How can business owners find a bank that can do it all to meet all of their needs?
When talking to a banker, that person should be asking questions about your business and how it runs. How does your business operate on a daily basis? With what areas does your business struggle? What banking products do you have now? Are they working?
This conversation should precede any discussion about bank products. The banker should get to know you and your business. Listening is the banker’s job at this point — not selling. After telling your story, ask the banker to share success stories.
And make sure you are speaking with a high-level person who will guide you through your banking relationship. You want to build a relationship with a decision-maker who can execute on your banking plan.
What challenges are financial institutions confronting as they continue to unite community and corporate bank cultures?
As community banks work to integrate more complex products that were historically only available at large banks, they deal with limited resources in the form of money, staff and the cost of rolling out a new product. On the other hand, large banks trying to reach down to the community level struggle to build trust with clients who see them as the ‘big bank’ and not as their bank. Larger institutions face a public-relations challenge to prove that they are accessible, hands-on and relationship-focused.
Meanwhile, business owners are very conscious about their dollars and how they are spending them. They will scrutinize all decisions and approach any business relationship with caution. For community banks with rich visibility in a region, trust and accessibility are already part of the corporate culture.
Why is it important for banks to operate with a community mentality, and how does that benefit business owners?
There is a general distrust in banks, but people do trust the people they know in their communities. They notice when they see the president of their bank out in the community. They like walking into the bank and seeing the president on the front lines and not hidden in a board room. When customers are out, they want to run into the professionals whom they trust to advise their businesses. That’s what being a community bank is all about. And for banks that are struggling to earn customers’ trust, the only way to build strong, long-term relationships is to revisit the basics of community banking.
In turn, business owners who seek out banks with these values will find satisfaction in building relationships with trusted advisers who will be with them and their business through thick and thin.
