Getting There This all sounds simple, but how do we get there? First, we need to mutually set realistic, honest relationship expectations. Clients should ask what the bank will offer in terms of human availability and expertise; whether there will be a formal cadence of interaction; and what value-added insights the bank can bring. Banks should be clear on what the business client will be expected to accomplish digitally; what data it will be required to provide and how; and the nature and extent of human interaction that can be expected. In the evolving banking landscape, we should focus on bridging the perceived human/technology divide, such that each supports the other in cultivating relationships. The more that tasks are accomplished digitally by business clients, the more time is preserved in their interactions with relationship managers for high-value exchange, including company and industry analysis, shared insights and consultation. Concurrently, ongoing advances in technology, including AI, create the opportunity to enrich the quality of digital interactions so that they, too, contribute to the relationship satisfaction generally associated with empathetic human interaction. Nothing Has Changed While Everything Has Businesses should continue to expect — even demand — a trusting, valuable relationship with their bank. That relationship continues to evolve with the intersection of technological advances and physical retreat of the banking industry. Technology increasingly allows for small businesses to conduct much banking digitally, and over time it will facilitate increasingly substantive components of banking relationships. That said, the human component of relationship banking remains irreplaceable. With fewer relationship managers industrywide, that component of the relationship will increasingly focus on three things: adding value to small business clients through knowledge and insights; being the doorway into the bank’s full suite of value; and being there, reliably, in the moments where there is no substitute for human interaction, empathy and advocacy. Relationship banking has evolved with the industry but must remain central to its belief system. No client wants to be just a number at their bank. Without a reliable, trusting, valued relationship — fusing digital advances and human insight and empathy — they risk becoming that. We are well-reminded that “banking” without “relationship” is just, well, banking. Brian Hoffart is Vice President, Business Banking Manager at Leawood, KS-based nbkc bank. Your Customers Are Too. CONTACT US TODAY! 801.676.9722 sales@thenewslinkgroup.com Advertising Space Available. QR Code Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. BLUE CROSS®, BLUE SHIELD® and the Cross and Shield Symbols are registered service marks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas contracts with MiResource to provide mental health resources to members. MiResource is unaffiliated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. Please check with your health insurance to understand your coverage for mental health services. KBA 1123 Let your employees know they aren’t alone. Help your employees find a mental health provider that meets their needs. Learn more at bcbsks.miresource.com Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. BLUE CROSS®, BLUE SHIELD® and the Cross and Shield Symbols are registered service marks of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, an association of independent Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas contracts with MiResource to provide mental health resources to members. MiResource is unaffiliated with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas. Please check with your health insurance to understand your coverage for mental health services. KBA 1123 Let your employees know they aren’t alone. Help your employees find a mental health provider that meets their needs. Learn more at bcbsks.miresource.com 33
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