Bacs launches Direct Debit marketing centre of excellence

Online resource to help organisation improve Direct Debit conversion rates

Companies running Direct Debit sign up campaigns can now boost the effectiveness of their marketing activity using a new online resource from Bacs Payment Schemes Limited (Bacs) – the organisation behind Direct Debit and Bacs Direct Credit in the UK.

Direct Debit is widely acknowledged as the most efficient method for collecting regular bill payments from consumers. However, encouraging people to pay this way is not always as simple as it sounds. Payment preferences can vary greatly according to age, lifestyle and personal circumstance and the reasons someone pays a certain way are often highly complex. Some organisations collecting money by Direct Debit may also feel they are at saturation point when it comes to the number of customers using this payment method.

Bacs’ new online marketing centre aims to dispel this common myth, prove there is no ’glass ceiling’ when it comes to Direct Debit usage and make it easier for organisations to understand what motivates individuals to pay a certain way.

Giving access to experience accumulated by the Bacs team over the last 20 years, this unique library of marketing information includes practical advice plus hints and tips for promoting Direct Debit to a diverse range of consumer groups.

It also features a brand new customer messaging tool which can help organisations find the best way of converting customers to Direct Debit. A drop down menu enables marketeers to select who they are trying to target in terms of age, gender, annual income, region, or employment status. In return, they get a breakdown of how people in their chosen group like to pay. This includes a generalised portrait of:

• preferrers (individuals that favour Direct Debit as a payment option)
• selectives (who happily use automated payment methods for certain bill types); 
• and reluctants (people who are less keen to use Direct Debit).

There is also information about marketing messages that may prove effective with each of these three groups.

Michael Chambers, managing director of Bacs, said: “Bacs has always been committed to supporting organisations that run Direct Debit schemes. Over the years we have worked with numerous companies giving them strategic advice on maintaining and growing the popularity of this simple yet highly effective payment method.

“While this work is a key part of what we do day to day, we have also launched our online marketing resource to give a wider range of companies practical Direct Debit marketing advice that is readily accessible, as and when they want it. The advice we can offer and the data we have available on payment trends in different market sectors is a compelling proposition. And I hope that marketeers looking to promote Direct Debit and increase the number of customers using this tried and tested bill payment method, take full advantage of this facility.”

Other useful tools available from Bacs include:

• Ten general top tips on marketing plus practical advice for running Direct Debit sign up campaigns
• A data mining tool developed jointly by Bacs and Experian. Available to purchase, organisations can use this software to evaluate their customer database and work out which customers have the greatest propensity to pay by Direct Debit
• Key considerations when marketing to target demographics more resistant to automated payments, including low income households
• Case studies that document successful campaigns, illustrating the results that can potentially be achieved
• Guidelines for using the Direct Debit logo and designing Direct Debit Instruction forms.

Bacs service users can also access a wider bank of documents in a single password protected area online which provides access to resources including information about scheme rules and best practice plus facts and figures and other guides and operational documents.  For more information go to: www.bacs.co.uk/bacs/businesses/resources

For more information about marketing Direct Debit, please visit: www.bacs.co.uk/marketingdirectdebit