Independent Banker - April 2024 - 30

PORTFOLIO
◎FOCUS SMALL BUSINESS
6 ways to deepen small-business
customer relationships
When it comes to small businesses, a personal touch is needed to develop the relationship between
bank and business. Here are six concrete tips on how to improve relationships with current customers
and attract potential ones. By Taylor Hugo
ommunity banks play a
significant role in the success
of small businesses in the areas
they serve. According to the Federal
Reserve's 2023 Report on Employer
Firms: Findings From the 2022
Small Business Credit Survey, overall
financing approval rates were highest
at small banks-defined as those with
less than $10 billion in total deposits-
with 82% of financing applicants at
least partially approved, compared
with 68% at large banks. Additionally,
small businesses were most satisfied
with the lending experiences they
received at small banks.
That's no surprise: Community
bankers know that a strong
C
relationship between a bank
and a business goes beyond the
transactional experience of opening
a business bank account or issuing a
loan or line of credit. It's the personal
touch that makes a difference.
Here, community bankers and
service providers offer six tips for
deepening relationships with existing
small-business customers and
attracting new ones.
1. Designate a personal banker.
Small-business customers appreciate
a single point of contact they can
reach out to with questions about
their unique needs.
" The personal relationships help
build trust between the customer
and the bank, and by getting to know
our business owners on a personal
level, banks can better understand
their needs, provide tailored
financial solutions and talk about
our specific products that might
benefit them, " says Julie Waddle, vice
president and marketing officer for
$509 million-asset FNB Community
Bank in Midwest City, Okla.
Waddle suggests getting to know
your small-business clients over
hobbies they enjoy. " Small-business
owners only have so much free time, "
she says. " We've found that if you can
cultivate a relationship where they
want to share that free time with you
30 // ICBA Independent Banker // April 2024
Photo by rh2010/Adobe

Independent Banker - April 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - April 2024

Contents
Independent Banker - April 2024 - Cover1
Independent Banker - April 2024 - Cover2
Independent Banker - April 2024 - Contents
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 2
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 3
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 4
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 5
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 6
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 7
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 8
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 9
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 10
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 11
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 12
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 13
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 14
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 15
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 16
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 17
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 18
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 19
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 20
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 21
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 22
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 23
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 24
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 25
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 26
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 27
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 28
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 29
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 30
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 31
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 32
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 33
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 34
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 35
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 36
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 37
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 38
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 39
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 40
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 41
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 42
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 43
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 44
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 45
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 46
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 47
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 48
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 49
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 50
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 51
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 52
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 53
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 54
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 55
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 56
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 57
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 58
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 59
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 60
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 61
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 62
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 63
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 64
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 65
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 66
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 67
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 68
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 69
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 70
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 71
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 72
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 73
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 74
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 75
Independent Banker - April 2024 - 76
Independent Banker - April 2024 - Cover3
Independent Banker - April 2024 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2024
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2023
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2022
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/march2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/february2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/january2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/december2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/november2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/october2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/september2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/august2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/july2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/june2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/may2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/mspc/independentbanker/april2017
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com