Reimagining the bank branch.

• Author: Motley, L. Biff
• Position: CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

IT WASN'T LONG AGO THAT BANKS WERE IN A BRANCH BUILDING BOOM as a tried-and-true strategy to attract more customers. Today, with customers turning to online and mobile transaction convenience, teller transactions are down as much as 40 percent at community banks. As a result, experiments are underway at forward-thinking banks to reposition the branch in a world where the all-important attribute of convenience is delivered via a small device in your pocket or purse.

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal described some of these clever forays designed to lure customers back to branches where more predictable cross-selling might actually occur than happens today when customers make deposits with a smart phone or fill out loan applications online.

The always-clever Umpqua Bank has launched an initiative to draw customers to its branches through a variety of fun events, including beer and pretzel Octoberfest-style celebrations, yoga classes, dog fairs and other theatrics designed to create a platform for bankers and customers to interact in a pleasant setting with the intent that a relationship enhancement (read: cross-sell) might happen.

Other examples may be less theatrical but equally successful when modeled after the Starbucks approach of outfitting their stores with free Wi-Fi to sell serial cups of coffee or expensive espresso makers. Examples here include TD Bank's deployment of free coin counting "Penny Arcades," as well as other banks' opening up spaces in their branches for community meetings, personal improvement seminars and other attractions.

The underlying critical issue here is this: Banking has always been a business dominated by two separate customer benefits: transaction convenience and trustworthy person-to-person financial advice. Until relatively recently, both of these happened at the branch and usually involved bankers or were in close proximity to bankers...