EAST LANCASHIRE businesses are being offered a unique insight into the trick of hanging on to customers at a top-level seminar next month.

The event focuses on the business maxim that it costs five times as much to attract a new customer than it does to keep one.

That basic philosophy is the theme of the UK Marketing Roadshow -- 10 Steps to Great Customer Service -- which will take place at the Dunkenhalgh Hotel on Wednesday, June 13.

Hosted by Mayes Business Partnership, of Accrington, and supported by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, the Nat West Bank-sponsored show will be presented at morning and afternoon sessions.

It features a BBC-produced video "How to Wow Your Customers", linked to an action-packed seminar which will provide a 10-step tool kit to help delegates delevop a winning competitive edge by putting customers at the heart of the business process.

Delegates will also be presented with a selection of tactics they can use to implement their plans.

The show will be presented by Malcolm Gallagher, the writer and presenter of the BizVision TV programmes.

Norman Snodgrass, a director of the Mayes Business Partnership, is confident the roadshow will play to another packed house.

"The last one, on low-cost marketing, was a real hit," he said. "We had 41 delegates and, at the end, they were asking when we would be running the next."

Roger Edworthy, marketing manager of the Evening Telegraph, said: "We are delighted to be involved in promoting this series of seminars which answer the wants and needs of small businesses, bringing them proven and practical help to market their busdinesses better. "There is a need for this sort of support to help the growth of small businesses which in itself will create new jobs."

The morning session is aimed at companies operating in the business-to-business market. Registration is at 9am and the seminar runs from 9.30am to 12.30pm when there will be a buffet lunch.

The afternoon seminar is targeted at the business to consumers market. Registration is at 3pm and the event runs from 3.30pm to 6.30pm, again to be followed by a buffet. Further information on the seminars is available from the Mayes Business Partnership, Tel: 01254 391327. Tickets are priced at £80 plus VAT.