Small businesses are the economic foundation of towns and neighborhoods, driving job growth and bringing energy and vitality to communities.

With their local roots, relationships and market knowledge, credit unions ought to enjoy a competitive advantage in providing financial services to local businesses. Yet, credit unions have yet to fully tap the small business market as large banks account for about three-quarters of the small business financial services market.

Taking productive steps to develop strong and lasting relationships with local businesses should be an essential part of a credit union's strategy to increase market share, revenue and meet the needs of small businesses. In order to compete and grow, credit unions must be able to efficiently deliver small business customers the right products at the right price, via personalized experiences designed to keep small businesses with the credit union.

A November 2012 J.D. Power and Associates survey underscores the importance of assigning an account manager to manage each small business account. Small business customers are more than twice as likely to reuse services from their bank or credit union when they have a dedicated account manager (47% versus 19%).

Account managers can assist by providing a high-touch level of customer service, but having an account manager isn't enough. The manager must also understand the customer's business.

Respondents reported that having an account manager who didn't understand the business was no better than having no account manager at all. The bottom line: do not bother to assign an account manager who won't take the time to truly understand the business.

A separate Aite study in 2012 reported similar findings. That research also found that small businesses require greater financial assistance and new tools as they struggle to access credit during this sluggish economic recovery.

Credit unions have the opportunity to fill this void for their small business members. The Aite survey indicates that about 41% of small businesses do have a dedicated account manager as the point person for their financial services needs.

This study also found that, of those small business banking customers who were “dissatisfied” or “extremely dissatisfied” with their primary financial institution, 65% did not have a relationship manager.

However, it takes more than the mere presence of an account manager to ensure a harmonious relationship. What's required is a highly engaged relationship manager who clearly understands the customer's small business needs will keep small businesses financial services with the credit union.

Member opinion surveys clearly show that one step credit unions can take to increase small business customer satisfaction and retention is to focus on developing strong, personal relationships with local small business owners. This begins with saying hello and getting to know their needs.

The J.D. Power research also reveals that small business owners highly value being greeted by name when they visit their branch. Yet a simple greeting is offered significantly less often to small business customers (47% of the time) than to retail customers (64% of the time). That's true even though small business owners visit the branch twice as often.

Several easy-to-implement procedures can have a rapid and measurable payback for credit unions. First, financial institutions need to find out who the potential small business customers are and develop plans to get to know them.

Most importantly, credit union associates need to greet customers by name when they visit the branch. Credit unions should also identify the most valuable small business customers and assign motivated account managers to the top accounts. The stakes are highest with these relationships and credit unions cannot afford to lose their high-performing accounts to competitors.

Credit unions must also implement training and monitoring programs that will increase consistency across all branches and make sure that relationship-building techniques are practiced successfully branch to branch.

Just as small businesses are the growth engines for cities and towns across the country, they can also contribute to the growth and stability of local credit unions. Credit unions that, in addition to providing loans and financial services, also develop strong, personalized relationships with small business owners will generate mutual sustained value. For the credit unions that do so, “hello” is just the beginning.

George Noga is a senior vice president and managing director for Fiserv Inc. in Brookfield, Wis.

Instant Insights /

High-Touch Service Helps Win in Small Business Financial Services

Related Stories

Recommended For You