Independent Banker - January 2023 - 41

to get there. We are sticking to
our knitting in the types of loans
and relationships we're looking
for, but with interest rates moving
in a direction that gets us back
to a reasonable margin, the loan
business is where most of our
focus is.
Drentlaw: With the higher interest
rates, variable rate loans have
become more profitable. The
residential mortgage business has
been tougher in 2022. If rates start
to drop at the end of 2023 or into
2024, I think there are many people
who probably will be eligible for
" We ... have to
focus on making
sure our people
believe that
this is a place
where they can
grow and get
opportunities. "
-JILL SUNG,
ABACUS FEDERAL
SAVINGS BANK
refi business. It's hard to say when
rates will move lower, but that
is an area where we are going to
try to maximize profitability. I do
think 2023 is going to be tough
from a profitability standpoint, and
a harder year than what we've been
used to in the last couple of years.
The ICBA view on... Marketing
Digital marketing accounts for 57.9% of
promotional budgets across industries,
according to research from Deloitte
and the American Marketing Association. Now more
than ever, community banks are embracing these
electronic opportunities.
" The digital channel allows us to observe what resonates
with target audiences, " says Rob Birgfeld, executive vice
president and chief marketing officer at ICBA. " It's more
than just how you prove ROI, but also how you assure
continuous improvement. "
And when customer satisfaction serves as a chief indicator
of performance, peer-to-peer sharing and social media
emerge as natural public relations vehicles.
" Your best customers are your best marketing channel, "
Birgfeld says. " When you create experiences that wow
them and allow them to share those wow moments, those
are authentic opportunities to get your story out there and
differentiate yourself in your community. "
Birgfeld suggests implementing a process to make it simple
for customers to share their experiences with one click
through their banking app, email, text or social channels.
" Your brand and reputation are a reflection of what your
customers say about you, " he says, " and if you're able to
identify those who love you and give them the tools to tell that
story, it goes a long way. " -Colleen Morrison
Sung: We are structuring our
deposit-side products better to be
able to bundle things together so
that it is easier for our staff and
easier for our customers to see
it as a package versus à la carte,
which we always have as an option.
Through that bundled packaging,
we would be trying to create
these products that slowly move
up the financial food chain to get
customers and the underbanked
more and more into the financial
banking system.
Q: What new technology is
your bank planning to invest in
during 2023?
West: We have a major initiative
to significantly improve our digital
delivery system. We're about to
launch our loan automation, which
will be our 2023 project. On the
heels of that, we're going to build
a new digital banking platform
and data warehouse. Those are
projects that we will start using
between the end of 2023 and the
first quarter of 2024. It's a major
undertaking for a bank of our size.
Our best guess is that over the next
four years, we'll spend $12 million
to do this, and the goal is to make
it extremely easy to do business
from a customer's point of view.
We will be able to use the data
we already have with our clients
to anticipate future needs and to
make it easier for them when they
do have to apply if we already have
information. Internally, we expect
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