Standing Out in a Crowd of Banking Relationships

Relationship banking has long been the hallmark of community banks. It’s built on customer intimacy, personal attention, and a level of flexibility that big banks and digital-only platforms often can’t match. But consumer behavior has changed. 

Today, most people don’t bank exclusively with one institution. Loyalty is no longer monogamous — different banks serve different financial needs. To stay relevant, community banks must stand out within this mix by delivering clear, differentiated value.

Monogamy is dead

Accenture’s latest Global Banking Study found that 73% of consumers now use more than one bank. It’s increasingly common for a single household to hold checking, savings, brokerage, and loan accounts across multiple institutions — including online-only banks.

Digital is driving fragmentation

This expansion of multi-banking is fueled in large part by a shift toward digital. A 2024 survey by the American Bankers Association says

• 55% of customers manage their banking primarily through mobile apps
• 22% use online banking on desktops or laptops
• only 8% prefer visiting a branch

Consumers still want human support — but only when it’s truly needed. For everything else, they expect fast, seamless, self-directed tools. 

Trust remains an asset

Despite these trends, trust still matters. According to the 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer, 61% of U.S. consumers say they trust banks overall. And the latest J.D. Power Retail Banking Satisfaction Study shows that satisfaction is on the upswing, attributed to improvements in fee transparency, financial health tools, and better customer service and support. Being “the only bank” may no longer be realistic — but being the most trusted one? That’s a powerful role to play.

How to stay relevant

How can your community bank compete in this environment? Here’s a five-part game plan to help you capitalize on your unique strengths.

1.  Know your customer deeply.

As a community bank, you are well positioned to understand your customers and their needs. Use data and local insights to identify key customer segments and map their whole financial journey. Who are the household decision makers for different types of financial needs? How do they approach major financial milestones? Who are your competitors in each case? Our work with community banks is always based on primary market research to help answer these questions. 

2.  Deliver exceptional value at key financial crossroads.

Use your insights to identify the customer needs and milestones that best align with the services your bank delivers exceptionally well. For example, major decisions such as purchasing a home or starting a business are best supported by a trusted advisor that truly understands the local market and excels at providing personal attention and advice. One of our community bank clients provides business customers with an annual financial checkup and helps with regulatory compliance. Similarly, helping older customers and their families maximize their savings is one of life’s crossroads that plays to the strengths of a community banking experience. 

3.  Balance human expertise with digital excellence.

Customers want real human support for major decisions and seamless digital tools for day-to-day banking. Community banks can effectively blend excellent personalized service with a strong digital presence. 

A prime example from one of our community bank clients does just that by offering an innovative financial service called FutureTrack that provides personalized coaching coupled with digital tools and resources. The “goal-based” service covers major needs from starting a savings plan to retirement strategies.

4.  Build trust across every channel.

Customers care most about the safety of their money and personal information. Every interaction — online or in person — is a chance to strengthen trust by showing that your financial institution is accessible, reliable, and secure. Another of our community bank clients promotes security on their home page, noting that they provide depositors full insurance on all deposits, no matter the balance. 

In addition, how you respond as a trusted ally in critical moments like fraud alerts, job loss, or loan applications shapes the relationship and inspires the most powerful marketing: word of mouth. 

5.  Integrate smoothly into customers’ broader financial relationships

Don’t aim to be the only bank your customers use — aim to be the one they rely on most. Design products and services that work seamlessly within their financial lives. Make it easy for them to connect with their other banks (for example, by simplifying interbank transfers). One client enables customers to sync their business accounts with QuickBooks. In today’s banking landscape, success comes not from owning every relationship, but from becoming indispensable in the ones that matter. 

The bottom line

Relationships based on friendly service are no longer enough. You must deliver trust, value, and relevance across every channel, interaction, and moment that matters. Your bank can thrive by evolving relationship banking to reflect how people in your community really manage money today — even in a world of fragmented loyalty.