37-location community bank builds comprehensive customer intelligence system to understand sentiment across experiences —driving retention, loyalty, and smarter product decisions.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — May 19, 2026 — STAR Financial Bank has built a comprehensive customer intelligence strategy with Liftify to solve critical business challenges: understanding customer sentiment across varying lines of business and product experiences, gathering feedback from pilot programs to enhance new product rollouts, and identifying themes among existing customers to minimize churn. The strategy marks a significant step in STAR's commitment to making data-driven decisions that strengthen customer loyalty, retention, and competitive positioning across all 37 locations.

STAR Financial Bank initially partnered with Liftify to drive review growth and strengthen its online presence across all locations. The results were immediate and measurable: a more than 1,400% increase in Google review volume, generating more than 5,000 reviews; a significant improvement in average ratings, from 4.1 to 4.8; and greater visibility into reputation performance through Liftify’s reporting and insights.

In 2025, STAR generated nearly 1 million impressions on its Google pages with Liftify, building brand impact and strengthening SEO positioning through consistent review growth. With that foundation in place, STAR is now taking the next step — expanding beyond reviews to build a comprehensive customer experience program powered by Liftify’s Core Package.

The expanded partnership gives STAR standardized processes for collecting intentional customer feedback at critical moments throughout the customer journey, enterprise-level visibility into experience themes across all 37 locations, and a closed-loop system to ensure every negative experience is addressed—a compliance requirement for the bank. Previously, STAR relied on reactive listening at the branch level with no documentation or consistent process for evaluating feedback beyond individual teams. Now, the bank has a strategic framework for turning customer insights into action.

"What I like best about Liftify is how seamlessly they combine execution, partnership, and measurable results," said Brittany Howey, VP of Customer Experience at STAR Financial Bank. "Their team is incredibly easy to work with: proactive, responsive, and genuinely invested in our success. They made the entire process of growing our Google presence effortless for our internal teams while delivering results that far exceeded our expectations. And because the review program was so successful, we're excited to expand into customer and employee surveys with them—which is a testament to the trust we've built and the value they consistently deliver."

The partnership represents more than vendor selection; it's a strategic extension of STAR's internal team. Liftify worked closely with STAR to plan, build, and execute a survey rollout strategy aligned with the bank's highest goals, including customer retention, loyalty, and growth. The intentional approach ensures feedback is captured at the right moments, analyzed for actionable themes, and used to drive continuous improvement across the organization.

"STAR Financial Bank is all-in on customer experience, and that commitment shows in how they constantly innovate in their approach," said Zach Garrett, Founder & CEO of Liftify. "They didn't just want a tool. They wanted a partner to help them build a scalable, data-driven customer experience strategy that aligns with their values and their competitive advantage. The review results put them at the top of their local markets, and now we're helping them extend that same rigor and intentionality to the entire customer journey. This is what customer experience innovation at scale looks like in financial services."

STAR's review performance continues to set the standard in its markets, and the bank's expansion into comprehensive customer experience management positions it as an industry innovator. With Liftify, STAR now has the infrastructure to gather, analyze, and act on customer feedback at scale—without adding headcount or disrupting field operations.

About STAR Financial Bank

STAR Financial Bank, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana, is committed to delivering quality financial expertise and distinctive banking solutions to exceed customer expectations. In addition, STAR Private Advisory offers private banking, investment and fiduciary services. STAR has grown to nearly $3 billion in assets with locations across central and northeast Indiana. For more information, visit starfinancial.com.

Note: In all references to STAR, “STAR” should be in all caps, as the name STAR was derived from the first names of the early principals (Selah Wright, Thomas Marcuccilli, Arthur Hodson, and Ralph Marcuccilli).

About Liftify

Liftify is the reputation management and customer experience platform built for multi-location businesses and the brands, agencies, and networks that support them. Through automated review generation, AI-powered response management, customer surveys, ticketing, and enterprise-level insights, Liftify helps businesses grow their online reputation, strengthen customer loyalty, and turn feedback into revenue. Liftify's Core Package gives operators complete visibility into customer experience themes and a closed-loop system to ensure no negative experience goes unresolved. For more information, visit liftify.com.