Royal Trappings.

AuthorBernstel, Janet Bigham
PositionCover Story Part II

An innovative branch of Riggs Bank, Washington, D.C., has a high-touch retail look that centers on the customer.

Anyone who's been to a Disney theme park knows why Walt has been called the maestro of customer experience. Fantasy turns into reality as one is swept away in a whimsical whirlwind. Meanwhile, an entire hidden city of tunnels functions behind the scene. Garbage is vacuumed away, various odors like baked cookies or orange groves are pumped through the park and actors emerge and vanish, thereby creating a seamless entertainment experience. At the root of all this industrial-strength illusion is pure enterprise. While Disney controls what they see, hear, smell and feel, guests are free to play and shop unburdened by worldly woes.

It takes courage and vision to create a Disney World. Only in the past few years have financial institutions been willing to brave such an "imagineering" approach to operations. Some bankers have made it a point to leave behind what Mark Hendrix of Riggs Bank calls the "division of motor vehicles" look and feel to their branches and to craft a whole new world. Because what retailers know, and banks are just starting to learn, is that people love to shop.

"I think it's our job as marketers to create an environment that customers really want to visit," explains Hendrix, chief marketing officer and executive vice president for the Washington-based Riggs Bank. "We want to look beyond the immediate horizon to other companies that have been very successful at selling experience marketing, like Starbucks. At the end of the day, the consumer doesn't compare us to just other banks, but other world-class retailers."

Bucking the industry trend of cost cutting in the branch, the Riggs team opted to enhance their branch--renamed a "financial center"--at Tavern Square in historic Old Town Alexandria, Va., by designing a new, more appealing atmosphere. As part of a broader program to rejuvenate the 167year-old bank, the new branch marks the institution's first step toward a more direct focus on a meaningful and valuable customer experience.

"The branch plays a vital role in the customer experience," explains Hendrix. "Quite frankly, it's the most prominent view the customer has of the institution, between the interaction of staff and the physical appearance of the environment. We wanted to take a very fresh approach in shaping that experience."

The open lobby features a circular client services counter private meeting...

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