Winning business customers is easy, but keeping them sets the best banks apart

Sponsored by JD Bank

For commercial lenders focused more on their own performance indicators than the people they serve, closing a loan is the finish line. For Cherine Patin, Vice President-Commercial Lender with JD Bank, it’s the starting line.

“Acquiring a new customer is only the beginning,” she says. “Retention is where the real work begins, and that starts immediately after the acquisition.”

That’s because business owners have more banking options than ever. The Capital Region financial sector is highly competitive. National and community banks, credit unions, fintech companies and private lenders scramble to offer the most attractive rates and terms that separate them from the pack.

But while short-term incentives and effective marketing can bring a customer into the tent, Patin says, those factors alone won’t convince them to stay. Once the loan closes and the account opens, she says, the customer’s needs and expectations change.

“They want to know the bank understands their business, that their banker is reachable, and that someone is anticipating their needs as the business grows, not just servicing the transaction that brought them in the door,” she says. “We all offer similar products and services. The personal relationship creates value, and loyalty.”

That philosophy shapes how JD Bank views its role: as a supporting character in every customer’s story. For Patin, that means taking the time to understand a customer’s full financial picture — cash flow needs, deposit and treasury requirements, succession plans, even how personal and business finances intertwine — so a banker can identify opportunities the customer doesn’t even know to look for.

Communication is key, she says. A simple check-in call to ask how business has been often means more to a customer than any sales pitch.

“That’s what they’re going to remember,” Patin says. “Trust follows from consistency: doing what you said you’d do, returning calls, being transparent when the answer is no and, where possible, offering an alternative path forward.”

Financial technology has changed the playing field. Mobile banking and instant payments have replaced check writing and monthly statements. Customers demand convenience and compare their local bank experience to the ease of service that tech giants like Venmo or Apple Pay can offer.

What fintech hasn’t replaced, she says, is judgment.

“It can help you win the customer,” Patin says, “but it’s not going to help you keep the customer and grow the relationship.”

While staying mindful of churn rates, Patin said she and her colleagues at JD Bank also define success in ways that are difficult to quantify. Does the customer rely on the bank for other financial services? Has the relationship with the customer deepened year over year? When the customer has a new financial challenge to be overcome, who do they call first?

Says Patin, “I want JD Bank’s card to be the card in the drawer that they remember.”

JD Bank is a community bank serving south Louisiana with an expanding presence in the Capital Region. To connect with a commercial banker, visit jdbank.com.