In one week we will welcome over 500 individuals representing more than 200 financial services institutions to the 2012 CEB TowerGroup Financial Services Conference in Boston.  This three-day event will give business and technology executives the latest industry insight needed to maintain a competitive advantage. 45 unique sessions including panel discussions and keynotes will cover today’s most pressing topics in the financial services industry, including Social Media, Mobile Payments, Business Analytics, Evolving Regulatory Reform and more. 

Attendees will leave the conference equipped with the tools to act with confidence and be decisive in this era of ambiguity. This is your chance to learn from distinguished industry leaders, network with hundreds of Financial Service’s Executives and sharpen your business and technology strategy moving forward.

Don’t Wait, This is Your Last Chance to Register

To learn more visit http://www.cebtowergroup2012.com/

The CEB TowerGroup Conference is quickly approaching and if you still haven’t registered here are three more reasons why you can’t afford to miss this event. This year we have the privilege of hosting leaders from Metlife, CEDAR Document Technologies, mFoundry, HCL Technologies and Paydiant who will lead panel discussions on a variety of topics including technology investments, customer insight, regulatory compliance and mobility. The following is a preview of what you can expect from three of this year’s panel sessions. Read More »

Not all moments with a customer matter equally when it comes to RM performance. When we took a look at the 10 most common scenarios that an RM encounters – from preparing for the first prospect meeting to speaking with a customer who intends to leave the bank – we see that some have little to no effect on an RM’s overall performance, whereas others are make or break. The key is to know which moments matter, and what to do during them. Read More »

A lot of our members have asked us recently how they can deploy an effective phone-based RM role. It’s a hot topic now for two reasons:

1. Costs pressures are on the rise and phone-based RMs offer a less expensive delivery channel and can manage larger customer portfolios.
2. Customers don’t always value or have time for a dedicated RM. Today’s business owners move at a fast pace and expect banks to keep up.

While most of our members agree they need to think about delivery channels beyond the standard RM, few have actually deployed virtual or phone-based account managers. They worry that remote RMs will struggle to drive sales and keep customers happy.

But Derby Bank, a bank we profiled a few years ago, debunks these fears. Derby has been able to grow revenue and keep even the largest business banking customers happy using a tele-RM channel.

The keys to Derby’s phone-based RM model include:

1. Recognizing a successful field RM doesn’t necessarily make a successful tele-RM. To the contrary. Some of the skills needed to excel as a field RM can hurt you as a tele-RM. So instead of simply migrating field RMs to a remote call center, Derby hires candidates who have excellent phone skills, can establish relationships remotely, and who can manage a large volume of different tasks.
2. Carefully selecting customers best suited for a tele-RM. Not all customers will be happy with or well-served by a phone-based RM. Derby developed a six-step decision tree to determine whether a customer would be better served by a field or remote RM.
3. Maintaining high service expectations for tele-RMs. Derby executives didn’t want customers migrated to the remote RM model to feel like they were downgraded. Instead, tele-RMs receive intensive training and are supported to provide the same experiences that customers would expect from a field RM: ability to understand the business, bring together solutions, and resolve problems quickly and competently.

Board members, learn more about Derby’s work , and share your thoughts about how banks can develop lower-cost alternatives to the conventional in-field relationship manager.

While many banks are betting on branches to grow small business sales cost-efficiently, our research shows this is a high risk gamble.

Banks are increasingly under pressure to leverage the branch as a hub for small business sales. But the branch is a retail environment optimized to drive high sales volume, with a minimal focus on service. It’s a channel fundamentally mismatched with small business customer needs, and banks will find it a difficult bet for the future of small business banking.

BBB has identified four key hurdles to generating more small business revenue through a conventional branch:

1. Credibility Among Customers: Small business customers have complex needs and cite the same major business concerns as larger businesses. Even dedicated RMs, with better training and support than branch staff, struggle to meet small business needs. It’s unlikely less prepared branch staff will gain small business customer faith where the RM has not.
2. Capacity: Small business customers require a large amount of time and service – even before a sale is made. The sales-driven approach of traditional branches will actually drive away small business owners; only 5% are likely to buy from banks with an overt sales agenda and 29% are likely to switch banks.
3. Capital: A bank’s capability and willingness to provide credit is crucial to maintaining and growing small business sales. Traditional branches, however, have limited credit expertise and faltering economic conditions have reduced small business access to credit through the branch.  
4. Convenience: The traditional branch uses a reactive sales approach, but most small business owners are simply too busy for a trip to the branch. Success in the small business market requires proactive sales.

