Aligning with Small Business

According to a recent J.D. Power and Associates study, old-fashioned person-to-person connections are today’s primary drivers of small business loyalty.

See the long-term potential in startups. Today’s emerging business could one day become one of your most profitable customers.

Earlier this year, while walking between venues at a meeting of bankers, we overheard two top banking executives discuss their frustrations around attracting new deposits. The problem, they felt, was in their inability to consistently provide the highest rates of return on deposits in their respective markets.

It presented an intriguing question for a couple of market researchers like us to ponder: When it comes to attracting new customers or getting more deposits from current customers, is the decision really based solely on rate of return?

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We live in a time of astonishing turmoil. The world’s economy is confusing, and no one is sure what will happen next. But when you take control of your own future and help others do the same, you can live an extraordinary life.

Small businesses employ the vast majority of today’s U.S. workforce, and they’re a prized segment for financial institutions. Yet we seem to lack a clear understanding of what motivates today’s small business owner. Many banks and credit unions have difficulty forging loyal, lasting relationships with these customers.

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In the current economy being candid and honest will go a long way.

Anita Nigrel, Senior Vice President of Retail Banking at Suffolk County National Bank (SCNB), believed her bank could improve its relations with small business customers. It just needed a framework for getting started.

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In fall of 2004, we introduced you to the Collaborative. We mentioned that we borrowed the idea from the healthcare industry and that we weren’t quite sure how it would turn out.

The first Collaborative tackled the attrition of new customers within the first 90 days of earning their business. We introduced the 12 banking executives who would join us on our journey.

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It was just another Sunday in September, and I was supremely content with my detached interest in football. I had no desire to learn about the game’s intricacies or the personalities of the players. I was comfortable with football being just another symbol of autumn — and a puzzling source of obsession on behalf of the boys with whom I share my home.

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