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Community banks offering financial services and small business lending to the small businesses in their communities just makes sense to me. I’m a big fan of Main Street business and an advocate of community banking. Unfortunately, as a small business owner, the best experience I had with a community banker was my banker from a big bank.
Earlier this month John Ginovsky, writing for the ABA Banking Journal, suggested the way to woo small business was with products tailored specifically for them. “Financial institutions now have the opportunity to retain and win back lost small-business customers through more tailored products and services, according to research from Aite Group,” he writes.
Ginovsky suggests that many banks are pushing small businesses into their consumer products (which are free services) and argues there are many services small business owners will pay for. And, banks should make online and mobile banking more small-business friendly.
Although I don’t disagree with what Ginovsky suggests, let me share the things that made our big bank banker a great community banker.
Although 21st Century services are just as important to small-business customers as they are to anyone else, I’m convinced they are the minimum requirement to show up to the game. Much like a professional basketball player needs a good jump shot and strong defensive fundamentals to get drafted in the NBA, it takes more than that to become a superstar.
Driving downtown I see no less than four or five billboards from banks “claiming” to be the small-business bank. “It’s relationships that count,” or some other trite phrase marketing executives think will woo small-business customers into the bank. I have to wonder how many of those banks and their bankers do what our banker was willing to do.
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Small business evangelist and veteran of over 30 years in the trenches of Main Street business, Ty makes small business financing and trends accessible in common sense language devoid of the jargon.
Blog
7 min read • Aug 17, 2022