Today’s marketing challenge isn’t simply keeping up with the latest technology; it’s figuring out which emerging technology can enhance an institution's ability to better engage customers and with it, increase their competitive edge.
Based on a survey of 4,450 marketing professionals worldwide, Salesforce’s Tenth Edition State of Marketing examines how marketers are responding to artificial intelligence, ever-evolving customer expectations, and the growing importance of data. The report can be of particular interest to community bank marketers, whose teams are often small and whose resources, both financial and human, are limited.
According to Salesforce, 83 percent of marketers say customers increasingly expect brands to support back-and-forth conversations. This is not surprising. What I found surprising is that 69 percent of marketers say they struggle to respond promptly because they lack the necessary customer context.
The search for context
For example, a bank sends an email promoting a home equity line. The recipient replies with a question about eligibility. Ideally the bank recognizes that reply as part of the same customer relationship, not as an isolated interaction that starts a new process. The same is true when a customer clicks on an auto-loan offer shortly after applying for a mortgage. The customer may reasonably expect the bank to understand that these activities are connected to their broader financial relationship with the institution.
But traditional marketing systems don't always work that way. One system may record the email click, another may contain the mortgage application and yet another may track the customer's response to a campaign. If those systems aren't connected, the marketing team may not have a complete picture of what the customer is actually doing or what they may need next. The result can be a series of disconnected messages; some of which may seem irrelevant to the customer, some of which may lead to a lost opportunity for the bank.
The report makes the argument that while the customer sees a relationship, the bank sees data points and that AI isn’t particularly helpful if it is simply generating more messages from disconnected information. Its real value, according to the report, comes when it can help the bank connect those data points and determine what the customer may need next.
AI connects the dots
The report makes an important distinction between using AI to produce marketing materials and using AI to improve marketing operations, that is, provide that missing context. Seventy-five percent of marketers surveyed are using AI, while 78 percent say they need more personalized content than they are currently able to produce. According to Salesforce, only 13 percent of marketers have adopted AI systems capable of taking actions based on customer data (Agentic) rather than simply generating content (Generative).
For example, a conventional Generative AI tool might help a bank marketer write an email promoting a home equity line to homeowners. Agentic AI, however, could potentially go several steps further. Based on defined rules and available customer data, it might:
- Identify customers who appear to be appropriate prospects.
- Determine which message or offer is relevant.
- Create or select the appropriate communication.
- Trigger the communication through the appropriate channel.
- Record the interaction.
- Potentially adjust what happens next based on the customer's response.
Because it can take actions rather than merely generate content, Agentic AI typically requires greater investment in data integration, security, governance, and workflow design. That makes a phased approach, starting with generative AI and gradually automating well-defined processes, a sensible approach to adoption for smaller banks with limited resources. Each phase can solve a different resource problem without requiring the bank to make a huge technology investment all at once.
- Phase 1 Generative AI: Help marketers write, edit, summarize, brainstorm and repurpose content.
- Phase 2 Connected AI: Give AI access to approved bank information, content libraries and customer insights so it can produce more relevant work.
- Phase 3 Workflow automation: Use AI to move work through defined processes; for example, preparing a campaign and routing it to compliance.
- Phase 4 Agentic AI: Allow AI to execute specific, tightly controlled actions within those workflows, subject to permissions and human oversight.
The challenge of silos and unstructured data
Financial institutions already possess enormous amounts of customer information: account relationships, product ownership, digital interactions, service contacts, and loan activity. The problem is that this information often resides in different, siloed locations. Salesforce found that only 58 percent of marketers have complete access to service data and 56 percent to sales data. The lesson? AI can only personalize effectively when it has access to useful, trustworthy data.
For a community bank, that means the conversation about AI should also be a conversation about data integrity, integration, and accessibility. A small marketing team doesn't have the luxury of manually piecing together information from multiple systems every time it wants to create a campaign. Better-connected data can allow marketers to identify opportunities faster and create communications that are more relevant without requiring more hours from an already stretched team. The goal isn't more marketing. It's more relevant marketing.
What community bank marketers should take away
The Salesforce survey points toward several practical priorities for smaller financial institutions:
- First, make customer data more accessible and useful: AI initiatives will be limited by unstructured, unreliable information.
- Second, use AI not simply to create, but to take action: The greatest value may come from giving small marketing teams more time to think strategically, understand customers, and develop ideas.
- Third, remember what community banks already have that technology can't manufacture: relationships.
The community bank marketing future that Salesforce describes isn't simply one in which machines create more marketing. It's one in which technology helps marketers become more relevant, responsive, and efficient.
Bank Marketing Center
At Bank Marketing Center, we provide a subscription-based, automated marketing platform designed specifically to meet the needs of community banks. More than 300 financial institutions currently rely on our platform to help their marketing teams create and deliver relevant, engaging communications that build trust, strengthen customer relationships, and contribute to business growth.
Our platform takes many of the day-to-day tasks involved in bank marketing and makes them easier and more efficient. From professionally designed marketing templates and content creation to social media scheduling and monitoring, digital asset management, compliance workflows, and more, we give community bank marketers the tools they need to do more with their time and resources.
We’re also committed to sharing what we learn about marketing and the banking industry. From exploring emerging AI technologies and strategies for attracting and retaining employees to discussing operational efficiency and the trends influencing the future of banking, we aim to provide practical insights that can help community banks navigate a changing marketplace and continue to thrive.
Want to learn more about how we can support your community bank and its marketing efforts? Visit bankmarketingcenter.com to see what we can do for you. You’re also welcome to contact me directly at 678-528-6688 or email me at nreynolds@bankmarketingcenter.com. As always, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.