When Vendors Become Your Newsroom

There’s a quiet problem shaping how decisions get made in banking—and we were surprised to realize how few people see it.

We didn’t spot it all at once. It surfaced slowly, after years of sitting in conference sessions, reading industry sources, reviewing marketing plans, and asking one simple question: Where did this idea come from?

How did a customer-first community bank decide to adopt a chatbot?
Why install ITMs without a plan to expand hours or access?
Who greenlit software that no one ever used?

Again and again, we traced the origin back—not to customer data, internal insight, or performance metrics—but to vendors.

Vendors have quietly become the primary source of “news” in banking. Not front-page headlines, but the kind of industry information that shapes what banks pay attention to. They’re sponsoring the research. Writing the whitepapers. Leading the breakout sessions. Publishing the articles that get cited in strategy decks. They’re not just contributing to the conversation—they’re steering it.

And it works. Because it doesn’t sound like a pitch. It sounds like a trend.

To be clear, it’s not a conspiracy. It’s not even malicious. It’s just sales. Vendors are doing their job.

But the problem is this: banks often mistake that job for objective insight.

And when that happens, decisions start getting made based on what’s being sold, not what customers actually need.

That’s the issue we’re pointing to. And once you see it, you’ll start seeing it everywhere.

The Illusion of Consensus

Here’s how the trick works.

Someone at your bank goes to a conference. They hear a speaker give a sharp, confident talk about the future of banking. It’s polished. It’s backed by data. It sounds like insight.

They come home energized. Curious. So they dig in a little more and find an article in a respected digital forum saying the same thing. It adds weight. It feels like independent confirmation.

Then they reach out. Or maybe the company reaches out first. Either way, a salesperson appears with a deck in hand.

Same message. Same stats. Same solution.

And here’s the part most people miss: it was always the vendor.

The speaker. The article. The salesperson. They weren’t three different sources. They were three coordinated pieces of the same marketing strategy designed to build credibility, create urgency, and generate a lead.

And it worked. Someone inside the bank bought in. The idea gained traction.

To test the waters and do things “the right way,” the bank initiates vendor due diligence. They bring in two or three competitors to see what else is out there.

Surprise! They agree with the original vendor. The trend is real. Customers expect it. Other banks are already doing it.

It feels like validation.

But all the voices are still coming from the same side of the table—the one who profits when your bank buys something.

The original idea didn’t start with customer behavior. It started with a sales strategy. And now, you’re looking at a new vendor and probably a new product to promote.

The marketer wasn’t in the room for the pitch. But now it’s your job to turn this into something customers care about.

And at some point, a question starts to surface:

Do our customers actually want this?

It’s a fair question. But it’s usually too late. The contract has been signed, and implementation starts in a few weeks.

Bring the Conversation Back to Customers

But what if you had gotten there earlier?

What if, before the demo, before the sales deck, before the internal momentum took hold, someone had brought real customer insight into the conversation?

That’s not a hypothetical. We’ve seen how different it could be.

One of our clients was puzzled by unusually high drive-through traffic, even as their mobile app adoption climbed. It didn’t make sense on paper. Most banks would’ve assumed the customers were lagging behind and then launched a campaign to drive digital engagement.

But they didn’t assume. They asked.

They assigned the question to a group of summer interns who spent time talking to customers directly. And what they learned changed the narrative completely.

Customers weren’t rejecting the app. They had chosen the bank because of the drive-through. Other banks had pushed too far into digital, removing the flexibility and human connection these customers still wanted.

That insight turned what looked like inefficiency into a competitive advantage.

Now imagine if that research had surfaced before a vendor pitched a new tool designed to replace the teller line entirely. Imagine if marketing had brought that voice into the room before the decision got made.

That’s the opportunity most marketers miss.

And it’s also the opportunity most marketers still have.

Too often, marketing is treated and run as a one-way communication channel. Push the email. Post the graphic. Launch the campaign.

But community banks were built on relationships. And marketers in those banks have the tools to keep those relationships alive.

Email doesn’t have to be a broadcast tool. It can be a prompt. A question. A feedback loop.
Social media doesn’t have to be a billboard. It can be a dialogue. A place where customers feel heard.

You don’t need a research firm to start listening. You just need to stop talking at your customers—and start talking with them.

Because every response, every quiet data point, every unexpected reply is leverage.

And when you’re the one holding that kind of insight, you don’t just market the decisions others make.

You become part of the group that makes them.

Judgment Is the Differentiator

Of course, asking questions isn’t everything. Customers can’t always name the solution they need. That’s the point of the quote often misattributed to Henry Ford: “If I’d asked people what they wanted, they would’ve said faster horses.”

You’re not just collecting opinions—you’re looking for patterns. Gaps. Problems under the surface.

That’s where judgment comes in.

You have to interpret vendor claims through the lens of real customer behavior. You have to filter customer comments through your bank’s business model. And you have to turn both into messaging that’s honest, compelling, and clear.

This isn’t about one skill. It’s a stack:

• Curiosity
• Pattern recognition
• Strategic empathy
• Message-making
• And the confidence to say, “This doesn’t feel right.”

Anyone can pass along a pitch. Great marketers translate.

This Is Your Edge

You don’t have to become a tech analyst.

But you do need to become a behavior analyst.

Watch what customers actually do. Listen to what they actually say. And test whether ideas work before you scale them.

Because here’s the truth: most marketing teams don’t get to choose the tech, the platform, or the product. You’re handed the decision after it’s made and expected to make it resonate.

That’s a hard place to work from.

But you’re not powerless.

You hold something vendors will never have: direct access to your customers.

You don’t need a research firm to get started. Just use what’s already in front of you.

Email isn’t just for offers. Ask real questions. Invite responses. Social media isn’t a digital flyer—it’s a two-way line to the people you’re trying to reach. Create space for replies. Ask for opinions. Learn what your community actually cares about.

When someone responds, that’s data. When no one does, that’s data too.

Collect it. Catalog it. Own it.

Because this is how you earn your place in the decision-making process: by becoming the voice of the customer before someone else claims the title.

And someone will.

And every now and then, you’ll come across a vendor defender—someone inside the bank who’s so sold on the pitch, they forget who they’re actually working for. That’s when your insight matters most. Not opinion—evidence. Not theory—customer truth.

Because if you don’t hold the insight, a vendor will step in and pretend they do. They’ll show up with stats. Surveys. Sponsored studies. They’ll present what looks like truth, but it’s really just a pitch.

And if no one challenges it, the pitch becomes policy.

That’s the problem. And you’re the solution.

Be the one who knows your customers better than anyone else. Be the one who holds the answers when strategy needs direction.

That way, when the charlatans come knocking armed with decks dressed as news, you’ll be ready.

You’ll have the truth.

And you’ll send them packing.