KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SEDONA(R) Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: SDNA) (www.sedonacorp.com), a leading provider of Customer and Member Relationship Management (CRM/MRM) solutions for financial services organizations, announced that its CRM solution, Intarsia(R), is allowing banks and credit unions to remain competitive and continue to expand their customer/member bases despite the current down economy.

The recent turmoil in the financial markets forces banks and credit unions to make decisions that will help the bottom line of the financial institution. Marketing efforts by the financial institution must be leveraged to retain their loyal customers, attract new ones, and be informed and flexible enough to make changes or decisions in a short time. SEDONA's comprehensive CRM/MRM technology, Intarsia, assists these financial institutions to better understand their customer and member relationships in order to meet the challenges of this economic standstill.

One such institution is Central Bancshares, the leading independent bank in Central Kentucky which serves more than 100,000 customers and has more than $1.8 billion in assets. Despite the current state of the economy, Central Bancshares recently reported increases in revenue and earnings for the first six months of 2008.

One way that Central Bancshares has capitalized on the power of SEDONA's Intarsia is through their certificate of deposit retention program. The Intarsia system automatically notifies bank officers of upcoming time deposit maturities. This enables a relationship manager to contact the customer and discuss financial options that best suit the customer's needs -- all before the CD matures.

To continue increasing their core deposits, Central Bancshares has also begun a program targeting loyal customers who have been identified for money market accounts. By utilizing Intarsia and segmentation data, Central Bancshares is able to better identify customers that could benefit from money market accounts. Bank employees can then contact those customers with a special offering.

Central Bancshares' innovative "Onboarding program" takes new customers loaded into the Intarsia system and automatically updates relationship managers with pre-determined times to contact these accounts with information and offerings that the customers desire. This program has resulted in a 96% new household retention rate - an improvement of 6% in just six months.

In the midst of the economic turbulence, many depositors have questions regarding the safety of their money and federal depository insurance guidelines. By employing SEDONA's Intarsia, Central Bancshares better understands its client relationships and has become proactive in helping them position their accounts to provide the maximum of federal insurance guarantees.

Another benefit for financial institutions using Intarsia is that the system can provide balance swing reports to relationship officers on a daily basis. Officers are kept informed every day of large changes in account balances - both increases and decreases - to better service the account. This information helps them to be timely and proactive in recognizing these changes, and taking the proper action to ensure customer retention and the highest level of service.

"The power of having all this pertinent information on a timely basis ensures that our customers' needs are being met, and enables us to make appropriate, precise, and swift decisions in a challenging environment," commented Chad Crouch, Central Bancshares Marketing Information Officer. "By better understanding our customers, and servicing them better, it helps us continue to show our customers the way to the financial goals they desire."

SEDONA's President and CEO Scott Edelman commented, "Challenging times call for financial institutions to be ahead of the curve in customer relationships so as to attract, foster, and retain profitable customers. Intarsia can assist these institutions in that task. Central Bancshares is a success story in the middle of challenging times, by being customer centric in their approach. We congratulate them and are proud Intarsia is an important tool in their ongoing success."

About SEDONA Corporation

SEDONA(R) Corporation (OTCBB: SDNA) provides multi-vertical Customer/Member Relationship Management (CRM/MRM) solutions and services specifically tailored to the financial services market. SEDONA's CRM/MRM solution, Intarsia(R), is designed and priced to support and meet the needs of the multiple lines of business of banks and credit unions. Intarsia provides the entire financial services institution with a complete and accurate view of their customers' and prospects' relationships and interactions. By utilizing SEDONA's CRM/MRM solution and services, SEDONA's clients effectively identify, acquire, foster, and retain loyal, profitable customers. For additional information, visit the SEDONA web site at www.sedonacorp.com or call 1-800-815-3307.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this news release that relate to future plans, events or performances are forward-looking statements. Any statement containing words such as "believes," "anticipates," "plans," or "expects," and other statements which are not historical facts contained in this release are forward-looking, and these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations. Consequently, actual results could differ materially from the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements.



    SEDONA(R) and Intarsia(R) are registered trademarks of SEDONA Corporation.
    All other trade names are the property of their respective owners.
    This press release and prior releases are available on the
    SEDONA Corporation web site at www.sedonacorp.com.

SOURCE SEDONA Corporation