Howard County, Maryland – Best Customer Portal Solution 2019

by | Feb 13, 2025 | Case Studies

Background

Howard County, Maryland, known for its innovative customer service approach, sought to enhance its award-winning customer portal. The County aimed to build a unified communication platform that improved customer interactions, streamlined processes, and enabled frictionless payment solutions for water and sewer billing.

In 2020, Howard County implemented Nudge, a cloud-based Customer Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) from Tilli LLC, to revolutionize its communication and payment systems.

Challenges

    • Limited ability to engage customers in real-time with tailored communications.
    • Dependence on IT and external service providers for customization and execution.
    • Diverse customer base requiring multilingual support (English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean).
    • High call center traffic and overdue bills due to limited payment notifications and reminders.
    • Inconsistent communication across departments, impacting customer satisfaction.

Solutions Implemented:

Howard County, in partnership with Tilli, deployed the Nudge Solution in two phases:

Phase 1: Real-Time Communication and Payment Integration

    • Introduced SMS, email, and push notifications with payment links for immediate actions.
    • Delivered personalized notifications, including:
      • New invoice alerts.
      • Payment reminders (e.g., due in 5 days).
      • Overdue payment updates.
      • Auto-payment confirmations.
    • Enabled seamless payment experiences with interactive buttons and prepopulated fields.
    • Ensured multilingual communication, covering 67-70% of constituents.
    • Leveraged SAP systems for automated, scalable deployment.

Phase 2: Enhanced Functionality

    • Expanded real-time notifications to include:
      • Outage alerts and service updates.
      • Payment arrangement and refund confirmations.
      • Move-in/move-out notifications.
    • Automated new features like tax-based notifications, property tax reminders, and more.
    • Integrated advanced analytics for data-driven decision-making.

Results

    • Improved Customer Engagement:
      • Multilingual support fostered inclusivity and accessibility.
      • Increased responsiveness to billing prompts reduced unpaid balances.
    • Operational Efficiency:
      • Significant reduction in call center traffic due to real-time updates.
      • Cost savings through automated notifications and batch processing.
    • Simplified Payment Processes:
      • Frictionless payments enabled by interactive links in SMS and emails.
      • High adoption of digital payment solutions among customers.
    • Enhanced Government Accountability:
      • Consistent communication across departments with a “One Voice, One Communication” approach.
      • Compliance with regulatory guidelines (TCPA, CAN-SPAM, SOX).
Award Recognition

Howard County’s deployment of Nudge earned the Best Customer Portal Solution Award in 2019 from the National Association of Counties. This accolade highlights their commitment to innovation, customer service excellence, and digital transformation.

Shabbir Gilani CRO Tilli SoftwareShabbir Gilani

Chief Revenue Officer

Shabbir Gilani, Chief Revenue Officer, holds an extensive experience of 25 years in leadership, system implementation, and business development across different industry verticals. He personifies a strong combination of technology and human essence to palpate customer challenges that ensures organization-wide solution implementations on time, every time. His expertise in identifying the customer communication challenges and implementing a tailor-made apt solution can transform the digital journey of any business.

Follow Shabbir Gilani at 

 

Shahid Husain

Chief Operating Officer

A seasoned technologist with 20+ years of strategic ERP proficiency driving excellence in tech landscapes, ranging from full life cycle software development, operations, and management to organizational change and IT strategy. From solution architecture to project mastery, his in-depth knowledge amplifies our ventures, ensuring optimal client engagement and enriched service offerings. He has extensive expertise in building, developing, and leading high-performing and distributed global teams across consulting and products. Follow Shahid Husain at 

Raja Gopal Vemuri

Chief Technology Officer

Besides being the chief technology architect of Tilli’s product line and playing an instrumental role in the success of the company, Raja brings 30 years of rich technology experience, solving business problems across diverse industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, leasing, utilities, and public sector. With core experience spanning across all market leading technologies, his time has been well spent deploying over 40 SAP implementations globally.

Ali Saberi CEO Tilli Software Ali Saberi

Founder and Chief Executive Officer

Ali Saberi, is a technology maestro with an entrepreneurial spirit who founded Tilli and revolutionized the digital transformation journey of a number of utility businesses in the US. He carries over 25 years of experience in SAP management consulting with core focus on SAP IS-U/CCS and IS-PS project implementations, while working simultaneously in global digital payments and customer communication space. His relentless efforts have empowered businesses to bring the “Aha Payment Experience” and delight their customers.

 

Follow Ali Saberi at 

Read on his publications at Medium