A few weeks ago, Eric Cook and Jack Hubbard—in partnership with Bank Marketing Center—led a session aimed at helping banks “break down the silos” and connect their sales team with their marketing team. The premise is that many banks are struggling not just with market share or wallet share, but with something more foundational: mindshare, that is, how much space your bank occupies in the minds of current and prospective customers. Some of the key discussion points included:
- How isolated sales and marketing teams lead to inconsistency in messaging and missed opportunities.
- Why aligned sales and marketing efforts help banks compete more effectively, not just in acquiring customers, but in retaining them and deepening relationships
- Practical ways to bridge the gap: shared metrics, shared content calendars, aligned messaging, feedback loops, and joint planning.
- The importance of mindshare: when your bank is consistently present (in digital content, community presence, customer communication), it builds trust and preference, which pays off in the long run.
Lessons for Community Bank Marketers
Community banks often have many of the ingredients for strong local presence—trust, relationships, local knowledge—but may stumble when internal silos or unclear role boundaries reduce impact. Here are a few takeaways that community bank marketers should consider:
- Define Ownership of Message and Brand Across Teams
Instead of marketing producing content in a vacuum, bring in sales (or deposit officers, branch managers) so they help shape what messages hit home locally. Messaging that resonates with real customers often comes from front-line insight.
- Set Shared Success Metrics
If marketing is measured only by impressions or social clicks, and sales by deposits or loan volume, alignment can drift. In the webinar, Hubbard and Cook underscored using shared KPIs—wallet share growth, customer retention, lead conversion rates—so that both teams are pulling in the same direction.
- Build Feedback and Iteration Loops
Have regular check-ins between sales and marketing. What messages worked in branches? What complaints or questions are coming up? Bank marketers must use that intelligence to adjust content, campaigns, or outreach.
- Use Content and Presence to Win Mindshare
Community banks can leverage hyper-local content (community events, local business spotlights, customer stories) so people think “local bank” first when they think banking. Being top-of-mind helps with loyalty and word-of-mouth.
- Avoid Duplication and Inconsistency
When sales folks offer different promotions or messaging than marketing, it confuses customers. The webinar stressed that aligned content calendars and messaging guides help ensure consistency across every customer touchpoint.
Recommended Next Steps for Community Bank Marketers
If you’re a marketing leader or bank executive, here’s a rough action plan based on what Cook and Hubbard discussed:
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Step
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What to Do
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Audit
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Map out current touchpoints: digital, branches, direct mail, etc. See where clients see inconsistent messages.
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Joint Planning
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Monthly or quarterly meetings where sales and marketing plan approaches together (campaigns, offers, messaging).
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Shared Metrics
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Agree on a set of KPIs both teams own; maybe new account starts, cross-sell ratio, customer retention.
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Content Co-Creation
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Involve sales/branch staff in content creation, such as FAQ suggestions, keywords about what customers ask, local angles.
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Monitor and Adjust
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After campaigns or content rollout, gather feedback: Was input from sales helpful? Did marketing materials meet field needs? Tweak accordingly.
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Why This Matters Now
There are several reasons why Smarketing is especially crucial in 2025 for community banks:
- Competition is intensifying. Digital banks, fintechs, regionals, and big national institutions are all fighting for attention. Without strong mindshare, local banks can easily lose the race to acquire and retain customers.
- Customers expect seamlessness. What they hear from marketing online should match what happens when they visit a branch or talk to a loan officer. Inconsistency erodes trust.
- Efficiency and ROI pressures: marketing budgets are always under scrutiny and community banks almost always operate with razor-thin resources. When sales and marketing collaborate, resources are more likely to be used effectively, reducing overlap or wasted effort.
Check Out The Replay Of Our "Smarketing in Banking" Webinar
The “Smarketing in Banking” webinar made it clear and compelling: aligning marketing and sales isn't just nice to have, it’s essential for banks that want to grow in a meaningful, sustainable way. They must combine their local standing and personal relationships with sharper internal alignment, shared goals, and consistent customer-facing messaging in order to defend and expand their market presence and mindshare.
If you haven’t already done so, consider watching the webinar replay and evaluating your own bank’s sales and marketing alignment. It might just be the lever that helps you win more wallet share, more trust, and more long-term growth. Click here to learn about the strategies Cook and Hubbard broke down to:
- Bridge the gap between sales and marketing
- Align teams to drive growth and stronger relationships
- Compete for market share, wallet share, and most importantly, mindshare
Bank Marketing Center
We’re Bank Marketing Center, the leading, subscription-based provider of automated marketing services to community banks. Our goal is to help bank marketers with topical, compelling communication with customers that builds trust, relationships, and revenue. And we do this through automating critical bank marketing functions, such as content creation, social media management, digital asset management and, of course, content routing. All of which contribute to a community bank’s ability to create and distribute content that drives business without fear of fines, brand damage, or fleeing customers.
We also want to share what we know—and learn along the way—with all our community banking friends. Whether it’s content focused on the latest AI technology, suggestions on how to attract and retain top talent, a webinar focused on operational efficiency, or the importance of data protection, we’re here to make bank marketing the best that it can be.
Want to learn more about what we can do for your community bank and your marketing efforts? You can start by visiting bankmarketingcenter.com. Then, feel free to contact me directly by phone at 678-528-6688 or via email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com. As always, I welcome your thoughts.