Transactional documents such as bills, statements, and invoices serve a dual purpose: they fulfill a core business objective and act as a direct communication channel with customers. When designed and implemented effectively, bills can enhance the customer experience.
Conversely, poorly executed transactional documents cause confusion, frustration, dissatisfaction, and affect cash flow. Today, we’ll share guidelines for making your invoices clear, engaging, and memorable. Automated document tools make this a turnkey function.
When investing in an overhaul initiative for transactional documents, organizations strengthen customer relationships, reduce churn, and promote a positive brand image. Bills and invoices deserve attention for their financial impact and promotional advantages.
The best practices for creating transactional documents with an automated document management system are straightforward. Below, we discuss the core business concepts for enhancing bill generation.
Clarity: A bill’s primary function is notifying the recipient of a payment due and providing a device to complete the transaction. Reply devices include a QR Code, a payment page URL, return envelopes, or an 800 phone number. Understandable, concise language is essential, so avoid industry jargon. Organize information logically with headings, bullet points, and sections. Highlight key details such as due dates, dollar amounts, and payment options.
Consistent Branding: The document must be clear about what organization generated the invoice. In the healthcare industry, for example, mergers and acquisitions are pervasive. To support brand recognition, include your logo, colors, and fonts. Brand, logo, and color consistency are foundational for marketing and customer recognition. Be consistent across all communications, including bills, promotional pieces, and websites.
Personalization and Relevance: Automated document management software excels at personalization. You may customize bills based on geography, type of service, account status, relevant offers, language preference, and more. Historical data and past behavior can trigger recommendations or promotions featured in the documents.
Easy-to-understand Format: “A picture is worth a thousand words” is a cliché but relevant for bill design. Use tables, charts, or graphics to present data or numbers, such as itemized charges or payment history. Include sufficient white space to prevent a cluttered appearance and make the flow of information easy to follow. White space draws readers into the document.
Digital Formats: Automated document management tools facilitate document optimization for viewing on mobile devices and offer them in multiple formats, like PDF or HTML. Make it simple for recipients to contact, communicate, and pay. Include clickable links for payments, FAQs, and customer support.
Call to Action: Call to action is an element often neglected or assumed in bill design. Don’t assume. Include explicit instructions for the next steps, such as “Pay Now,” “Contact Us,” or “Renew Subscription,” and offer multiple payment options to simplify transactions.
Feedback: Is the document easy to understand? Ask the recipient. Encourage customers to provide feedback on their experience with the document or overall service. Provide a mechanism on the bill to do so. Use this feedback to refine the design and messaging.
Compliance: Documents from highly regulated industries, like banking, insurance, and healthcare, require specific language in customer communications. Language varies from state to state or municipality. Manually managing which boilerplate text is associated with which geographic area is impossible. Automated document management software assures senders they operate according to the law.
Recipients are likely to trust accurate and understandable transactional documents. Easy instructions validate an organization’s reliability. In addition, well-designed transactional documents make it easy to understand charges and payments, creating a positive impression. Errors or unclear details erode trust.
Transactional documents cross-promote products, services, or loyalty programs, turning routine communications into promotional messages. These documents recognize the customer’s value and show that the organization is listening.
Companies mitigate risk by providing explicitly stated and easy-to-understand policies. Transactional documents include support resources to answer customers’ questions.
Transactional documents are critical touchpoints in customer relationships. They are unique and go beyond providing business transaction details. While customers might ignore marketing mail, they usually open and read transactional documents containing essential information, such as payments due or account status. Each time a recipient opens a bill, an organization strengthens or weakens its relationship with that customer.
Eclipse’s next-generation customer communications management platform, DocOrigin, enables organizations to build and execute effective communications while lowering operating costs and ensuring compliance. An intuitive interface and no coding give an organization the power to meet all regulatory requirements and deadlines and deliver superior customer service.