Independent Banker - February 2020 - 76

CONNECTIONS
He took the idea to The Murray Bank's president and
CEO, Bob Hargrove, and together they pitched it to the marketing
committee. Everyone agreed it would be a great way
of reaching out to the community: an ice cream truck that
could be booked for events, where volunteers would hand
out free ice cream to customers and noncustomers alike.
That's how the TMB Ice Cream Machine was born. " We
thought it would be successful, " Hargrove says, " but we
didn't jump in head first. Initially, we just bought a trailer,
like a concession stand trailer, and we would usually pull it
with my vehicle because it was the heaviest vehicle we had! "
They stocked it with prepackaged ice cream sandwiches,
ice pops and other treats, and asked the community bank's
80 employees to help pass them out. " I was a little bit leery
at first about how much we would be asked to bring it out, "
Stark says. " We knew people would like it, but we didn't
know exactly how well it would be received within the community
and, on top of that, how many employees would
want to do it.
" But overwhelmingly, " he laughs, " this has been one of
the easiest things to get our employees to sign up to do. It
has been phenomenal to watch them jump on board, kind of
make it their own. "
Putting smiles on customers' and employees' faces
At the end of the Ice Cream Machine's first year, it had
shown up at 160 events, sometimes two or three a day, and
The Murray Bank had given out treats to more than 1,500
people. So, the bank decided to invest in a commercial van
with its own freezers.
The initiative proved to be a great way of promoting Murray
Bank's mission. " One of our core values is to be engaged
in the community in which we live, " Stark says, " so we want
our employees to be out, and we encourage that. "
A form on the community bank's website lets anyone
within the area request the Ice Cream Machine for an event.
In the two years since it launched, Stark has only had to turn
" There's never a bad day
to hand out ice cream. I've
never been to an event
where I left without a
smile on my face. "
-Tim Stark, The Murray Bank
Roshan McArthur is a writer in California.
76 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q February 2020
The Murray Bank brings the TMB Ice Cream Machine to schools and
churches and encourages attendees to post on social media.
down one request, because it clashed with church on Sunday.
They're trying to reschedule it.
" People don't usually invite banks to hang out with them
at vacation Bible schools or community nights, but this is a
way that we can be a part of those events, " he says. " We interact
with customers or future customers. Obviously, we're
not pushing bank products at those events. We're just having
a good time handing out ice cream, and hopefully those
good-time interactions lead to someone either banking with
us or continuing to bank with us. "
Take the man who had just moved to Murray. He visited
the Ice Cream Machine and then took out a sizable loan
the next day. Or the little boy who came to the community
bank with his mother and his piggy bank. His mom pulled
Stark aside and told him, " I want you to know that I bank
at another bank, but my son came home the other day and
said, 'I want to go to The Murray Bank and open an account
because they gave me ice cream.' "
It's this appeal to the younger generation that Hargrove
loves about the Ice Cream Machine. " You've got to figure out
ways to reach them and reel them in as customers, " he says.
" It's opening doors. It's not only got us into some places that
we might not have been in before, but it's also got our employees
out in the community and got their faces out before
people as well. It's been hugely successful for us. "
Stark, who attends more than half of the Ice Cream Machine
events, agrees that it has surpassed their expectations.
" There's never a bad day to hand out ice cream, " he says.
" I've never been to an event where I left without a smile
on my face. And sometimes I find myself eating a few too
many. We might need to speak to HR about getting us all
gym memberships! "
Independent Banker - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Independent Banker - February 2020
