Regardless of the industry, competition on the Internet can be fierce. To keep ahead of the competition, many successful companies are finding they need to reinvent themselves, widening the scope of their businesses to attract new customers and keep the interest of their existing customer bases. Successful electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) vendors are reinventing themselves daily. While still an emerging industry, the competition in the consolidator and portal markets is already intense. Companies are seeking new offers to stay ahead of the pack.
 
One opportunity that has recently gained the attention of consolidators is offering bill comparison services: providing a search engine that compares the rates you pay, on any bill, with those charged by other vendors. By providing a quick and easy way for people to find the lowest rates on their bills, bill consolidators can greatly enhance their abilities to serve customers.
 
The bill comparison concept is not new. Several Web sites offer bill comparison with the majority focusing on one industry; www.point.com offers rate comparisons for wireless and cellular service and products, www.insweb.com can match rates for different insurance, and for mortgage rate comparison, you can turn to www.mortgage.com. One company, Lowermybills.com, offers bill comparison for a variety of industries � from Internet service to long distance.
 
Bill consolidators interested in offering bill comparison can do so in different capacities. The number of opportunities to partner with comparison sites will only grow with time. Presently, Lowermybills.com�s Affiliate Program offers Web sites the opportunity to contain a link to its site and share in any commission generated by people who follow the link, use the service and, as a result, change service providers. However, the real benefits of the synergy between bill comparison and bill payment may come from an integrated solution that offers the two services side by side. From a usability perspective, it seems that the two services could work seamlessly together. From a marketing perspective, consolidators could leverage the proven success of bill comparison sites. According to some testimonials on Lowermybills.com�s site, people saved up to $982 a year on a single bill.
 
Considering the proven success of bill comparison, we may see sites that offer these services expanding to offer payment and presentment and competing against vendors in the EBPP market as opposed to vice versa. According to Matt Coffin, president and CEO of Lowermybills.com, his company already has plans to add a payment component to its site.
 
Barret Wolf is a communications consultant at Art Plus Technology, Inc. You can reach him via email at bwolf@artplustechnology.com.