Whether a company is sending out an invoice through the physical mail or by email, their customers are inevitably given more of a challenge than they may want. This is because they are expected to view the paper invoice or look at what is likely to be a static PDF version of the bill and then seek out payment options. Depending upon the organisation, the bill may list one, two or more ways to pay but in all cases the customer has to plan time to respond. For example they may have to write out a cheque, find and address an envelope (unless it is supplied) and find/buy a stamp before posting off the payment. They also might choose to pay at a bank, local store or post office branch which takes payments for a particular bill (and perhaps stand in line or be cross-sold stamps or other products/services when they are paying. Perhaps a little quicker might be the time to call the merchant concerned directly (if they allow this) and make a debit or credit card payment (assuming the call centre is open at a convenient time). In all of these cases, the paying process requires quite a bit of time and effort and this is why so many customers now prefer to pay online if they can.
If a merchant does facilitate online payments, unfortunately not all of the approaches provided are the same. In some cases, an organisation will bury the "ways to pay" module within their own web site. Others will offer a third-party online payment solution provider but the interaction process may be slow and cumbersome. In both of these cases they may require the customer to register before they can pay his or her bill, and this registration process may seek lots of information that the customer may be uncomfortable providing and take quite some time to enter even if they do. The key then is to think about what we said at the outset about offering a quick and easy to follow process and this means offering an instant payment option wherever possible.
Instant payment can take a few different forms but essentially means that customers want to use only a few keystrokes at a given payment web site and not spend more than 4-5 minutes, at most, completing the transaction (which is what most current e-commerce research suggests customer say when they are purchasing at an online site).
A customer therefore needs to be able to enter an invoice and reference number and immediately see their invoice online to review it (ideally in digital form as they would see it in the mail or as a PDF attachment). They then need to be able to select from a range of payment choices (and the more the better) and quickly fill in the data requested of them (credit or debit card number, card expiry date etc). Finally they should be able to review the intended payment transaction data and click "confirm" or "complete" and they are done (and print a receipt if they wish to). You'd think this simple set of requirements to pay instantly would be readily available now in a web 2.0 environment but it is more often the exception rather than the rule.
If a merchant does facilitate online payments, unfortunately not all of the approaches provided are the same. In some cases, an organisation will bury the "ways to pay" module within their own web site. Others will offer a third-party online payment solution provider but the interaction process may be slow and cumbersome. In both of these cases they may require the customer to register before they can pay his or her bill, and this registration process may seek lots of information that the customer may be uncomfortable providing and take quite some time to enter even if they do. The key then is to think about what we said at the outset about offering a quick and easy to follow process and this means offering an instant payment option wherever possible.
Instant payment can take a few different forms but essentially means that customers want to use only a few keystrokes at a given payment web site and not spend more than 4-5 minutes, at most, completing the transaction (which is what most current e-commerce research suggests customer say when they are purchasing at an online site).
A customer therefore needs to be able to enter an invoice and reference number and immediately see their invoice online to review it (ideally in digital form as they would see it in the mail or as a PDF attachment). They then need to be able to select from a range of payment choices (and the more the better) and quickly fill in the data requested of them (credit or debit card number, card expiry date etc). Finally they should be able to review the intended payment transaction data and click "confirm" or "complete" and they are done (and print a receipt if they wish to). You'd think this simple set of requirements to pay instantly would be readily available now in a web 2.0 environment but it is more often the exception rather than the rule.
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