BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

Earlier this week, I had the great pleasure of serving as a keynote speaker along with George Will and Newt Gingrich at the American Bankers Association’s Annual Meeting in Chicago – and if one thing is clear after meeting with the some of the hundreds of community bankers who attended the four-day event, it’s that each and every one of them understand the importance of rebuilding public trust in the wake of a devastating global financial crisis.

To be clear, these aren’t the folks whose risky behavior brought the financial world to its knees. They aren’t the ones making millions in salaries and bonuses each year. And their banks aren’t the ones that received billions in TARP funds. But with the most recent findings of the Chicago Booth and Kellogg School’s Financial Trust Index showing that trust in the banking sector is still only hovering at 33 percent (down one percent since June of this year), they are the ones who understand that the current economic crisis has painted the entire industry with the same brand-damaging brush.

Now, the challenge before community bankers is to differentiate themselves from their larger counterparts. That means focusing on the one area that has always separated them from the financial titans that dominate the marketplace – customer service. By leveraging digital technologies to reach consumers on a more personal level and strengthen the face-to-face relationships at heart of their business, community bankers can finally move from being seen as part of the problem to being see as part of the solution.

More than any other industry, community bankers need to be on the front lines of the digital revolution, because that’s precisely where their current and potential customers are. They are using Facebook pages to highlight charitable initiatives. They are using Twitter to monitor for mentions of their brands and respond to any customer service issues that arise in real time. They are watching the blogs for stories that could create reputational issues and engaging the bloggers to shape their commentary before it influences the traditional press. And, perhaps most important, they should be geographically micro-targeting their Web efforts to ensure maximum exposure in the communities they call home.

Community bankers understand that their strategic advantage lies in the personal touch that has defined their work for generations. Once they begin to fully utilize the digital technologies that have opened up myriad avenues for making every consumer feel as if he or she is unique, it likely won’t be long before consumers begin to recognize that strategic advantage as well.

Richard S. Levick, Esq. is President and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, the nation's top crisis communications firm, and a contributing author to Bulletproof Blog. Connect with him @richardlevick.