MARKETING: CROSSCURRENT

It's no surprise that many banks these days focus on the cross-sell ratio. But analyst Thomas F. Theurkauf Jr. noted that, There are those who are doing quite well by, in a sense, ignoring the cross-sell approach.

Those players, including single-product companies like the credit card banks MBNA Corp. and First USA, have been successful in selling a proWtable product to customers nationwide, the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. analyst noted.

An example of the nontraditional approach, he said, is Signet Banking Corp.

What they are doing with their relationship-based banking strategy is selling a number of products which, on a stand-alone basis, are very attractive on a nationwide basis, he said. So that customer in North Dakota or California could have a single product, or a single relationship with Signet, and still be very proWtable.

There are diVerent schools of thought, said Mr. Theurkauf. There may no be single right way to address the marketplace.

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