Turn essential communications from a necessary cost into a transformative opportunity

Where once essential communications were the only touch point a customer had with a company, the rapid rise of digital channels means that your content is in front of customers several times a week, or even a day.

The question is, how much attention do they really pay to your content? And could you be using essential communications to make a stronger impact on customers?

Essential communications provide important transactional information to customers, such as changes to interest rates, the amount owing on their account or key information about their new service. This means that your customers are more likely to pay attention to these types of communications than any other.

How to tap into the power of essential communications

It begins with ownership. In recent years, with the heightened focus on customer experience, we've seen a significant number of companies shifting the ownership of essential comms from billing or operations to the customer experience or marketing teams. This shift not only helps companies deliver on their brand promise but also enables them to drive their business strategies forward with some cleverly considered execution. For example, you can improve cashflow through clever bill design which encourages prompt payment or reduce churn rates through improved customer experience and clear messaging.

Transition of ownership from billing/operations to marketing/customer experience

Computershare can assist to bridge the gap.

However, the switch to marketing and customer experience comes with some challenges. As marketing teams learn to embrace essential communications they need to come to terms with the integration into legacy systems, complex calculations and regulatory requirements associated with transactional based communications.

The requirements for development of these communications move past testing for usability and multiple email clients into complex data testing and calculation scenarios which can be challenging to navigate. Here are two key factors to consider:

Over to you

Your essential communications provide a valuable opportunity to drive changes in consumer behavior, educate and inform customers and propel your business strategy forward. It all comes down to careful planning around relevant messaging and design to meet your business goals while complying with regulations.

For help harnessing the full potential of your essential communications and to find out how they can help you achieve your business goals, contact our Computershare team today.