The biggest threat to your community bank may not be another bank. It may be a competitor that understands your customers better than you do. Think about how consumers manage their money today. They deposit checks from their phones, transfer funds in seconds, compare loan rates online, and expect financial services to be available whenever and wherever they need them. Increasingly, they're doing business with companies that don't look, operate, or even think like traditional banks.
For community banks, this presents a challenge that goes well beyond keeping up with technology. It raises a more fundamental question: Are you giving customers enough reasons to choose your institution, stay with you, and bring more of their financial business to you? That's one of the important questions emerging from Cornerstone Advisors' What's Going On in Banking 2026: AI, Crypto, and Fraud—Oh My!, authored by Ron Shevlin, Chief Research Officer. Based on responses from 416 senior banking and credit union executives, the report examines the forces reshaping financial services and how institutions are responding.
For community bank marketers, the findings offer more than a snapshot of industry trends. They provide a compelling argument for rethinking marketing's role in the institution. Producing content, managing social media, and coordinating campaigns are still important responsibilities.
But increasingly, marketers need to help their banks understand customers, identify opportunities, and make better business decisions. Here are four areas deserving attention.
Your competition isn't limited to the bank down the street
Cornerstone's research found that 80 percent of surveyed executives identified large fintech companies such as PayPal and Square as significant competitive threats, up from 64 percent the previous year. Seventy percent identified challenger banks such as Chime and Varo, compared with 49 percent in 2025.
Those numbers tell an important story. A customer who can open an account, transfer money, or apply for financing from a smartphone isn't necessarily going to be impressed by a bank simply because it has a convenient branch location. But community banks have advantages that many fintech companies can't replicate: local knowledge, personal relationships, community involvement, and employees who understand the people and businesses they serve.
The challenge is making those advantages meaningful to customers
Cornerstone's research offers an interesting example. Among consumers who gave their financial institution an "A" for handling a fraud dispute, 83 percent said the experience strengthened their relationship with the provider. Eighty percent said it increased their likelihood of obtaining additional products or services, while 87 percent said it made them much more confident in the provider's ability to protect their account. The lesson? Relationships aren't built simply by being friendly or having someone answer the phone. They're built when a bank demonstrates that it understands, values, and protects its customers.
What marketers can do: Don’t rely on marketing messaging that simply touts the fact that you’re a community-focused bank. Tell stories that resonate with the consumer and demonstrate what that commitment actually looks like. Highlight employees who go beyond expectations, local businesses that have grown with the bank, and examples of how the institution has helped customers navigate difficult financial situations. Make the bank's differentiators tangible rather than simply claiming them.
AI is changing what effective marketing looks like
According to Cornerstone, 49 percent of surveyed banks had deployed generative AI heading into 2026, compared with just 16 percent a year earlier. Additionally, 52 percent reported using or planning to use generative AI in marketing, up from 30 percent in 2025.
Content creation is an obvious application, but marketers should be looking beyond the ability to produce emails, social posts, and website copy more quickly. AI's greater potential lies in helping banks understand the information they already collect and use, and to leverage that information to make more strategic marketing decisions. Consider the data generated by everyday customer interactions. Website visits, email responses, product inquiries, account activity, and campaign engagement can reveal what customers are interested in, what financial needs they're trying to address, and where the bank may have opportunities to deepen relationships.
AI-powered analytics can help identify patterns in that information. For example, marketers might determine which email messages generate the most meaningful responses, which audiences are engaging with particular products, and which communication channels are producing the strongest results.
AI can also help banks move away from the traditional practice of sending the same message to thousands of customers. Instead of sending the same message to thousands of customers, AI-powered solutions can use available customer information to identify audiences with specific needs or interests. For example:
- Customers with certificates of deposit approaching maturity who may be interested in renewal options.
- Homeowners who might benefit from a home equity loan.
- Customers whose financial activity suggests an interest in small-business banking.
- Individuals who may be approaching significant financial milestones, such as purchasing a home or planning for retirement.
- Customers whose declining engagement suggests an opportunity for the bank to reconnect.
What marketers can do: The objective isn't to send more messages. It's to send more relevant ones. Start with one product or customer segment rather than trying to personalize every communication at once. Work with lending, deposit operations, and the bank's data or technology teams to identify available customer information. Then develop a targeted campaign around a specific need, such as CD maturities or first-time homebuyers. Measure responses, applications, and new business rather than relying solely on email opens and clicks.
Better marketing starts with better data
Perhaps one of the most important findings in Cornerstone's research involves the industry's ability to use (or not use, as the case may be) data effectively. The report found that sales and marketing were the lowest-scoring functional areas in its assessment of financial institutions' data capabilities. Two-thirds of institutions scored below 50 in sales and marketing, suggesting that their use of data in these areas remains underdeveloped. This is a significant concern, especially at a time when banks are being asked to make more informed decisions about where to invest their marketing dollars.
Many community banks already collect considerable amounts of information. The problem is that it often exists in separate systems that don't communicate effectively with one another. Email platforms report opens and clicks. Websites track visits and activity. Social media platforms measure engagement. CRM systems contain customer information. But unless those sources are connected, marketers may have difficulty determining whether their efforts are actually contributing to new accounts, loan applications, deposit growth, or customer retention.
What marketers can do: The solution doesn't necessarily require an expensive analytics overhaul. It starts with asking better questions and connecting the information that's already available. For example:
- Connect campaign activity to business outcomes: Work with lending and deposit teams to determine whether campaign responses are leading to applications, account openings, or other measurable results.
- Look beyond likes and clicks: Review social media comments, customer questions, and website inquiries to identify recurring concerns, interests, and unmet needs.
- Establish shared reporting: Bring marketing, lending, and deposit teams together periodically to review campaign performance and identify opportunities.
- Identify gaps in customer communication: Look for products and services that customers aren't aware of, and develop educational content that explains their value.
- Measure what matters: Establish a handful of meaningful performance indicators tied to institutional goals, such as qualified leads, new relationships, product adoption, and retention.
The point isn't to turn every community bank marketer into a data analyst. It's to make sure marketing decisions are informed by more than intuition and surface-level engagement numbers.
The real question: Is marketing helping the bank compete?
Cornerstone's research reinforces something community bank marketers should take seriously: The expectations placed on marketing are changing. The role is no longer limited to producing brochures, maintaining the website, managing social media, and coordinating advertising campaigns. Those activities remain necessary, but they should support a larger purpose: helping the institution embrace technology where it makes sense, making better use of available data, developing communications that address actual customer needs, and consistently demonstrating what makes the institution the provider of choice.
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.
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.