How To Keep Your Best Customers

For community banks, maintaining strong relationships with their best business customers is the cornerstone of their success. These customers who entrust the bank with deposits, rely on treasury management services, and seek various business loans represent the lifeblood of the institution. To ensure their continued loyalty and satisfaction, community banks should employ a range of strategies with a focus on personalized service and anticipating future needs.

One of the key practices in retaining best business customers is the commitment to in-person interactions. Community banks need to go the extra mile by visiting their customers on-site, fostering a sense of trust and understanding that goes beyond mere transactions. These visits allow the bank representatives to immerse themselves in the customer's business environment, gaining valuable insights into operations, challenges, and opportunities. This personal touch helps establish a strong foundation for a long-term partnership and reinforces the notion that the bank is more than just a financial institution; it's a dedicated partner in their growth journey.

Community banks should also prioritize getting to know their customers' businesses intimately, focusing on both their current operations and future growth plans. By actively engaging in conversations about the customer's aspirations and long-term objectives, the bank positions itself as a valuable advisor and collaborator. The key lies in becoming an integral part of the solution to their growth plans. This means actively seeking opportunities to assist in their expansion, whether through providing additional financing options or suggesting tailored solutions that align with their unique needs.

Crucially, offering in-house equipment leasing services is a vital component of this strategy. This not only ensures that the bank captures a larger share of the customer's financial needs but also reinforces the bank's commitment to being a comprehensive financial partner.  And it prevents customers from seeking leasing options from potential competitors or outside institutions. In doing so, community banks can solidify their position as a trusted ally in their customers' financial landscape, fostering mutual success and long-lasting relationships.

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How To Keep Your Best Customers

Maintaining your best customers is essential for sustained business growth and profitability. One effective strategy to ensure customer retention is to focus on customers who frequently purchase equipment. These repeat equipment buyers often represent a significant portion of your revenue, making it vital to cultivate strong and lasting relationships with them. To achieve this, it's imperative to delve into understanding their businesses and long-term growth plans.

The first step in keeping your best customers is to invest time and effort in getting to know their businesses intimately. This involves more than just processing transactions; it's about building genuine connection and trust. By understanding their unique operations, industry challenges, and specific needs, you position yourself as a valuable partner rather than just a vendor.

Furthermore, the key to retaining these customers isn't limited to merely providing equipment solutions for their growth. It's about taking a holistic approach and offering capital solutions that align with their expansion plans. Partnering with institutions like AFN can be instrumental in this regard. By providing access to capital resources, you not only support your customers in acquiring the equipment they need but also empower them to fuel their growth initiatives effectively. This comprehensive approach ensures that your best customers see you as a strategic partner in their long-term success, fostering loyalty and sustained business relationships.

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How To Keep Your Best Customers

Maintaining a loyal customer base is essential for the sustained success of any business, and your best customers, those who repeatedly choose your products or services, are the lifeblood of this success. The key to retaining these valuable patrons is not just about the immediate transaction but building a lasting and meaningful relationship that transcends their current needs and extends into the future.

One crucial strategy is to focus on getting to know your best customers on a personal level. This goes beyond knowing their names and purchase histories; it involves understanding their businesses, challenges, and aspirations. By engaging in open and meaningful conversations, you can gain insights into their long-term plans and goals. This deep understanding allows you to position yourself as a trusted partner who cares about their future success.

Moreover, the true secret to keeping your best customers is not merely meeting their current needs but demonstrating your commitment to their evolving requirements. Show them that you're invested in their future by actively seeking opportunities to provide products or services that adapt to their changing circumstances. This forward-thinking approach not only increases customer satisfaction but also solidifies your position as a trusted advisor and partner in their journey. By consistently delivering value and anticipating their future needs, you'll create a bond that transcends transactional relationships and fosters unwavering loyalty.

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How To Keep Your Best Customers

Sustaining and nurturing relationships with your best customers, often growth companies with ongoing needs, is a vital component of business success. These customers continually rely on your products or services, making it imperative to cultivate strong bonds. To achieve this, your approach should revolve around a deep understanding of their business dynamics and future ambitions.

Getting to know their business intimately is paramount. It involves more than just transactions; it's about forging a genuine partnership. By gaining insights into their unique operations, industry challenges, and specific needs, you become a trusted advisor rather than just a supplier. This personalized approach not only reinforces your commitment to their success but also solidifies your position as a valuable partner in their growth journey.

One of the keys to retaining these growth-oriented customers is recognizing their ongoing capital needs. Growing companies frequently require financial resources to invest in new equipment, expand operations, or seize emerging opportunities. This is where partnering with institutions like AFN becomes invaluable. AFN can offer tailored capital solutions to address these specific needs, ensuring that your best customers have access to the necessary resources to fuel their growth. By providing this comprehensive support, you position your business as an essential catalyst for their success, reinforcing loyalty and fostering enduring customer relationships.

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Susan and Lisa

Susan and Lisa decided to play tennis against each other. They bet $1 on each game they played. Susan won three bets and Lisa won $5. How many games did they play?

 

Answer: Eleven. Because Lisa lost three games to Susan, she had lost $3 ($1 per game). So, she had to win back that $3 with three more games, then win another five games to win $5.

