Sherief Meleis Featured at BAI's 2006 Retail Delivery Conference, Speaks on Competitive Distinctiveness

November 15, 2006

LAS VEGAS – In a tough environment for retail banking, institutions must tackle the challenge of distinctiveness head-on, or they risk spiraling into an endless string of price promotions and giveaways to maintain account growth, Sherief Meleis today told attendees at BAI's 2006 Retail Delivery Conference. He presented a variety of strategies and tactics that capitalize on distinctiveness to drive branch traffic.

A Managing Director at Novantas LLC, Meleis led a session titled "Forget the Toaster: Driving Branch Traffic through Distinctiveness." The co-presenter for this session was Paul Kadin, Marketing Director at Citibank North America.

With core deposits growing at less than half the rate seen a few years ago, banks must win market share in order to meet their individual performance goals, Meleis said, underscoring the need for distinctive approaches. Increasingly, he said, progressive banks are choosing two or three areas for special emphasis.

Major customer groups almost always make tradeoffs, Meleis explained, compromising on some features to obtain other things that matter more. Within retail banking, for example, there are five major functional aspects of distinctiveness, including: 1) access; 2) products; 3) pricing; 4) service and sales; and 5) community resonance. It's not necessary to get an A+ in all five areas.

While pricing and promotional tactics still will be prominent in the short term, Meleis said, leaders will gain extra traction by tailoring their marketing and sales efforts for target customer segments and local markets.

BAI's Retail Delivery Conference and Expo is the largest meeting of its kind in the retail financial services industry.

Novantas is the acknowledged leader in customer science and revenue strategy for the financial industries. The Firm specializes in applying advanced analytics and technologies to help clients make better decisions in marketing, product, pricing, customer management, and distribution.