St George Bank will implement its Business Connect program in 150 branches, after completing a "very successful" pilot of the small business banking project.Business Connect was designed as a way of providing a high quality, cost effective service to small businesses. Trialled in 30 branches, customers were put touch with a team of business bankers at the bank's Kogarah office via video-conference.St George's general manager of corporate and business banking, Phillip Godkin, said feedback from customers was that the technology worked well.Godkin said: "Video-conference technology is much better these days. Our customers told us they were able to have high quality conversations."One important measure is that the number of products per small business customer rose from two to 4.5 in the branches where the pilot took place.Accompanying the roll-out through St George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA branches will be a trial of a mobile version of the video-conference technology.Godkin said: "Customers will be able to talk to Business Connect on their iPads. This is about customers dealing with us in ways that suit them."Another part of the program is to simplify processes. The bank has reduced its standard BizPack business banking application from a 38-page document to just five pages.The challenge in dealing with small businesses is that they can have similar needs to larger businesses but they do not have the scale to warrant a dedicated relationship manager.Godkin said the Business Connect team was made up of a dozen "really high quality bankers".The trial was designed to see if the video-conference technology would allow the team to use its time as efficiently as possible and to maximise meeting time with customers.Godkin moved from Westpac Investment Bank, where he spent 18 years, to St George last year. He said St George lost some business banking share after the financial crisis, as it sorted through a portfolio that had a strong weighting towards property finance.Now it is looking to regain that share, and the Business Connect project is spearheading that push.Godkin said the increase in products per customer was an indicator of the quality of the conversations customers were having with the bankers."A business owner might come in asking for finance for a new vehicle. Previously, the discussion in the branch might not have gone beyond addressing that need. "When we put them in touch with the Business Connect team they have a conversation about the whole business. They start to think about whether they need insurance, a merchant facility or other finance."