C Turning Missed Moments into MEANINGFUL CONNECTIONS HOW AI DRIVES DEPOSIT GROWTH BY AMPLIFYING THE HUMAN TOUCH IN COMMUNITY BANKING BY TRACY GRAHAM, AUNALYTICS Community banks have long had a competitive edge: deep, trusted relationships with their customers and members. But in today’s environment – where digital expectations meet lean staffing and fragmented systems – even these relationship-driven institutions face new challenges. Large banks are investing billions in artificial intelligence and data analytics to replicate what community institutions do naturally: build meaningful, personal relationships. According to Citibank, 93% of financial institutions expect AI to improve profits within five years, potentially unlocking $170 billion in industry-wide gains by 2028. Yet the real issue facing community banks isn’t just technology – it’s the quiet acceptance of the limits of human capacity and the normalization of inefficiency. The Core Challenge: Banking Has Normalized Missed Opportunities Most community financial institutions have accepted that frontline staff can only do so much. Customer-facing personnel like branch managers and relationship bankers often juggle hundreds – or thousands – of client relationships. With each customer having multiple accounts and generating thousands of transactions, it’s operationally impossible to consistently deliver proactive, personalized service without additional support. The Outcome? A Culture of Reactivity ▶ A customer quietly transfers funds to a competitor – and no one follows up. ▶ A customer switches jobs, prompting financial changes that go unnoticed due to a lack of timely alerts. ▶ A well-connected team member at a large local employer with referral potential is never identified as an influencer. These moments aren’t missed due to lack of care or intention. They’re missed because banks have had to accept the limits of their current staffing models and tools. Hiring enough employees to cover every opportunity would be cost-prohibitive. So, institutions settle for staffing formulas that prioritize coverage over connection. But what if they didn’t have to choose? The Opportunity: Use Data and AI To Scale Personal Service Without Scaling Headcount Modern AI-driven solutions now allow community financial institutions to expand their capacity for personal engagement – without expanding headcount. By consistently analyzing transactional, behavioral and CRM data, AI can surface timely signals and suggest the right message at the right moment to drive deposit growth and deepen relationships. OPERATIONS & TECHNOLOGY 58 HOOSIERBANKER
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