Pub. 9 2020 Issue 6

22 Embrace New Distribution Channels; Expand Your Reach By Chris Cox, Chief Operat ions Of f icer, Api ture B usinesses of all types use third-party platforms to enable the discovery and distribution of their products. Small businesses use platforms like Amazon and eBay to source customers and sell their products. App developers use the Google and Apple app stores to promote and distribute their apps. Restaurants utilize DoorDash and Uber Eats to attract customers and deliver their food. Artists use Spotify and Apple Music to promote and enable streaming of their music. 1 In all of these examples, third-party platforms help sellers expand their markets by exposing them to a larger group of consumers than they would otherwise be able to access. These platforms support sellers in three ways: 1. Enabling discovery of seller products; 2. E nabling distribution of seller products; and 3. A ttaching platform-specific value-add services to seller products. Enabling Discovery of Seller Products Community banks should be looking for similar opportunities to take advantage of non-bank platforms to expand their reach. The promise is that community banks can leverage the digital prowess of platform companies to attract and onboard new customers. Then, once onboarded, serve these new customers with the superior customer service that community banks and credit unions can uniquely offer. This hybrid model gives community banks a powerful competitive response to big-box banks who can invest significantly in technology but can’t provide hands-on, local —or regional — focused relationship management and customer service. By participating in current and future bank- focused platforms, community banks can reduce technology spending and focus on what they do best, namely building customer relationships. 2 Platforms supporting payment products, loan products, and deposit products exist today and will continue to evolve. Embracing the potential of these platforms requires banks to have technology that enables internal bank processes to mesh with the customer-facing experiences that third-party platforms expose. It also requires bank executives to change the way they think about bank products and customer relationships.