Why do you call yourself a community bank?
Is it because your bank’s owners, directors and employees live in your community? Are they involved in the community? Do they belong to the Rotary Club? Do they sing in the church choir? Do they lead a Boy Scout Troup?
If not, why not? Being involved in the community is the only way to really be a community bank and it’s one of the best ways to market your bank – much better than newspaper ads, TV spots or radio commercials. Think about it: what’s more impressive – having one of your bank’s employees coach a community’s little league team or to have the bank buy a banner on the left field fence?
Is it better to have one of your commercial lenders lead a Girl Scout Troup or to just buy a few boxes of their cookies?
If you really want your bank to stand out in the community, get involved. Do some research and put together a list of all the community organizations, clubs and events in your area. Then decide – as a bank – which employee is going to get involved in each group. Make sure you have representation in the Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, different religious organizations, homeowners associations, little leagues and city councils, to name a few.
To be a community bank you either have to put bank employees into the community or bring the community into the bank. There are multiple ways to do this.
Does your bank have a large boardroom or training room? Open it up for community meetings. Offer classes and training on marketing, financial planning, insurance, long-term health care and accounting. Local businesspeople would love to be invited to lead these types of events and most would probably sponsor a breakfast or lunch for attendees!
Many in your community are looking for information and expert advice from people they can trust. And they will do business with those institutions that can provide this type of information.
Think of ways your bank can get involved in your community. You’ll be amazed at the kind of response you’ll get. Instead of worrying about all the new “social media” out there, just concentrate on being social!
Have a great example of how your bank is involved in the community? We’d love to hear from you!….
###
Neal Reynolds has worked with hundreds of banks and credit unions around the country helping them to grow core deposits and market share without growing their marketing budgets. Contact him at [email protected].
