BillShrink.com Helps 1 Million Consumers Save Money in Tough Times
Many consumers face budget challenges today, and finding a savings of $50 a month on a household bill can be critical to making ends meet or holiday gift buying. Finding that kind of savings on all of your recurring bills for necessities - like your credit cards, cell phone bill or insurance rates – can substantially change your financial picture.
With consumers struggling to make economic sense of complex bundled offers, pricing promotions and obtuse terms of service, Billshrink.com may turn out to be the right dot-com at the right time. Today, the well-funded Silicon Valley startup announced their one millionth member, showing they may be on to something.
Peter Pham, CEO of Billshrink.com, a “decision engine” launched in April 2008, is convinced it is because his service supports the basic consumer right not to overpay for products and services. He half-jokingly suggested on Twitter that maybe Billshrink.com should be a mandatory part of the economic stimulus package because of money it can save the American public. While Pham openly admits consumers do not always take the lowest cost result, he shares a core business philosophy with pioneer discount apparel retailer Sy Syms, who believed that an “educated customer is our best customer.” Pham evangelizes full disclosure to the consumer. “Customers who know what they are getting,” says Pham, “are higher quality customers, and they tend to be more loyal.”
Since Billshrink.com’s mission is to create transparency in the purchasing process of core consumer services, corporate marketers may have to work harder to convert shoppers to buyers. Many businesses large and small struggle to squeeze more margin out of their existing products and services to protect profit in the face of declining sales. Bundled offers are often designed by marketers to create “breakage”, a business model concept where profit is created by planning for underutilization of a service. Billshrink.com can highlight a consumer’s underutilization through a series of questions that create a personal profile that is then matched to the best value available for a particular consumer’s needs.
Billshrink.com aims to impact consumer purchasing behavior similar to the way Kelley Blue Book has been the standard for fair pricing in the used car market. “Ultimately, service providers should hate us,” acknowledged Pham, “because they will be forced to differentiate on product quality and value.”
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