|
United Bank Sales Culture Drives Market
Success
Growth is not what banks talk about in
today’s gloomy economy, but United Bank
uses the word proudly as 2009 begins.
Over the past ten years, the bank has
nearly tripled its assets, growing from
$439M to $1.3 billion as of 12/31/08
while deposits more than doubled to
$782.7 million over the same period. 41%
of this growth has occurred in the last
three years following the Bank’s
minority stock offering in 2005 and a
second-step stock offering in 2007. The
stock offerings provided United with the
capital to add new branches, hire more
staff, make investments in technology
and further enhance its brand position
in Western Massachusetts and Northern
Connecticut.
“A strong sales culture is a key
component to our success,” said Keith
Harvey, Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer for United Bank.
“Establishing this culture has taken a
real commitment of time, people and
technology, and the results have paid
off. All three are necessary,
particularly the technology to connect
our Personal Bankers with the bank’s
strategic objectives to drive growth and
service quality. Today, we are better
able to anticipate customer needs and
deliver relevant banking services. Our
growth and 4.58 product cross sell ratio
at the close of 2008 are proof of that!”
Western Massachusetts is a highly
competitive market for financial
services. In the four counties of
Western Massachusetts there are 35 banks
with 297 branches. United Bank has the
third highest deposit market share in
Hampden County (its primary market) at
10.16%. Only Bank of America and TD
Banknorth have a higher share.
To succeed in this market, United Bank
embarked on an ambitious campaign to
assess and meet evolving customer needs.
The bank adopted the Personal Banker
model in 1993 to ensure that every
customer has a dedicated professional to
meet all of their banking needs. The
Personal Bankers are a driving force
behind the bank’s success in building a
sales culture, Mr. Harvey said.
Technology is also an important part of
the equation. The first local bank to
introduce online banking and bill pay in
1997, United also introduced TeleBank
(automated account information line)
business online banking and online cash
management during that year.
United Bank currently boasts a 47%
penetration rate for Internet Banking,
more than one third above the national
average. It has also established a
strong Internet presence through
www.bankatunited.com. United
was first to deploy a new CRM (customer
relationship management) program to
better analyze customer relationships
and maximize cross-sell opportunities
bankwide. |
|
 |
