As organizations and individuals continue to adapt to the quickly-changing health situation, many billers are looking for ways to engage customers and provide them with necessary resources. One important way to assist customers during this time is to provide as many contactless payment options as possible, including the option to pay bills online.

Even if you have an online payment system, educating customers about their ability to pay bills online and encouraging them to use your platform can be a challenge. When developing payer communications, it’s important to leverage every channel. Payers are often divided on which payment and communication channels they prefer, so it’s best to provide a variety of options for both. In fact, in a recent poll of InvoiceCloud platform users, we found that payers use a variety of methods to access their payment portals.

As you try to assist your payers during this time, here are 4 ways your organization can promote online bill payment options to increase contactless payments.

1. Put a message on the paper bill

Your organization likely has a number of customers who are still receiving paper bills. For these customers, a message on the bill itself, a bill insert, or a short “teaser” message on the bill envelope is a great way to let them know about online payment options. Including the payment portal URL on the bill also provides an easy way for payers to access the payment site.

2. Leverage your website

If a customer is already looking for a way to pay their bill online, they will most likely visit your website to find more information. Use this opportunity to promote your online bill payment system with text or graphics that inform your payers about their options. Most importantly, make the link to your online payment portal easy to find – a “pay” button at the top of your homepage works best. If you have a COVID-19 update page, be sure to include your payment link on this page as well. 

3. Communicate through local publications

Now is a good time to leverage your local community’s communication channels to let your customers know of changes and updates from your organization. You can consider placing an announcement in your local online publications that details how customers can pay bills online to reduce contact.

4. Promote on social media

If your organization has social media pages, this is another place where customers will often visit to find new information or updates. Create a graphic or a series of posts that inform payers that they have the option to pay bills online and provide the link where they can make payments.

Resources to encourage online bill payment

At InvoiceCloud, we understand the challenges billers are facing when it comes to engaging with and enabling customers. That’s why we’ve created a set of resources – including website text and graphics, email content, and social media graphics – to help billers communicate effectively with payers and inform them about their online bill payment options.

Several of our clients have seen success from leveraging these resources. Below is a quote from Mishawaka Utilities in Indiana about how they have put these tools to use:

 “During unprecedented times, the Invoice Cloud marketing team took the initiative to create and distribute COVID-19 materials that Mishawaka Utilities could use to inform our residents about the importance of paying their bills electronically. This was a huge help that we didn’t have to craft our own communications–it took a big load off my mind. I have always found the Invoice Cloud marketing team to be quite responsive–always ready to assist with any need that may crop up…this is just the latest example of that and why we have been and will continue to be loyal Invoice Cloud clients.”

If you’re looking for ways to promote online bill payment to your payers, we’re here to help. To request your own copy of payer communication resources, simply fill out this form, and a member of our team will be in touch shortly.