What’s Lost in Paper Suppression?

Conventional Wisdom Is that Paper Suppression Saves Money… Does it?

By Pat McGrew, EDP, Kodak

Once again, I am answering a series of e-mails for a diverse group of customers about the issues surrounding paper suppression. This is the idea that it is good to stop sending paper bills, statements or other customer communication and rely exclusively on online communication. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? No postage, no paper, no costs of production. Less time needed for production, so more time available for processing. It almost defines Nirvana!

But is it really? Can you really cut out all of these costs? Can you really communicate with your customer base exclusively online? Is it really the best option to consider as you look at how you communicate essential and marketing information to your customers?

I contend that forcing existing customers to accept a paperless relationship alienates them. Will some take the bait and decide to turn off paper bills and statements? Of course! But, the question is not “who will join us in going paperless?” – the question is “what do you lose in your relationship with your customer when you eliminate your monthly appointment with their mailbox?” Who will end up coming back to paper once they try the paperless approach? Who will want both, every month?

Let’s look at a real-world example of the risk. In my family, there is a range of computer literacy, from network technician level to “where is the ‘On’ button?” For those of us who are comfortable with technology, the tendency is to want both paper and e-bills, and the need to pay online. We don’t turn off the paper statements because of the convenience of carrying them in a briefcase and reviewing at our leisure. For those of us who don’t even own a computer, e-billing is not an option. If you want to communicate, it better be on paper. If you say that only e-billing is an option, you just lost a customer.

I don’t think my family is any different from the average family. We all have similar, but different, needs. We have our own methods for managing the bills we pay each month, and we have our own ways of keeping track of the information that comes in on quarterly and yearly statements. If you send us something on paper, we look at it, and we are likely to refer back to it several times during the month.

For those of us who do pay our bills online, we all agree that we do not spend any time on those websites. We get in, pay the bill, and leave. And, sometimes, we use a bill payment aggregator and never get anywhere near the billing website. For those online excursions we never see a marketing message. And, we don’t go looking for them.

Now think about your customer relationships. If I am your customer, how do you want to communicate with me? Would you rather spend less than 50 cents to talk to me on paper and try to grab more of my mind share and wallet share, or would you rather that I go to your website, pay my bill and seriously consider other providers the next time I need to open a bank account, buy a sweater, buy a new cell phone, or shop for a home improvement or car loan?

With a paper bill, you can get my attention and convince me to come back and look at your offer several times. The paper sits on my desk or in my briefcase from the time it arrives until I pay it. Every time I pass my desk I know it’s there and if the design is compelling and the offer appropriate, I will think about it.

As you start thinking about suppressing paper communication to your customers, think about the consequences to your customers!

Pat McGrew, EDP, is the Data-driven Communication Evangelist at Kodak. Her e-mail address is Pat.McGrew@kodak.com, Twitter is PatMcGrew and blog is http://patmcgrew.growyourbiz.kodak.com.