Community banks spend a lot of time marketing what they offer. Checking accounts. Mortgages. Small business loans. CDs. Mobile banking. Wealth management. All important, of course. But there's something else community banks should be marketing just as aggressively: their people.
As banking becomes increasingly digital, and customer service increasingly powered by artificial intelligence in the form of chatbots, the human side of banking is becoming harder to find. Customers can open accounts without entering a branch, deposit checks without talking to a teller, apply for loans online in just minutes and get answers to questions about their account at two in the morning from a digital assistant.
That's convenient. But convenience isn't the same thing as connection. And there's evidence that customers still want both.
Accenture's 2025 Global Banking Consumer Study found that digitalization has made banking relationships more transactional and less personal. Seventy-three percent of consumers now have relationships with banks beyond their primary institution, while 58% purchased a financial product or service from a new provider during the previous year. The takeaway? When products begin to look alike and switching becomes easy, relationships matter even more. The good news? Relationships are where community banks excel.
JD Power's 2026 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study makes a similar point. Researchers found signs of declining satisfaction with personal service interactions and warned that poor experiences at important moments can lead customers to quietly move deposits elsewhere. That's yet another opportunity for community banks.
Put a face on your bank
Community banks have something many larger competitors spend millions trying to manufacture: genuine connections to their customers and communities.
So, why not make those connections part of your marketing? Instead of another social post promoting a home equity loan, introduce the lender who helps local families buy their first homes. Profile the commercial banker who has spent 20 years helping businesses in your community grow. Feature the branch manager volunteering at the local food bank or the teller who earned high praise from a customer for going “above and beyond.” And don't limit those stories to the occasional "Employee Spotlight."
Your people can be part of your marketing throughout the year. A mortgage lender can offer advice to first-time homebuyers in a short video. A business banker can write about what entrepreneurs should know before applying for financing. A fraud specialist can explain the latest scams. Your bank president can talk about why the bank supports a particular community organization. Suddenly, you're not simply marketing products. You're marketing your people. And reminding customers that relationships matter.
“Humanness.” More important than ever
Technology certainly isn't going away, nor should it. Customers expect good digital banking experiences, and banks need to provide them. But technology and human interaction don't have to be competing ideas. Deloitte research found that consumers are comfortable using digital channels for routine transactions, but often want human interaction when financial decisions become more complicated. Separate Deloitte research on banking chatbots found that 74% of respondents preferred human representatives over chatbots even for simple, routine questions.
That distinction becomes especially important when money gets personal… and, well, it often does. A chatbot can explain mortgage rates. An app can display an account balance. Yes, AI can provide information. But it doesn’t provide empathy, judgment, reassurance, and trust. (At least, not yet?!)
Community banks may never outspend the nation's largest financial institutions on technology or advertising. They don't have to. They can compete on humanness. After all, your employees know your customers. They live in the communities you serve. They understand local businesses. They coach Little League teams, serve on nonprofit boards, and run into your customers at the grocery store. Think about it this way: even when they’re not at work, they’re representing your brand. So, the next time you're planning a marketing campaign, don't just ask, "Which product should we promote?" Ask something else: Whose praises do we want to sing? Because in a banking world becoming more automated every day, the most powerful way to differentiate your bank may simply be to remind customers that there are still real people behind the logo.
Bank Marketing Center
We’re Bank Marketing Center, the leading subscription-based, automated marketing platform created specifically for community banks. Today, we help marketing professionals at more than 300 financial institutions develop and distribute timely, engaging communications that strengthen brand trust, deepen customer relationships, and drive revenue growth.
We make that possible by automating many of the essential marketing functions banks depend on; from content creation using professionally designed bank marketing templates to social media scheduling and monitoring, digital asset management, compliance routing, and more.
We also believe strongly in sharing the knowledge and insights we gain along the way. Whether we’re exploring the latest AI tools, offering strategies for attracting and retaining top talent, hosting a webinar on operational efficiency, or sharing expert perspectives on where the banking industry is headed, our goal is the same: helping community banks succeed.
Want to learn more about how we can support your community bank and its marketing efforts? A good place to start is bankmarketingcenter.com. You’re also welcome to contact me directly at 678-528-6688 or by email at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com. As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.