e-statements part 2 – mining the possibilities
So your e-statement project is complete! You have gone to market with the ultimate in transpromo statements including:
- high quality imagery that is precisely matched to each client
- integrated messaging that links back to your core website marketing metrics
- near real-time response rate monitoring
- the ability to minutely tweak offerings to ensure they are performing at their absolute peak
- is that a yes I hear? I didn’t think so.
The day after launching your e-statements is thrilling with everyone patting each other on the back for a job well done. And it is a job well done – just not finished. We encourage our clients to maintain a 6 month change and improvement list that is continually driven by customer and staff feedback. The reality of these systems is that if you are not actively driving the system forward you are likely only using about 25 to 40% of the systems capability – but for 100% of the price.
Where do you start to mine additional value from your e-statements? I know a very professional online marketing consultant whose favourite phrase is follow the numbers. E-statements have the ability to generate click=through and viewing statistics. They can be hooked up to your online analytic engines and deliver direct and above all accurate numbers to base your planning on. So do it and camp on those numbers. There is a period of base lining but after that you should be looking for improvements every single month.
Don’t just focus on the e-statements. Watching how people are reacting to your messaging across all of your channels allows you to use the feedback to influence future channel & segment plans. There is nothing better than delivering a message on a statement that is repeated as the client logs into online banking and is also mentioned in the footer of an SMS message and appears on the reverse of a letter. If the message can be tied to an eye catching visual this is even better as it simply drives home your offering and branding.
Consistency across all client communication channels. Make sure your e-statement messaging is backed up with targeted messaging on the website, letters, SMS and other communication that is sent, and lets not forget the call centre and account managers they all have their roles to play in this. The modern CCM platforms from HP/Exstream, Xenos, Thunderhead, EMC, Isis-Papyrus, iDocs, PitneyBowes and others are more than capable of managing this kind of concerted push – but even if you have a different system it can still deliver the key elements!
There will be gasps of shock and horror at the additional work involved when you first broach these ideas with the other departments involved in getting your statements produced, but those are just normal reactions to change. Your vision will motivate your team other teams need to see different visions and benefits presented in wildly different ways. This is where we spend a lot of our time and effort, bridging the internal understandings gap.
So how would I summarise this post? Do it, track it and react – keep changing and trying new ideas and never settle for where you are today.
Feel free to send me your questions about any of the information covered here or leave a comment below – you can reach me through the office on 0203 355 4006 or contact me through the website.
Until next time…