Taking care of business: recognizing that woman entrepreneurs want to form a 'meaningful relationship' with their bank is the first step toward attracting business with this growing demographic.

• Author: Dorfman, Rich
• Position: Marketing to Women - Cover story

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Marketers want to know how to develop relationships with woman business owners--a dynamic market segment. They can find an answer by looking at the following example of a woman entrepreneur from Pennsylvania.

Carla Bates had worked as an employee at The Frame Shop, Conshohocken, Pa., for 12 years, servicing a cadre of loyal customers.

When the owner announced he wanted to sell, Bates' first reaction was to question whether her customers would continue to receive the same standard of excellence under a new owner. Her second thought was she herself should consider the possibility of becoming the new owner.

At the same time she was thinking about buying the business, Bates came across a newspaper ad about a course being offered by the Montgomery County (Pa.) Community College (MCCC). The course, entitled Starting a Successful Woman-Owned Business, was part of something called the Certificate Series, sponsored by Harleysville National Bank & Trust Co. (assets: $3.3 billion, 45 branches), Harleysville, Pa. The program intrigued her because it offered a means for learning how to become a successful entrepreneur. She enrolled. Coursework took her through every aspect of running a business including assessing market demographics, gaining new customers, understanding legal issues and--what Bates says was the most important benefit--writing a comprehensive business plan. In fact, that aspect of the program was her "final exam" for the course--the presentation of her own business plan in front of her classmates and representatives from the college and the bank.

Bates passed with flying colors coming in a very close second in the judging (the first place winner was awarded a $500 check good for starting a service-charge free Harleysville National business checking account). But she came out a big winner anyway when a bank representative approached Bates afterwards and affirmed that the institution would underwrite her business loan to buy the shop. At that moment, Bates realized her "dream of becoming a business owner was coming to fruition."

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What's in it for Harleysville National?

So what was Harleysville National's motivation for starting the Certificate Series? According to Cathy Heckler, senior vice president, deposit product manager, the logic was simple. Women-owned businesses (WOB) are the fastest growing small-business segment and the largest. In fact, in a presentation she made to her banking peers at a conference earlier in the year Heckler sited that:

* Women start 70 percent of all new...