Main Street Matters Blog

As a bank marketer, you’ve had a lot to contend with this year. So if you missed Google’s announced updates to its advertising policies, which go into effect later this month, there’s no need to panic.

With so many unknowns, budgeting is difficult, but there is a bright spot. With uncertainty comes the opportunity to look at what we do in a different light using the experiences of the pandemic to explore new ideas.

Community banks have long served the small-business market, but given the pandemic impact, new opportunities have emerged to support these customers’ payments needs and address areas of friction.

The coronavirus pandemic, hurricane season, and the wildfires on the West Coast, stand as prudent reminders of how critical disaster preparedness is not only for community banks, but for our communities at large.

Summer is approaching rapidly, and it’s often the best time to catch up on reading. So, here are some suggestions for great books to hone your leadership skills.

Academic studies have shown that making yourself smile can actually boost your mood and that a warm smile can help convince other people of your competence. Smiling is also contagious.

From having to adapt to retail closings, diminished staff and customer capacities, a new work-from-home infrastructure, and more, the nation’s small businesses have reacted quickly in the wake of the pandemic.

Second-quarter FDIC Quarterly Banking Profile statistics are not just evidence of community banks’ resilience in times of economic hardship, but an attestation to the resilience of their commitment to Main Street as a guarantor of essential financial services.

In an environment where innovation needs to be continual, how can community banks succeed? Blake Swafford, senior innovation officer at SimplyBank, sums it up well. “It’s about being really committed to innovation."

Growth is the synthesis of change and continuity, which is why we recently kicked off its application period for our third ICBA ThinkTECH Accelerator cohort--to maintain the program's momentum and ongoing quest to identify technology solutions that solve for community bank pain points.