where customers have a lack of confidence in the results that they get from communications with customer service centres, making the process easy for the customer by giving them good directions enhances your relationship with them. It makes living with you much easier.

It also benefits operations. By reducing the time spent getting customers speaking to the right people in your company, it reduces overhead. It means you can run more efficiently, can have fewer customer service agents and that you can resolve problems faster. This is a big cost saver.

Present the document well.

There are consultancies out there that understand how humans read documents it has been studied scientifically and is well understood. They know where people look and they know what confuses people. If people understand your document and can interpret the information within it well, then it is less likely that your call centre will receive 'petty' queries. It is these queries that load service centres down and that bring big peaks in traffic. Smooth these peaks by presenting information well and investing in a good document design approach.

Document Projects is an online blog and offers real world document management consulting services.