Aligning Your Financial Institution with Your Community

Building a community around your brand is essential for developing a strong and loyal customer base. Customers care about supporting their community, and by sponsoring local events, supporting specific causes and charities, and connecting with customers outside of just finances, customers will begin to see your bank or credit union as a community member. Engaging with customers in your community, whether it is your local community or your digital community, can not only increase the presence of your company but also increase the trust and loyalty of your customers.

The Value of Community

Community allows customers to connect with the financial institutions on a more personal level and increases the engagement customers are having with the business, outside of just managing their finances. There are several key ways being involved in a community can bring value to your business. 

• Brand Loyalty: If a customer doesn’t feel loyal to your bank, they have no reason not to get service from a bank offering better rewards or lower fees. Being involved in your community can increase the trust and loyalty of your customers. They’ll begin to recognize you and your bank as more than just a money-making operation and as a valid and valued member of their community.
• Customer Insight: A financial institution will be able to offer better services for their community when they understand their customers’ wants and needs better. For instance, if a bank is located in a college town, offering programs and deals that entice a college student will increase business. Additionally, customers will feel more comfortable providing feedback or ideas for future services when they feel connected to the financial institution.
• Word of Mouth (Free) Advertising: 92 percent of consumers will trust a recommendation from a friend. It can be as easy as one person remembering how your bank sponsored their child’s sports team and recommending it to a friend who is looking for a new bank. If your financial institution is engaged with the community, more people are likely to recognize it and hopefully recommend it to a friend or two.

Starting Locally

Your physical presence within your community matters just as much as your digital presence. In order for customers to feel inclined to engage with your financial institution, you have to get involved and engage with them. 

• Volunteer: Volunteering, whether financially or in-person service, can help your business connect with the community. People want to know that their bank cares about them, so by volunteering at a community event or sponsoring an event, banks can make a positive impression. For example, Citizens Bank donated over $18 million to community programs and their employees collectively spent over 200,000 hours volunteering within their communities.
• Partner with Local Businesses: Another way to get involved with your local community is to engage with other local businesses. Local businesses will be more inclined to work with a local bank, which probably understands them, and their community, more than a large national bank would be able to. They need to know your bank supports their business and its’ success too though. This could be done by offering special rewards for business owners or discounts on business insurance.
• Offer Unique Opportunities: Offering opportunities for your community, such as internship opportunities and educational programs, allows customers to see you as something more than just their bank. First Bank offers its customers educational seminars on topics such as understanding credit, budgeting, and buying a home. This shows that your financial institution is not only looking for customers but that you actually care about the financial success of your customers. 

Connecting with Your Digital Community

Technology has allowed digital communities to be just as meaningful as in-person communities. These communities can be primarily built on social media platforms, which allows customers to easily connect with both the financial institution and other customers. 45 percent of bank customers visit their bank in person less than 5 times per year, so use the tactics below to ensure that you’re engaging with online communities in an effective way.

• Humanize Your Brand: Allow your online customers to feel more connected to your financial institution by highlighting your employees or sharing customer testimonials on your social media. Showing that you care about both your customers and your employees, adds a human aspect to an otherwise mostly serious and black-and-white industry.
• Show You’re Listening: A large aspect of social media is that people can comment publicly and directly on your posts. Show that you’re listening to your digital customers by providing meaningful feedback to comments. This shows that not only did you see the comment, but that you care that the issue gets resolved.
• Giveaways and Contests: First National Bank hosted a giveaway of 5 tickets to Opera Ohmaha, only eligible for entry to users who retweeted their post and followed their account. By having users retweet their post, that opened up the number of potential customers who are aware of their account and bank, while also engaging with current customers.

Whether your financial institution has more of a local community or a digital community, being present, involved, and engaged with your members is important. Customers want to be seen and heard, and they especially want to know that their bank or credit union cares about more than just their finances. Being involved within your community will not only increase your brand awareness but will also allow for more personal and long-term relationships to be formed. 

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