I'm working in the enterprise SaaS equivalent of gym memberships. The client knows they should use it because it's good for them (earns them $$$), and once they get into the swing of it, they enjoy it. But, despite my best efforts at UX, the subject matter is inherently dry for creatives, and if they get distracted or in a rut, they're prone to stop "going to the gym". As the "personal trainer" I have to remain vigilant at keeping everyone happy and motivated or I lose clients ... hence the interpersonal relationship skills.
Some clients don't pay their bills on time, and the system automatically cuts access to the profitable parts (along with a courtesy email to their accounting department and account manager). Once a month or so a user emails me and says (paraphrasing the tone) "I can't get access to my data because the account's overdue. I'm trying to get work done and this makes it difficult. Can you restore access please?"
(For context, at the moment I'm replying something like "Sorry, it cuts you off automatically when the account is overdue. I've restored access. [Name of acct manager in copy], has the invoice been processed? By which date can we expect payment?")
Can anyone give me an explanation of the attitude of these users, and offer a strategy of what I could say or how I could behave to:
- Increase the probability of being paid on time, while concurrently;
- making these users happier through those actions (i.e. avoiding "coercing" compliance with payment terms through punishments. I can think of plenty of coercive things I could do, but they would decrease user happiness).
The clients in question are generally from Latin European countries.