Practical Steps to Retaining Customers

DARTMOUTH, MA, April 9, 2009 – Financial executives from across the country joined a Webinar to hear Beacon and Company’s Phil Carney discuss “Retain More Relationships: Keep Your Best Customers in a Turbulent Market” hosted by Onsite Conference, Inc., a leader in live, online learning for executives.

“With the banking industry facing tighter margins and more competition, retention is a critical topic,” said Carney, National Sales Director. “One research firm reports that the average branch opens 64 new deposit accounts per month, but closes 55 existing relationships during the same period. And because longer-term clients tend to use more products and services than new customers, banks usually close more than just deposits accounts when someone leaves.”

Carney led senior managers through an interactive discussion on every aspect of retention. Topics included: why customers leave, responding to service and pricing complaints, gaining and using customer feedback, differentiating your company from the competition, problem resolution, solidifying relationships, creating a retention strategy and tracking and rewarding staff for performance.

“Beacon delivered another outstanding webinar. Participants left with quantifiable tips and practical steps to improve their retention results,” said Cathy Harris of Onsite Conference.

“It’s uncharted territory for financial organizations today, and Beacon is uniquely positioned to help them navigate through it,” Carney said. Beacon’s principals have worked in banking, sales and marketing in organizations large and small, and have held senior positions at both large multi-national companies and community banks.

In addition to management consulting, Beacon’s flagship product, Beacon Sales Coach©, helps financial institutions coach their staff through more than 50 common sales topics, including retention, cross-selling, and acquiring new customers. Their field-proven and time-tested methods have helped to improve profitability for financial institutions of all sizes.

About Beacon
Beacon and Company is headquartered in Dartmouth, Massachusetts. Additional information about Beacon Sales Coach and Beacon's customized consulting services is available at www.beaconandcompany.com.

For more information contact Phil Carney: 508-996-8000