When it comes to wooing small business owners away from theirfinancial institutions, many say they would switch for a superiormobile banking product.

That's according to The ath Power Small Business BankingStudy from ath Power Consulting, a Boston-based financialservices research and strategy firm. The sixth annual studyassessed the small business banking customer experience at banksnationwide. Credit unions were not included in the report.

Based on more than 839 in-branch visits by small business ownersat banks across the U.S, the data showed that 66% of therespondents would likely to switch banks for one with a superiormobile offering.

Conversely, despite its growing prevalence and importance tosmall business owners, 37% of bankers in the study failed toeven mention their bank's mobile offering, according to athPower.

“Mobile represents opportunities and challenges for banks toattract and retain small business clientele,” said Frank Aloi, CEOof ath Power. “Banks with mobile offerings tailored specifically for small business willachieve success by delivering differentiated features andfunctionality not available in standard mobile banking services.”

The study's results also revealed that bankers from the highestrated banks were significantly better at determining needs andbuilding rapport with prospective customers. Of those smallbusiness owners who reported that the banker built a rapport withthem, 91% said they would become a customer compared to 28% ofthose who did not.

Still, the study further uncovered missed opportunities forsales, as only about half (52%) of the small business owners wereactually asked to open an account during their visit to the bank.

“Personal connections remain critical for banks seeking toacquire new small business customers,” Aloi said. “The mostsuccessful institutions are training bankers on how to buildrapport and then using applicable research and coaching tocontinuously improve.”

In determining which banks had the best customer experience forsmall business owners, ath Power found the top performers were Bankof the West, Associated Bank and Chase. Their average ranking onoverall customer experience was 71 out of a possible 100 points,which was a decline from last year's average of 74.

Regionally, the top rated banks in this year's study were:

• West: Bank of the West, US Bank, Citibank
• Midwest: Comerica, Chase, Associated Bank
• South: Chase, Comerica, Wells Fargo
• Mid-Atlantic: Citibank, Wells Fargo, SunTrust Bank
• Northeast: PNC Bank, M&T Bank, RBS Citizens