Business banking: marketing's new role: changes brought about by the financial crunch of 2008 have left an opportunity for marketers to play a more useful part in the acquisition and retention of middle-market business customers.

• Author: Mambrino, Vanessa

BANK MARKETERS HAVE NOT TRADITIONALLY played a large role in acquiring or retaining an important type of customer--the middle-market business customer. However, the marketer's job may be changing.

Middle-market businesses are typically defined as those with annual sales of between $10 million and $500 million. These companies often use a range of banking services, including credit, deposits, and fee-generating cash management services. Executives at middle-market companies also appreciate personal attention and recognition for their businesses, making them a particular target of community, super-community and regional banks. For many banks, acquiring middle-market businesses is a key element of their business model.

Senior management in the past often believed that acquiring and retaining this type of customer required a relationship approach that depended on the efforts of commercial lenders and referrals from satisfied customers and centers of influence. And while that remains mostly true, marketing today can and should play an increasingly important role in developing and growing this business line.

The current state of middle-market lending

Of course, many financial service institutions are competing for the business of this highly desirable segment. Two trends have combined in recent years to increase this competition even further. First, the shift away from residential mortgage lending after 2008 made all bankers "commercial bankers" in some form. Second, the passing of time has eliminated several easy sources of differentiation. Commercial banking products are commodities--remote deposit capture, for example, is now an expected product offering. Improved credit quality at many banks has prompted a renewed focus on business lending, making the ability to lend less of a unique feature. And, customers are not quite as dissatisfied with large bank providers as they used to be. Recent research from Barlow Research Associates shows a narrowing of the gap between levels of customer satisfaction with various sized banks.

Customer delight

Customer satisfaction may not be a guarantee of additional acquisition or cross-sales, but it can help to generate new customer referrals and prevent your customers from moving their business elsewhere. As shown on the accompanying chart below, "delight" levels at small- and mid-sized banks have stayed relatively flat, year-over-year. An opportunity exists to improve retention and turn business customers...