Over the coming weeks, we will showcase how the best banks overcome these hurdles and invite your perspectives on winning formulas for small business success through the branch. And please join us on April 24^th for a webinar where we present how the best small business groups are using the branch to drive small business revenue while reducing costs.

We are only weeks away from one of the premier events in the financial services industry, the 2012 CEB TowerGroup Conference. After a sold-out event in London, anticipation is growing for the upcoming Boston event.  If you still have haven’t registered, here are the top five reasons you and your organization can’t afford to miss this opportunity!

1. Gain the Confidence to be Decisive in an Era of Ambiguity: In these periods of economic unrest, executives and their teams need the resolve to take immediate action – the conference can provide you the tools to get there.
2. Preview Exclusive CEB TowerGroup Research: In over 45 unique content sessions we will provide critical insights on today’s most pressing trends including mobile payments, social media, regulatory reform, business analytics, and risk management.
3. Learn from Distinguished Industry Leaders: Hear from leaders at Citi, PNC, and State Street as they provide expertise on leadership, innovation and key trends transforming the industry.
4. Network with Hundreds of Financial Services Executives: Connect with peers during cocktail receptions, the after-party, and unstructured time between sessions.  You can also leverage our new mobile site to network virtually before, during and after the event.
5. Understand the Expanded Role of Technology: Our partnership with technology providers will offer a unique and valuable backdrop in examining the major part that technology plays in the evolution of the market.

Don’t Wait, Register Today!

In the past, most business banks grew by increasing costs. More visits and more staff were added to generate more new customers.

That approach is no longer viable. Today’s business banks are expected to acquire more customers than ever before, but they are not necessarily allocated more budget to do so.

So how can business bank leaders balance the need to grow the number of customers with the mandate to keep costs low? Read More »

The business banking industry is experiencing big changes. From new customer preferences, to changes to how sales staff view the bank, transformative forces are redefining what it takes to be a successful business bank.

In a recent webinar, we previewed the 10 forces that we believe are changing the business banking landscape and that will affect business bank performance this year. Read More »

As we continue to gear up for the 2012 CEBTowergroup Financial Services Conference, the BBB research team is excited to announce a few of the topics that we will be covering at the upcoming event:

1. Coaching for the Small Business Relationship Manager:  Being a small business banker is tough, and more than half of today’s RMs say that they need additional coaching to be successful.But what should this coaching look like? We will take a close look at the moments that affect small business RM performance the most, as well as the behaviors or activities to encourage, and the ones to avoid.This content will help banking leaders make the most of their coaching investments by focusing only on the situations that matter and pinpointing the behaviors for success.
2. Realizing the Potential of Branch-Based Small Business Sales:  The branch remains an expensive but under-used channel to drive small business revenue. In today’s environment of high goals coupled with cost constraints, management is under pressure to maximize returns from existing resources like the branch. To empower you, we will be examining the ways that leaders can better leverage the branch to generate small business revenue. We will teach you how to equip branch staff, design sustainable and cost-efficient multichannel offers, and rethink the branch-based offerings to meet customer needs and drive sales.This work is designed to help attendees discover new approaches to meet the needs of (and realize the revenue potential of) small business customers who arrive through the branch.

Stay on top of the latest CEB TowerGroup conference updates by joining the conversation on twitter #CEBTG12.  And visit www.CEBTowerGroup2012.com to learn more or to register today.

We look forward to seeing you in Boston.

With spring right around the corner, we are really starting to ramp up our planning activity for the CEB TowerGroup Financial Services Conference. Last month saw the inaugural European conference, and if the takeaways from that event are any indication, you won’t want to miss the Boston event, May 23-25. 

This year’s event covers pressing topics in the financial services industry, such as Social Media, Evolving Regulatory Reform, Mobile Payments, and more. Our combined focus on business challenges and the technology trends that influence them will better prepare you to adapt to changes in the market, understand the role of technology in that evolution, and be equipped to make decisions now. This year’s conference will feature over 45 unique content sessions led by industry experts and our analysts, designed to empower attendees to make critical decisions.

Join us this year to learn from influential industry keynote speakers; Osama Bedier, Vice President, Google Wallet and Payments, Google and Madge Meyer, EVP, Chief Innovation Officer and Technology Fellow, State Street. Connect with peers during cocktail receptions, our industry awards event, and the conference afterparty, as well as unstructured time in between sessions. Don’t wait, register today!

To learn more visit http://www.cebtowergroup2012.com/