Strengthen customer relationships with the invoice as a communication channel

Traditional marketing communication has often revolved around large campaigns and activities with broad, blunt messages aimed at vaguely identified target groups across various communication channels. However, the number of channels has increased over time–especially digital ones–and concurrently, customer expectations for a more personalized experience have grown significantly. Businesses must, therefore, adapt and develop their communication to deliver more precise messages. But how?

Customers' expectations increase demands for personalized experiences

Today's consumers are connected and constantly moving across different platforms and channels–both digital and physical. At the same time, they place increasingly high demands on the experience you can provide them as customers: better service, relevant information, accessibility, and personal interaction. This is why it has become increasingly important to develop and adapt the ways we communicate with our customers.

For messages to be more accurate across all the channels a company operates in today, the right strategy is required. Most agree that a fundamental prerequisite for success is to start with the customer and their needs in relation to what your business can offer. This ensures the most relevant and personal experience of your brand possible.

Therefore, many companies are strategically working to create a unified and seamless customer experience across all channels, making it feel more personal. This, in turn, has been shown to increase both conversion rates and customer loyalty.

The invoice – an overlooked communication channel

So, what does this have to do with invoices and payments? First and foremost, the invoice is a fundamentally overlooked communication channel, but nonetheless, one that all customers are "forced" to interact with in one way or another. It's also a fundamental cog in the relationship between company and customer–the invoice is the customer experience's most challenging touchpoint, its "moment of truth." Here, the customer compares the perceived value of the service or product against the actual cost.

In other words, there's an opportunity here to communicate with the customer that most companies don't fully utilize. An opportunity that also has a crucial impact on the total customer experience, where you, as a supplier, have the chance to contribute to the customer's perceived value of their purchase or subscription.

Digital invoices create a dynamic communication surface

So, let's momentarily forget the old image of what an invoice is. Instead, try to see it as a dynamic communication surface with the customer, where significantly more interactions than just the payment itself become possible. With this perspective, it's not hard to see that there's great, inherent potential to significantly improve the customer experience by using the invoice as a communication channel. In a digital interface, there are also all the possibilities to create a design that aligns with the "look and feel" of your specific company, thereby creating a seamless expression of your brand that extends across all channels. The invoice can become a place where you share important information with your customers, increase their engagement, and create new opportunities for upselling, ultimately leading to more satisfied and loyal customers.

Martin Svane