New consumer research has revealed that one in three customers are ‘disengaged’ with businesses due to the growing use of online billing.

Surveying 1,000 UK households, Echo Managed Services suggests online billing is potentially placing businesses and service providers at risk of losing touch with their customers. The outsourced centre does acknowledge the benefits to online billing, with 70 per cent of respondents preferring digital communication, and a third stating that online is the only method they use to receive bills. However, its increased prevalence has made some people ‘detached’ from what they are paying for everyday services…

• 27 per cent of customers claim bills are the only method of communication they have with their service provider;
• More than one in 10 state that online billing has made them less aware of what they pay each billing period;
• 17 per cent only notice the bill amount if it is higher than they had expected;
• Only one third of those surveyed said they read every bill in full.

Nigel Baker, managing director at Echo Managed Services said: “It’s clear that a large proportion of customers favour online billing, however this mustn’t become a reason for businesses to lose that all-important contact with their customers. As more and more customers switch to online billing, service providers must find opportunities to engage with them so that they’re not at risk of becoming invisible.”

Furthermore, the research also found that not everyone is happy with the level of communication they receive from their service providers:

• 27 per cent would like to receive pre bill alerts to warn them of higher than usual bills;
• One in 10 would prefer more regular contact;
• Only nine per cent said they had received such useful alerts from their providers in the past.

Access ‘The Secrets of Better Billing’ here