DIG Insurance & Business Magazine Spring 2019 | Page 7

BE INTENTIONAL
ROOTED IN THE REGION
In what could be a very transaction-
oriented business, the Bank of
Delmarva takes pride in getting
personal with clients. There’s no stiff,
corporate attitude here. Last year, the
Bank of Delmarva logged more than
5,500 community service hours, shares
John Breda, President and CEO of a
community bank that holds true to its
values: “We recognize our community
responsibility.”
“But a really big difference is, with
community banks, our decisions are
made locally,” Breda relates. “There
is prompt turnaround with decisions,
and our management team and board
of directors live in the community. It’s
where we raise our families. It’s where
we socialize. So, as a bank, we want to
meet the credit needs of the community
and we want to give back.”
The Bank of Delmarva is growing in
a thoughtful, strategic way through
mergers and acquisitions, giving their
customers the best of both worlds.
They’re reaching new communities
and expanding services while keeping
the personal, hometown banking feel
Delmarva loves.
Today, the independent bank operates
14 full-service branches and has more
than 165 officers and employees. Its
goal is to be a progressive, friendly place
to conduct banking.
“In addition to being out there to
meet the credit needs of clients, our
commitment goes beyond that,” Breda
says. “It’s about reinvesting in the
community, giving back—and leading
by example.” +
ON YOUR SIDE —
NATIONWIDE SUPPORTS
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
“We need to continue to adapt our
business model to align with where
the world is going,” says Mark Berven,
President and COO of Nationwide
Insurance. Recently, Nationwide made
a strategic decision to shift its exclusive
agency channel to an independent agency
model that allows the firm to be more
responsive to the market.
“Customers appreciate choice, so as you
look at buying behaviors, people choose
agency partners that partner with a group
of carriers that can best serve their needs,”
Berven says. “Having an independent
agency model allows our partners to work
with more customers, and it gives them
the ability to serve customers in
a broader way.”
Berven says the move is about “being thoughtful” and running the business
from an outside-in perspective based on what customers demand. “You have
to constantly assess your business model as it relates to serving customers.
It’s scanning the environment and analyzing how that impacts your
business, and then taking actions to adapt your business through very clear
communication and implementation strategies.”
No matter your business, “one size doesn’t fit all,” Berven says of guiding
change. “You have different customers and different partners. Making sure
you are intentional about your communication approach is critical because
people absorb information in different ways.”
Nationwide Insurance is building pathways for its agency partners and their
customers. For example, its Nationwide Agents Council solicits input from
key stakeholders, including Deeley Insurance Group. “We are focused on
helping them become more efficient, helping them drive more revenue, and
providing support—whether it’s technical or marketing—so they can drive
performance,” Berven says. “All of this is critical as you think about building
pathways for business owners.”
“We are excited about the change because it allows us to create more focus,”
Berven adds. “At the end of the day, insurance is a relationship-driven
business. When you’ve got someone right there in the community that
cares for customers and is part of the fabric of the environment like Deeley
Insurance Group, the Nationwide brand wants to stand behind that.”
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