Positive Power of Principled Profit
Volume 3, Number 6—March, 2006

Positive Power Spotlight: Commerce Bank

You may have heard about Commerce Bank, started by a New Jersey guy who was so totally sick of the service at his bank that he bought it and made it over as a customer-centered institution.

My friend and colleague Peter Shankman, who's something of a PR star in New York City, wrote up this personal experience, comparing and contrasting Commerce with a much more established bank. And yes, I'm aware of the other side of the argument--but I think Chase could have handled the situation much better even if they didn't let the dog in. I could think of three or four more customer-focused ways they could have kept the dog out without alienating their customer.

Originally published in his own newsletter back in October 2004, it fits in particularly well with this month's book review:

Has This Bank Gone to the Dogs?
By Peter Shankman, http://www.prdifferently.com/

A few weeks ago, I dumped Chase Bank, after writing a letter (http://www.canuckflack.com/archives/000388.html) to them informing them that I hated them. I dumped them for my personal account, and moved over to Commerce Bank. Commerce claims that they're the world's most customer-friendly bank. Considering how I hate most banks, I doubted that.

Well, so far, they've been great. Today, however, was the clincher. I had two deposits to make. The first one was at Chase, for the business account which I haven't transferred out of Chase yet. I also happened to have my joint dog with me today. (Joint dog: a dog that came out of a relationship that's no longer a relationship, so you split time with the dog. Similar to joint-custody.)

I walk into Chase with the joint dog. He's a very good dog, being a Labradoodle, and is quite smart. Waiting on line, he was nice enough to sit there and wait with me, despite numerous people coming over to pet him, ask about him, etc. (He's quite an unusual breed. But then, so am I...)

As I'm the next person on line, a bank security guard comes over to me. "Sorry, sir, you're going to have to take the dog outside."

I was floored. "Why," I asked. "He's not bothering anyone, he's sitting here with me as I make a deposit."

"No dogs allowed, sir. He might bite a customer." http://www.shankman.com/hudson150.jpg - Yeah. He'll take off your arm.

"He's not going to bite anyone. He's sitting here, as you can tell." At this point, the mechanical "Ding" of the "next on line" buzzer droned, so I walked Joint-dog over to the teller, and handed over my deposit. I looked back at the security guard and said, "I'll take the dog right out, I'm just not waiting on line again."

Fortunately, the teller was fast, and arm-ripping-off Joint dog and I were out of there in another 15 seconds.

Very annoying.

So I walk the dog, and on the way back, stop at Commerce Bank, to make a personal deposit.

Joint dog and I walk inside. A woman behind the counter lets out a squeal. I kid you not, it was a honest-to-goodness SQUEAL. "EEEEEE!! That is the cutest dog I've ever seen! I must pet him!" She comes out from behind the counter, gets down on her knees, and starts petting the dog. This is before I even got to the counter, identified myself as a customer, whatever. I could have been robbing the bank, she wouldn't have cared, as long as she got to give "belly scratches."

After about 40 seconds of this, she gets up, and extends a now fur-covered hand. "Hi, I'm (name forgotten,) the manager of this branch. Thank you so much for letting me pet your dog. We have Commerce Bank doggie treats behind the counter, is it ok if we give him one or two? And how can I help you today?"

At this point, she STILL hadn't asked if I was a customer.

"Sure. And if possible, can I make this deposit?"

She grabs the deposit and deposit slip out of my hands, and passes it to a teller, who passes back some Milk Bones. (I didn't check to see if they were Commerce Bank branded Milk Bones, but that's not the point.)

"Does he do any tricks?" the branch manager asked.

"He sits, gives paw, etc," I say, and she's all over that like a cheap suit, making joint dog sit, paw, jump, bark, play dead, etc. At some point, the teller came out from behind the counter and gave me my receipt for the transaction.

Eventually, I pulled the dog away from the manager, and walked out, floored. THEY HAD DOG BISCUITS!!

Do you see the study in contrast here?

Remember Avis' "We try harder" campaign? Is it because they're smaller?

Yes. Does Commerce Bank keep dog biscuits behind the counter because a person with a dog might come in? Yes. And is that smart? Hell yes.

Remember Raving Fans? The book I keep telling you all to buy? Customers expect to be treated like crap. Treat them (or their dogs) well, and you've made a customer for life, who will go and become a raving fan, telling the world how great you are.

Well, Commerce Bank is great, because they treated my dog well. Chase Bank stinks, because they told me to leave. They also stink because they don't treat their customers well.

What's the PR lesson here? I've just told what, 300 people this story? Imagine if You were the PR rep for Chase, and you were reading this not in GeekSpeak, but in Marketing Week, or Banking Age, or worse, Details. Not too good, huh?

Your job, (among the thousands of duties you're tasked with) is to convince management that customer service in your company has to rock. It has to be amazing. Because only then, can you take full advantage of that from a PR standpoint.

Customer Service must be so good, that when you have a media opportunity, you can call ten clients or customers, and get positive feedback from them in a heartbeat. Keep a file of your happiest customers who are willing to talk to the press, and suck up to them. Make sure they have the latest company t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. They are your link to why your company really is good, as opposed to you just saying it is.

Oh, find out if they have a dog. If they do, send them some biscuits.

Another Recommended Book: "Overpromise and Overdeliver" by Rick Barrera

We've all heard the slogan, "underpromise and overdeliver"--but Barrera points out that doing so weakens the marketing. It's OK when you already have the customer, but to bring in the business, you must promise the moon--and deliver the moon and stars. The companies that make a bold brand promise, and follow through, are sitting pretty (as I point out in my own book, Principled Profit).

"A true brand promise would describe what the product or service will do for your target audience, how it is different from competing offers, and why a customer should buy it."

Where do you get your core brand promise? From your customers! The better you listen and observe, the more you can understand why people come to you, and how to create an environment that so deeply addresses their issues that they won't want to go anywhere else. This can help you actually reinvent your company in the marketplace.

And look for the hidden failures in other people's brand promises, as in the hair salon owner, faced with another salon's loss-leader, who put out the word that "we fix $6 haircuts."

Whatever you do, avoid at all costs making a brand promise and then failing to deliver. As one example, Barrera cites continuous passenger snickering when dealing with rude and surly employees of the well-known airline that boasts, "Fly the friendly skies."

One of the things I really like about this book is the way it translates specific initiatives to dollars saved and/or revenues earned. It shows the dollars-and-cents value of superior promising, and using "touch points," both human and automated, to deliver--or overdeliver--on those promises.

Oh yes, and this month's Spotlight company, Commerce Bank, is mentioned a few times in Barrera's book.

If you'd like to buy this book, please follow this link to buy from a BookSense independent bookseller:
http://www.booksense.com/index.jsp?affiliateId=FrugalFun