What Paperless Adoption Rates Can I Realistically Expect?

The case for eBilling (also known as paperless billing) has been
described as 'compelling.' Then again, take-up rates have been described
as disappointing. Despite the many arguments for eBilling, the real
problem with mass adoption is customer reluctance to change, despite the
idea that eBilling saves the environment and saves money.

The definition of eBilling Adoption Rates is the number of customers that
request an electronic bill instead of a paper bill. If you have 100,000
customers and 20,000 of your customers request an electronic bill
instead of a paper bill that means you have achieved a 20% adoption
rate. The higher your adoption rate, the better the cost savings
achieved, since total eBilling costs are typically 50%-80% lower than
traditional mail.

There are six clear reasons why consumers do not turn off their paper bill:

1. Customer indifference: Doing nothing is the path of least resistance.


2. Enrolment: Registering at each website is a painful process.


3. Multiple biller sites: Too much effort to remember each process.


4. Convenience: Fetching my bill is less convenient than receiving it.


5. Presentment vs. payment: I can see what I owe, now how do I pay?


6. Mobile matters: I need to see more than just a summary.

From these reasons, it is clear that consumers are searching for convenience in their already hectic lifestyles, and so, the easier we can make their eBilling transition, the higher the adoption rates we'll achieve.

What methods do you use to achieve high adoption rates?

The most important consideration is not what technology is implemented, but how the consumer is treated during the conversion journey. Here are some considerations:

• Rollout Strategy: Develop detailed rollout strategies to ensure the desired adoption rate is achieved. This includes deciding on an opt-in or opt-out approach, whether to offer incentives or impose penalties and how to handle exceptions.


• Understand Your Customer Base: Carefully review the demographics of your customer base: What percentage are over 50 years old? What percentage of your customers use online banking and how does this compare to industry averages? What percentage of your customers live in rural areas? Understanding your base is critical to developing effective rollout campaigns.


• Consumer Education: It's important to agree internally WHY electronic billing is to be implemented. An environmental argument only has legs if it doesn't only address saving the rainforests, since paper generally comes from sustainable forests. Instead, address the fact that the paper industry is a major source of toxic chemical pollution, especially toxic solvents and chlorine compounds used to bleach and delignify pulp (The process of removing lignin – an organic substance binding the cells – from wood or non-wood fibres).


• Utilize all Existing Print Correspondence: The most effective way to spread the paperless message is to embed graphical marketing within your printed statements and on envelopes. This is very cost effective and has great results.


• In-Person Interactions: An employee/customer rewards program for signing up for electronic statements is a great way to get results. A few banners, posters, and employee buttons are all it takes to make this a great success.

In Conclusion:

There really is no simple answer to the question of what adoption rate can be expected when embarking on an eBilling campaign. In Striata's global experience across financial services, telco's and utilities, the average adoption rate for an online eBilling solution seems to plateau at between 7% and 12% over a 3-year period. However many of our clients are achieving adoption rates double, triple and even quadruple these figures in certain instances. The higher adoption rates are directly related to the ease of use for the consumer.

For more detail on how we simplify your customers' lives, please see The eBilling 'Push' Advantage .

Michael Haupt
Managing Director, Europe
www.striata.com