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Three Puzzles

Three puzzles to keep your brain flexible for today:

  1. A California farmer owns a beautiful pear tree. He supplies the fruit to a nearby grocery store. The store owner calls the farmer to see how much fruit is available for him to buy. The farmer knows the main trunk has 24 branches. Each branch has exactly 12 boughs and each bough has exactly 6 twigs. Since each twig bears one piece of fruit, how many plums will the farmer be able to deliver?
  2. A woman is sitting in her hotel room and hears a knock at the door. She opens the door to see a man whom she’s never met before. He says, “I’m sorry, I have made a mistake, I thought this was my room.” He then goes down the corridor and into the elevator. The woman goes back into her room and calls security. What made the woman so suspicious of the man?
  3. If you have me, you want to share me. If you share me, you haven’t got me. What am I?

 

Answers:

  1. None—a pear tree doesn’t grow plums
  2. If he really thought it was his hotel room, he would have tried to open the door—not knock on it first.
  3. A secret

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Independence Day

Test your Independence Day knowledge with these 10 true or false questions!

  1. On July 4th the Continental Congress voted in favor of declaring Independence from Great Britain.
  2. It was not until 1941 that July 4th became a paid federal holiday for federal employees.
  3. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4th, 1776.
  4. Pennsylvania became the first state to make the 4th of July an official state holiday in 1781.
  5. A United States President actually dies after eating spoiled fruit at a July 4th celebration.
  6. Four US Presidents died ON July 4th.
  7. Starting in 1818, new stars and stripes were added to the American flag each Juy 4th to mark the creation of new states
  8. One World Trade Center in New York is 1,776 feet tall to mark the year the US declared its independence from Great Britain
  9. As of 2016, July 4 was the number two holiday (after the Superbowl) for beer sales in the US, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association
  10. Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest is held annually on July 4th.  In 2018, champion Joey Chestnut ate 74 hot dogs with buns in just 10 minutes.

 

Answers:

  1. FALSE - On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of declaring independence from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was officially adopted two days later, marked by the ringing of the Liberty Bell at Independence Hall in Philadelphia.  At the time, John Adams believed that July 2, not July 4, would be the date remembered by history.
  2. TRUE – it became a federal holiday in 1870, but a PAID holiday for federal employees in 1941
  3. FALSE – July 4th is the date that it was formally adopted by the Continental Congress, but it wasn’t signed by most signatories until August.
  4. FALSE - Massachussetts became the first state to make the 4th of July an official state holiday in 1781.
  5. TRUE – President Zachary Taylor died from this in 1850.
  6. FALSE – But THREE US Presidents HAVE died on July 4th – Thomas A Jefferson, John Adams, and James Monroe
  7. TRUE
  8. TRUE
  9. FALSE – it is the number ONE day for beer sales
  10. TRUE (and gross!)

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Two Ropes

You have two ropes. Each burns completely in exactly one hour. However, they are different lengths and thus burn at different rates. Also, along each rope the width & material changes, so they burn at different rates at different places. The only thing you know is that they each burn completely in one hour exactly.

You have a lighter. How do you measure exactly 45 minutes?

 

Answer: Because they both burn inconsistently, you can’t just light one end of a rope and wait until it’s 75 percent of the way through. But, this is what you can do: Light the first rope at both ends, and light the other rope at one end, all at the same time. The first rope will take 30 minutes to burn (even if one side burns faster than the other, it still takes 30 minutes). The moment the first rope goes out, light the other end of the second rope. Because the time elapsed of the second rope burning was 30 minutes, the remaining rope will also take 30 minutes; lighting it from both ends will cut that in half to 15 minutes, giving you 45 minutes all together.

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Two Mathematicians

The two leading mathematicians in the kingdom, Alice and Bob, have run afoul of their tyrannical king. Rather than behead them outright, the king decides to prolong their misery by locking them in separate dungeons, so that any communication between them is impossible.

Each morning, a guard is to enter the corresponding dungeon and toss a coin so that the prisoner in that dungeon can see the outcome. Then the prisoner will be asked to guess the outcome of the coin toss in the other dungeon (i.e., Alice has to guess the outcome of the toss witnessed by Bob, and Bob has to guess the outcome of the toss witnessed by Alice). If at least one of the two prisoners guesses correctly, they will live to see another day. Otherwise they will be put to death forthwith.

It would seem that the mathematicians are doomed. But as they are being led away in chains Alice and Bob manage to confer for a brief moment and they agree on a strategy that will delay their execution indefinitely. What is the strategy?....   

Answer: If Alice gets heads, she will guess that Bob also got heads, and if she gets tails she will guess that Bob also got tails. Meanwhile, if Bob gets heads he will guess that Alice got tails, and if he gets tails he will guess that Alice got heads. Then exactly one of them will always be right.

The simplest way that I can see of explaining this solution is that the outcomes of the two coin tosses must be either the same or different, so one of the mathematicians should always guess that they were the same, and the other that they were different. It’s irrelevant whether the coins are fair or not.

The solution is simple, but there's still a slightly magical flavor to it in my mind. What I find so remarkable is that, for the strategy to work, both Alice and Bob need to see the outcome of their own coin toss, even though it’s totally uncorrelated with the outcome of the other’s toss!

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Gardening Made Easy

An old man living alone in South Armagh, whose only son was in Long Kesh Prison, didn't have anyone to dig his garden for his potatoes. So he wrote to his son about his predicament.

The son sent the reply, "For HEAVENS SAKE, don't dig the garden up, that's where I buried the guns!!!!!"

At 3 AM the next morning, a dozen British soldiers turned up and dug the garden for 3 hours, but didn't find any guns.

Confused, the man wrote to his son telling him what had happened, asking him what he should do now?

The son sent the reply: "NOW plant the potatoes!"

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