Independent Banker - December 2022 - 66

" Our refreshed name will help us
communicate our commitment to
our customers, " Stuewe says. " They
won't have to choose between the
service we've provided for 88 years
as a community bank and the digital
and remote conveniences that make a
banking experience easier than ever.
The process of renaming the bank has
reinforced that message internally
and has shaped our marketing
message externally. "
" People bank with you because
of your products, ease of use and
ultimately the service they receive, "
IncredibleBank's Strasser says. " For
community banks to survive, we need
to identify our market focus, be tech
savvy, have great staff and maintain
focus on the customer. " 
Julie Kendrick is a writer in Minnesota.
When River Valley Bank in
Wausau, Wis., merged with
its digital-only web bank,
IncredibleBank, it kept the
more memorable name.
WHEN RENAMING, COMMUNICATION MATTERS
There's more to a new name than just choosing it.
It's important to communicate the change clearly,
effectively and far enough in advance so that
employees, customers and other stakeholders all
feel as if they're part of the change.
For SimplyBank in Dayton, Tenn., that meant
telling employees first. " We wanted them to have
ownership instead of just feeling as if they were
in the audience, " CEO John Owen says. " We
provided education and talking points, so that
every employee knew what we were doing and
could share that information with confidence
whenever a customer asked about it. "
" We conducted an internal 'fear assessment'
regarding the name change, " says Kathy Strasser,
EVP, COO and CIO of IncredibleBank in Wausau,
Wis. " We wanted to understand employees' fears
so we could address each one. ... [It's] important
for everyone to understand the 'why' behind
the change. "
IncredibleBank took its communications
campaign to extended stakeholder audiences.
" We invited our regulatory agencies, the FDIC
and the Wisconsin DFI [Department of Financial
Institutions] into our bank, where we shared
our story, market data and reasons behind our
diversification and name change, " Strasser
says. " We wanted to bring them along so they
understood it from the beginning. "
When it comes to effective communications,
community banks need to consider all possible
customer touchpoints and align them with the
rebrand. One example of casting a wide net
for those touchpoints comes from Verimore in
Brookfield, Mo. " The initial rebrand included
changing all collateral material, putting new
signs on buildings and launching a redesigned
website, " says Kristie Stuewe, CEO and president.
" We've followed up on that with the launch of
a weekly blog, a redesigned debit card with a
design that's unique to us and several customer
events. We've also increased our social media
presence by adding Instagram, Twitter and
LinkedIn to our Facebook presence. "
60 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q December 2022
Independent Banker - December 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - December 2022
