ICBA’s 2025 Community Bank CEO Outlook Survey revealed that 77% of community bank executives believe their greatest business opportunity this year will be differentiating their community bank from other financial services firms. Demonstrating our unique value proposition is a growing priority for two key reasons.
The first reason is today’s competitive landscape. We are living in an environment where everyone wants to be a bank, but they aren’t operating by the same rules, which is driving a need to differentiate what we do and who we are as community bankers. It’s our job to help our customers recognize the community bank difference, both to strengthen our relationships with them and protect them from potential pitfalls with other providers.
The second reason is the growing demand for community connection. There’s a rising awareness of “bank local” and what that means, but we must continue emphasizing the message that we are different from the nonbank providers that are calling themselves banks, credit unions that are tax-advantaged, and megabanks that treat their customers like numbers. We need to reiterate the positive impact we have on our customers and communities.
We must acknowledge both competitive headwinds and know that we have tailwinds to drive us forward when it comes to what we do at a local level. The good we do for our communities can’t be overstated.
But it’s not just our customers and potential customers we need to reach with this messaging. Rulemakers and regulation writers must understand our uniqueness. They need to know that we offer a completely different risk paradigm, keep capital in our communities (their districts), and drive the local economy — and that requires our voices to tell those stories.
Storytelling, marketing, differentiation: Conceptually, they all make sense, but with each comes a question of, “Now what?” The answer falls in how we apply our stories to cut through the noise of today’s financial services landscape and resonate with our audiences.
That’s why ICBA has launched our ICBA Marketing Resource Center (icba.org/mrc). From search engine optimization tips and ready-to-go segments to produced materials that can be customized for your institution, the resources we’ve provided not only offer information on marketing concepts but deliver the tools to highlight what’s unique about our industry and your bank. And the work continues: We are committed to making this center evergreen, providing new resources as opportunities arise.
Our unique value proposition makes us second to none, and with our collective efforts, we will drive home that message and the community bank difference.
