Abstract: A lot of attention is being paid to consumers these days. There's also a lot of economic woe. But that's not deterring five banks from pursuing the business market. Here are their methods. Yes, we're lending. First National Bank of Boston and First of America, Kalamazoo, Mich., created a stir last year by simply announcing that they were willing and ready to make business loans despite the recession and rumors of a business crunch. First of America ($16.8 billion in assets) said last March that it had set aside $500 million for local Smart Business Loans. It ran television and newspaper ads and sent 7,000 letters to lower-middle-market prospects. letter campaign was developed by the marketing department but carried out by the commercial loan officers. gave the officers a real reason to call their clients, says Jim Heenan, director of product development and product management. Instead of telling the officers we wanted them to call a bunch of people and say, 'Hi, do you need some money?' which they do anyway, we took a more institutional approach. There were different letters for different business situations (such as deposit customers who were not loan customers, existing loan customers, and prospects), but all pointed out that the bank was an aggressive lender to small- and medium-size businesses, that it was looking to loan out $500 million this year, and that it made good sense to borrow when interest rates were the lowest they'd been in 20 years. During the campaign, each commercial loan officer was required to send out five letters a week and follow up each letter with a phone call. marketing department tracked the letters and calls, as well as how many led to in-person meetings, how many meetings led to loan applications, how many applications went to committee, the amount of each application, and whether or not the applicant was a loan customer already. Using the same idea on a different scale, the $32 billion-assets First National Bank of Boston got a lot of free press when it launched its $3 billion business credit last May 18, promising to also make 25,000 sales calls on businesses. move was given a front-page story in New York Times and prominent coverage in other major newspapers and in the broadcast media. As of October, 7,000 businesses had called the bank's special 800 number in response to the news reports. The timing was fight; the appetite in the marketplace was right, says Bob McWade, director of corporate relations. Someone needed to cut through the clutter. had to get confidence up by telling people we had the resources and the willingness to sit down with them and do business. At press time, the initiative had generated $1.2 billion in loan commitments to 858 New England businesses, 390 of them new customers. About 80% of the borrowers were small businesses. Many of the loans were Small Business Administration loans; SBA and the bank together have been running a series of business seminars to supplement the other efforts. Commercial lenders had made 14,148 sales calls under the program. Couriering favor. Courier service, while already offered at many banks, can be another way to promote business services, particularly if the couriers are employed by the bank, as they are at Pacific Western Bank. This $1.1 billion-asset bank based in San Jose, Calif., in August hired its own team of eleven part-time people to act not just as drivers, but also as customer service representatives. Most of them came from a banking background, says Bill Burnett, manager of data disbursement. We wanted people who would make good representatives and project a positive bank image. While they had to have good driving records, we focused on a professional appearance and manner. …
Publication Year: 1992
Publication Date: 1992-12-01
Language: en
Type: article
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