When is a bill more than just a bill? When it’s viewed as a key customer touch point that is integrated to a company’s enterprise-wide Customer Relationship Management strategy.

As businesses strive to achieve competitive advantage in the year ahead, transactional mail—in both print and digital form—should be recognized as vital tool that can increase customer satisfaction while reducing operational expenses.

Today’s innovative industry leaders must discard the notion that mail is a necessary expense. Instead, it must be viewed as customer-rich data that can be leveraged to make intelligent decisions that impact revenue.

There is a range of solutions available today to link output documents—and the unique customer touch point that it provides—with critical but previously isolated CRM activities and resources.

As a result, businesses can create and deliver 1:1 customized messages to virtually each and every customer through digital or print mail. Additionally, they can deliver those messages faster with less expense, and greater effectiveness than ever before. Results can be measured more easily by precise tracking of response rates and customer satisfaction levels

Linking output documents to CRM evolves from three foundational points:

1) The ability to manage mail messaging as a closed-loop, integrated process that encompasses the creation, production, distribution, receipt and the ability to update your company’s centralized customer data repository

2) Uniquely identifying and tracking individual mail pieces from the print stream though printing, insertion and USPS drop-off

3) Precision tracking of individual mail pieces through the USPS chain, by linking with the USPS Confirm system to see the last recipient of the mail piece and track inbound customer responses generated by those outbound mailings

The result is a capability that is fast becoming known as Intelligent Mail.

Intelligent mail can deliver significant benefits back to the enterprise by linking output documents with call center operations, security tracking and marketing campaign management.

Empower the Mail Intelligent Call Center
Empowering the call center to be more responsive not only helps a company deliver a positive customer experience but can also reduce customer call times and frequency of calls. Using intelligent mail, inbound call center or customer service representatives (CSRs) can easily access an image of the actual ‘as-rendered statement’ or bill. No more waiting for CSRs to locate the correct information or forcing the customer to repeat their account number multiple times. Call center personnel can literally be “on-the-same-page” as the customer while reviewing bill inquires. This personalized focus on the customer can substantially increase customer retention and loyalty.

Establishing a positive customer experience also provides CSRs with an avenue to cross-sell or up-sell the special offers or promotions listed on the ‘as-rendered’ statements.

With this rapid response ability, a company can see marked improved in call center metrics such as 'percentage of first calls resolved' as well as 'total talk’ time required per call'.

Intelligent mail tracking can also improve customer service delivery in more difficult arenas. When a customer complains that a statement hasn't arrived yet, or attempts to dispute a late charge, the CSR can pinpoint whether there was a problem during the company’s statement processing cycle or if the delay was in USPS delivery. The empowered agent can opt to forgive the late charge, or point out that the bill was delivered but perhaps misplaced.

This precise tracking ability engenders customer satisfaction and helps the company save money by avoiding costs associated with generating a new bill, which would further delay receipt of payment. Additionally, the CSR might direct the customer to a Web site for an image of the statement or billing details or suggest an alternate and immediate form of payment, such as by credit card.

Call centers can also use statement and delivery information to streamline collections efforts. CSRs can track inbound mail to determine if remittances are 'in the mail' before placing outbound calls to inquire about late or non-payment. This reduces the number of collection calls and eliminates negative customer interactions, allowing CSRs to focus their time and effort on delinquent accounts.

Intelligent Mail as a Crime Fighting Tool
Intelligent mail gives you the tools to actively combat theft or fraud of high value mail. Individual mail piece tracking let call center agents can verify the arrival of new or replacement credit cards, insurance policies, notices of cancellation, etc. to assure delivery and receipt. Follow-up calls can be made to customers, to confirm receipt and facilitate activation, if needed.

The tracking data furnished to the call center can also encompass packages and all major overnight courier and delivery services. The empowers call center personnel to contact customers proactively to alert them to impending deliveries and initiate additional cross selling opportunities.

Intelligent Organization of Cash Flow
A company can track payment patterns and re-sequence accounts for processing and delivery according to how quickly customers remit their payment (some send payments right away while others wait until the end of the month) or their tendency to respond to offers included within the transaction document. In both instances, re-sequencing the account stream can result in improved cash flow and profitability.

Smart Marketing Campaign Management
Linking output documents to marketing initiatives within large organizations today can generate new business opportunities to boost profitability.

Reach, frequency and persistence are the cornerstones of successful advertising or messaging campaigns. But message channels are often poorly coordinated, resulting in a less than optimum response.

Innovators in our industry report a 50 percent increased response rate to offers and appeals delivered via direct mail, e-mail and telemarketing campaigns that are duplicated within the output document. This can be further enhanced by precise coordination of marketing messages to coincide with print and broadcast advertising campaigns.

Technology now exists to extract key pieces of customer data from the output document and present personalized 1:1 marketing appeals that are highly targeted to the needs of the individual customer. For example, a telecommunications company could extract actual data on a customer's long distance service use and present a marketing message that demonstrates the real-life savings available to the customer if they switch to a different service plan.

Marketing departments can substantially reduce independent direct marketing or telemarketing campaign expenses by using the company’s output document to market highly specialized offers or promotions.

Statement-based marketing campaigns provide a key advantage in timeliness. Typically, insert-based campaigns require 90-120 days from creative concept though production, printing, delivery and insertion. Putting the marketing message on a customer bill, ensures implementation within a billing cycle. This is a huge competitive advantage to capitalize on fast-changing or one-time events such those related to weather, sporting or current events.

Additionally, any unused space on a bill or output document can serve as a new revenue stream. One prominent automobile financing operation offers local car dealers the option of 'renting' the space on the monthly statements sent to customers repaying car loans. The dealers use the space to include coupons for a range of maintenance services or even discounts on
new cars.

Looking ahead, intelligent mail will prove to be the new ‘secret weapon’ for innovative industry leaders to gain market share in 2003. Print and mail finishing can no longer be viewed as an isolated function for distributing print or digital records of business transactions.

Intelligent mail will be a cornerstone of any competitive company’s CRM strategy, capitalizing on the synergy of all customer touch points. It will help companies prosper by achieving internal efficiencies and savings while retaining a loyal customer base to ensure longevity.