Written by Posted under: Banking, Credit Cards, Financial Services, Healthcare, Insurance, Telecommunications and Broadband, and Utilities
I often get questions at client meetings about the value of statement and bill design. Not being a designer myself, I asked Jeff Fielder, one of our in-house designers; “What are some of the benefits of good statement design?”
Here’s what he sent back to me:
“Cheryl, there are several components to a well-designed billing or relationship document. By well-designed, I mean actionable.
The first is consistency of data: keeping like items close together. The last thing the client wants is their customer jumping all over the page trying to find out how much is owed, and when it is due. Linking like data is critical to understanding.
The second is making sure those items that are most important to the customer are the most prominent items on the page. Is the due date hidden in a small, italic font? Is the remit address buried on the back of the payment stub? Is the amount due in a regular font, and the previous balance in a bold, larger font? Where is the account balance and latest activity?
Next, don’t be afraid of white space. Clutter is perhaps the biggest mistake companies make when designing bills. Just because the space is there, doesn’t mean it must be filled. Are there items you can leave off? Is there information you can redirect your customers to your Web site to view? Is there a better way to present information in a way that doesn’t clutter the page?
Finally, while ultimately our client wants to decrease or eliminate call center traffic (which slows down payment and drives up expense), they need to ask themselves ask how easy is it for their customer to contact them? Many times contact numbers and addresses are difficult to find . . . or missing altogether. Anything that slows down the customer, slows down payments or causes dissatisfaction.
I often say in client meetings: ‘Take a look at your bill. Would you be able to make a payment quickly if you got it in your mail?’
One last thing that I think it’s important to mention: Don’t get caught in the trap of ‘it’s always been this way. While consistency and familiarity are important to brand identity, be careful of becoming stagnant in your customer communications. If the bill or relationship statement hasn’t been updated in several years, it’s probably time to review it and see if you need to enhance (or in some cases, reduce) your communication piece.”
So, here’s the question of the day: Do you think your statement furthers your business goals or hinders them? If it’s the latter, perhaps it’s time to give us a call to chat about design.