How is your Financial Institution doing on customer e-Statement adoption?
The percentages of e-Statements to paper statements have varied from 20% to over 50% with Peak’s current clients. According to a recent Forrester Research study half of all consumers who subscribe to e-Statements also still receive paper copies.
What is your e-Statement marketing strategy? Some financial institutions encourage e-Statement adoption by offering these as the default for new accounts and for online banking customers. Other banks take a tougher approach and charge for customers that want paper statements.
Is your financial institution simply offering e-Statements as an alternative to paper without promoting the many customer benefits? Some tips for banks to increase e-Statement adoption are listed below.
- Create an e-Statement adoption campaign. Offer incentives for customers to turn off their printed statements. A cash incentive or a promotional item are some ideas to look into. There’s also a way to give a service charge credit back for e-Statements with Fiserv Premier® software. Staff incentives can also be helpful (i.e. organizing a contest for staff). Paper statements can cost up to $12 per year for postage and mailing, so increasing the e-Statement adoption rate can cut costs in the long run.
- Make sure to point out the environmental benefits of e-Statements in your campaign. Most customers want to participate in a meaningful cause – especially Millennials. See http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Paper-Waste-Facts for Paper Waste Facts.
- It’s important to evaluate your customers’ comfort with technology and the availability of reliable internet coverage in the communities served. If you have a large number of customers who are not technologically savvy, invite them to a lunch and learn webinar on basic internet usage and how to access their e-Statements. The main focus of your campaign, however, should be on groups of customers who are most likely to be open to e-Statements, such as your current on-line banking customers.
Please follow Peak Consulting on LinkedIn for weekly updates.
