Why modernising revenue management could secure a stronger 2024
Having better billing systems in place makes it easier to embrace new business models, cut costs and improve customer experience.
Is profitable growth a realistic objective for your enterprise in the upcoming calendar year? If you answered in the affirmative, you may well be in the minority. Given current economic conditions, many Australian businesses aren’t overly hopeful of achieving it during the next 12 months.
Earlier this year, Deloitte Access Economics warned of deepening challenges: in its July 2023 Business Outlook report, the firm flagged the fact that ‘elevated yet moderating inflation and increasing interest rates have combined to slow household spending and economic growth’.
‘The brunt of the current consumer crunch is being felt by retailers, who are staring into the considerable challenge of a ‘retail recession’, Deloitte Access Economics Partner and report lead author Stephen Smith noted.
The firm has forecast the Australian economy will grow by a mere 0.9 per cent in the current financial year. That compares, unfavourably, with an average annual rate of 2.4 per cent, over the previous decade.
Remove the effects of population growth and the outlook is worse again: ‘In 2025, economic activity per person in Australia is expected to be around the same as in 2021, indicating that prosperity has stalled’, Smith writes.
Working harder for the money
Against that backdrop, businesses can expect to find themselves working harder than ever to maintain and grow their revenue. Customers today are looking to contain their spend in many areas and they’re a discerning – some might say demanding! – lot, consumers and B2B buyers alike.
Habituated to receiving reliable, rapid service from customer-centric behemoths such as Amazon and eBay, they’ve increasingly come to expect and demand it from other suppliers, in the commercial, as well as the consumer, sphere.
In order to capture and retain mind and market share, businesses of all stripes are having to deliver a compelling value proposition, underpinned by a superlative customer experience. Fail to provide it and customers will all too quickly decamp to rival suppliers that can deliver the goods, seamlessly and speedily.
Understanding the benefits better billing can deliver to your business
Although, historically, it’s been perceived as very much ‘back room’ technology, having the right revenue management software in your tech stack can make it easier to achieve these ends and increase operational efficiency to boot.
Smartly implemented, it can become a strategic digital asset, one that delivers full quote-to-cash support for whatever monetisation model, or models, you choose to adopt.
Thinking, for example, that it might be time to pivot from traditional selling to an as-a-service model, in response to evolving customer demand? Or offer customers a choice of how they’d like to acquire or consume your offering?
With a modern, cloud-based revenue management platform in place you can do so quickly and easily – without encountering the billing issues that can stymy such plans for businesses operating on legacy billing technology.
Keeping the customer satisfied
A revenue management platform can also serve as a key source of business intelligence, provided you choose one which has the capacity to generate reports which illuminate the customer journey.
That unprecedented visibility can allow you to gauge the success, or otherwise, of your products and services and the quality and consistency of the customer experience you’re providing.
Armed with that knowledge, you’ll be able to make timely, data driven decisions that enhance your offering and elevate your interactions with customers and prospects. Doing so may help you gain an edge on competitors that have those self-same customers squarely in their sights.
There’s also the opportunity to extract actionable insights that allow you to optimise internal processes – think new business development and debt recovery. In today’s times, reducing costs and increasing productivity can be an excellent way to maintain margins and protect profits.
Securing a stronger future in 2024 and beyond
Australian businesses will be forced to confront challenges aplenty in 2024 as a deteriorating outlook at home and volatile and uncertain conditions globally continue to put a dampener on demand.
Finding ways to cut costs, improve the appeal of their offering and become more customer responsive is likely to be an urgent imperative for many.
A modern revenue management platform is enabling technology that can help your enterprise achieve these ends and ensure it remains alive and thriving. In today’s uncertain times, it’s an investment in long term sustainability that’s likely to pay for itself many times over.
By Carl Warwick, Regional Sales Director Asia Pacific and Japan, BillingPlatform
