`BUSINESS LEADERS MUST PLAY CUSTOMER-SERVICE GAME'

The retail market is changing, consumers are moving faster and shopping fewer stores, and customer loyalty is a thing of the past, says the chief executive officer of a consumer research firm.

"Business leaders have to play the customer-service game," said C. Britt Beemer, founder of America's Research Group, a full-service survey and consumer research firm. "They have to understand what drives consumers and what consumers are going to do. Then they have to make adjustments in today's competitive world."

Beemer, a graduate of Northwest Missouri State University at Maryville, was guest speaker during the Retail Market Strategy session of the Southeast Missouri Business Conference at the Show Me Center Wednesday.

Other sessions during the one-day event co-sponsored by the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's University Relations Committee and the university's College of Business Administration featured a panel discussion on the banking industry involving Cape Girardeau bank presidents and the keynote address by Andrew B. Craig III, chief executive officer of Boatmen's Bancshares Inc. of St. Louis.

Beemer, Craig and members of the banking panel discussed the changes in business, consumers and service.

"Service is important for customers," said Beemer. "Many people may not see any difference in a lot of products, but they can identify with service."

Beemer said service shouldn't end with a sale.

"Some of the firms we have provided research for take the time to call customers following the sale to thank them for shopping at their store," said Beemer. "Others send out thank-you notes."

He said employees can play a big role in customer service.

"So many times we have heard the customer complain that a sales person or a person answering the telephone have resulted in loss sales," he said. "A big failing of some companies is that employees don't like their jobs and are consistently complaining around a customer."

He said a resent survey indicated that 54 percent of employees didn't like their jobs and didn't want to be at work. "Consumers sense these things," said Beemer.

"One person can make a big difference," he said. "Everyone who walks into your business wants to be treated with respect. A lot of businesses violate that code."

Beemer told the group that in 40 percent of the cases "what you are is how you look outside your business."

He explained: "For every 200 cars that go past your business, research shows us that three-tenths of a percent of them will walk in your stores. That means that 200 people see the front of your store, but only three-tenths percent see the inside of your store."

What this shows, he said, is that the store has to be attractive enough outside to entice more people inside.

On a final note, Beemer said consumers were "up for grabs."

"There is little customer loyalty today," he said. "There was a time when customers shopped the same store consistently. Today less than 11 percent of shoppers feel a loyalty to a certain store."

Craig told the group during the noon luncheon that the banking industry was also a changing one.

"I have been in banking more than 30 years," he said. "There was time when you had a checking account at the bank, a mortgage payment at a savings and loan, you purchased your washer and dryer from Sears, and you bought stock from a stockbroker. That's changed now, and all are in competition against each other."

"This is good for the consumers," said one panelist. "It makes them better shoppers, and it helps make us better bankers."

Craig said he was impressed with the economy of the Cape Girardeau area.

"Cape Girardeau has continued to grow over the years, it has a good workforce and the unemployment rate is low," said Craig. "It's an excellent region for Boatmen's Bank."

Craig, who started his banking career at Manufacturers and Traders Trust in Buffalo, N.Y., joined Boatmen's in 1985.

"Boatmen's bank was founded in 1847, and is the oldest commercial bank in existence," said Craig. "It was originally founded for `boat men' people who worked on the river.

"Boatmen's didn't start making acquisitions until 1973," he said. "Since then it has made 20 acquisitions, and is the largest bank in Missouri and one of the largest in the Midwest. What is happening with Boatmen's is an indication of what's happening in the banking industry.

"The big regional banks will continue to grow and prosper," he said. "Some of the medium size banks will join others, and the community banks will continue to operate. Boatmen's has stuck to basic banking. We haven't dabbled in real estate investments and foreign loans."

Craig said, "Our people on the operating levels continue to provide and offer service, and in all areas we support the quality of life for a community."

Participating in the banking panel discussion were bank presidents Stan Thompson of AmeriFirst Bank; James P. Limbaugh, Boatmen's Bank; Charles P. Daniel, Capital Bank; Larry Miller, First National Bank; Oliver J. Miller, Mercantile Bank; and John Percy Huston IV, South East Missouri Bank. The panel was moderated by Carol A. Keeler, co-anchor of KZIM radio news and host of "Talk of Cape."

Bankers agreed that the abundance of banks in the area and competition in lending money has made the area a consumers' market.

"We are overbanked," said one panel member. "The general rule is one bank for every 10,000 people. We have seven banks for a 40,000-population city."

Another banker talked about a level playing field.

"We're competing with a number of businesses," said one panelist. "Some auto dealers offer 2.9 or 3.9 financing through GMAC or Ford Motor Credit. We don't sell automobiles, but we have to compete with the loan activity."

"There are more regulations now and stricter enforcement of old regulations," said another. "We're paying for the sins of the savings and loans."

The bankers also discussed customer loyalty.

"Everybody wants the best deal," said one. "Customer loyalty is not there. If they can go somewhere else and get a better deal, they'll go. We haven't had a great population growth over the past 10 years."

One of the panelists pointed out that 10 years ago there were three banks in Cape Girardeau.

Banking costs were discussed. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. premiums have more than doubled in recent years, and the FDIC has proposed yet another increase. "These costs will eventually be passed on to the consumer," said one panelist.

Another panelist said: "Financing is what we do, and we can do it best. We just have to learn to be better managers."