In an era shaped by financial meltdowns and record-low trust in large financial institutions, community financial institutions are perfectly positioned to differentiate themselves as important and lasting parts of the communities they serve. Market Mentors helps them do that by focusing on authenticity, accountability, and community investment.
President Michelle Abdow said Market Mentors helps community financial institutions succeed via strategic storytelling and long-term earned media campaigns that position them as community pillars, especially among Generation Z and Millennials, two groups seeking value-aligned relationships.
While banks can have different founding ethos, Abdow said mutually chartered ones see few mergers and acquisitions. That allows them to maintain adherence to their mission of community service.
That is handy as big banks leave regions, report excessive profits and provide less than personal service. When a bank does such a thing, a community financial institution can strike with a special initiative or continuation of an existing campaign that reminds folks they aren’t going anywhere. Abdow said she’s had many clients successfully do this.
Boil it down, and any financial institution is about moving money in and out; the difference is found in between and on the edges. Is it perceived as being beneficial to the community, or are their actions merely lip service, an item on a corporate to-do list?
“When you start having these strategic conversations, you start realizing this is way more important,” Abdow said. “It’s not just a must-have; they have to do this for our community. It really becomes part of their core messaging strategy.”
Trust is forged over time. Many big banks have their charitable endeavors, but they are often one-off events that are repeated in a year – there’s no continuity. In contrast, community financial institutions build up that trust through repeated interactions that impress their message deeper into the community consciousness.
While traditional media still plays an important role in promoting community financial institutions, Abdow said one also has to meet Generation Z and Millennials where they are, and that is on social media. Transmit their message on popular sites. Forge relationships with influencers. Beyond that quarter-point rate drop, tell them you sponsor the local Little League team, or delivered a check and helped install a playground. Let’s see Jamie Dimon beat that.
“The leadership that we work with at these community banks and the credit unions, they want to give back they and they are looking to help them establish the relationships,” Abdow said. “The bigger banks don’t actualize the impact that they have. They do it because they have to do it, and then they move on. Whereas the local community banks, they really do make it part of their DNA, their fabric, and they want to share that story.
“I think it maximizes their exposure.”
The community sees that, and so do the media. Abdow said earned media brings added credibility and elevates storytelling.
“People as why I like working with banks,” Abdow said. “Because our job is to stretch the boundaries. A bank is a bank. You have to stretch the creative boundaries to get some publication, a fun campaign that people will resonate with.”
Beyond the community focus, Abdow said successful initiatives can involve financial literacy training and other actions focusing on youth. That means parents come along. The community financial institution has positioned itself with the generation looking at mortgages and the one soon seeking student loans and, later on, mortgages of their own.
But only if they trust the community financial institution.
“That’s paramount,” Abdow said. “The local impact drives that loyalty and the retention of those customers. There’s that feel-good piece that the credit union is doing something in the local community. It gives visibility, it leads to reputation, and that, in a sense, leads to growth.”