May 18, 2006

Marketing in Transactional Messages

One of the most personal communications that a business generates is an invoice or request for money.  This is the reciprocation aspect of a relationship - the business provided a product or service and now the customer must reciprocate by providing payment.  It never gets more personal then asking for money.

However, many businesses treat the invoice as a cold impersonal document.  They fail to see this as an opportunity to reinforce their brand and provide cross sale or up-sale opportunities.  Many times, the invoice is a byproduct of the software being used for accounting.  They are hard to read, sometimes confusing and always impersonal.

Marketers who care about their brand must interject themselves into this process.  A customer relationship/experience needs to be maintained from pre-sales through to payment.  It can be a challenge to work with the operational side of business, but it must be done.

If you want a shining example of good invoicing, check out the email you get from Apple after you purchase an item off the iTunes music store.  Its on brand (simple and easy to read) and suggests other music that might interest you.  Compare that to Amazon.com’s or Soutwest’s and you’ll see the difference.

Posted in Marketing, Relationships