Perhaps the answer is that they never took the time to determine how they would stand out.

The banking industry is one of those perennially steadfast industries.  Standing firm on legacy practices and policies, there is real opportunity for those who grasp that customers will respond to an experience delivered from their point of view.

Umpqua Bank Decided to Get Rid of the Ropes.

We’ve all stood in that bank line. Walking between two ropes that force us into a single-file lane, we shuffle slowly, waiting our turn, with nothing to do but watch the person at the counter, look at our watches, and wait for it all to be over. And if there’s a request that the teller can’t handle, there’s another line, and more shuffling. Well, they got rid of those ropes and the lines at Umpqua Bank. As part of Umpqua’s metamorphosis from “bank” to “store,” led by CEO Ray Davis, they shed the ropes and most standard banking practices to get rid of the feeling that banking was a chore.

CEO Ray Davis Explains His Decision to Change Umpqua’s Purpose:

Umpqua Bank has a quirky, lighthearted nature for a financial services company, perhaps because they started with the simple goal to help loggers and farmers with their banking. But despite their heartfelt purpose of being “the loggers’ bank,” customer experiences prior to 1994 were not consistently strong. Service levels varied from one day to the next, from one teller to the next.

I call this “biorhythmic” service, in which customer experiences vary by service provider and by what kind of day he or she is having. Observing Umpqua’s lack of a clear customer-service approach, CEO Ray Davis decided to make a change. In a move away from traditional banking, he renamed Umpqua locations “stores.” In redesigned “stores,” “shoppers” could browse products and services, stay as long as they wanted, sit a spell with their legs up on a comfy chair, and sip a cup of coffee. And when they were ready, they could tap an Umpqua associate to help them with their banking needs—all without the red ropes.

At Umpqua, customers are not herded into a line for service, and they don’t have to stand in separate lines to get different services. Dedicated associates assist each customer from start to finish.

Decide with Clarity to Shed Old Industry Practices

“Umpqua Bank is part Internet café, part community center, and part bank. The coffee’s good and it’s not a bad place to sit and read a book.”

By shedding old industry practices and warming up and humanizing the experience of banking, Umpqua draws customers to them. Through transforming banking into an enjoyable shopping experience, its original five branches from 1994 are now part of a bank network of over 184“stores,” across four states with more than $11.6 billion in assets

Do you have your own version of banking lines that you make customers shuffle through to get help from you? Can you find a way to get rid of your version of the “red ropes”?

Velvet Rope Photo via Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

If You Shed Legacy Industry Practices What Could You Become?

Picture a dad on a Saturday morning toting a bike with a broken chain and a disappointed kid. Dad’s already been to the hardware store, with no luck. Two stops later, exasperated and increasingly frustrated, both father and son find their way to Zane’s Cycles in Branford, CT.

Within minutes they find out what will fix the chain: a 25-cent master link. The salesman at Zane’s hands it over, with a firm “No charge.” Zane’s has decided to give these parts away. Anything that costs a buck or under, they give to any customer who needs it. Though small in price, these parts are usually attached to a frustrating experience for the customer.

Owner Chris Zane says:

“I could either charge the guy one buck or two bucks for the part or give it to him. So I give the part away, along with an extra one.  By making seven good impressions, we keep customers connected and returning to us.”

Emotional Bonds Create Lifelong Customers

Zane’s wants to become the lifeline for their customer throughout his or her bike ownership. And that sometimes means throwing in a bike part for free — especially at frustrating moments. Zane’s wants to build strong relationships through creating indelible memories, like the one that made the day of that father and son.

Chris Zane is astute enough to know that in these moments, an emotional bond to his store is created. And this will translate in the future into a prosperous customer relationship. Zane’s works to deliver at least seven “wow” moments for each customer. They do this because at Zane’s they believe that seven powerful interactions prove to customers that Zane’s is (a) consistently good to them, and (b) the best (and only) place to go for anything regarding bicycles.

Why does Zane’s do this? Because it’s the right thing to do.  And because they have a track record of success with these acts of kindness. Zane’s “pays it forward” consistently with their customers, and that grows their business.

By Extending Human Kindness, Zane’s Wins Market Share

The memories customers have of times when they were stressed and Zane’s came through, with no strings attached, pull them back to the store. And once a customer walks back into Zane’s, he or she usually buys. Each Zane’s customer spends an average of $12,500 with the company. And Zane’s experiences unheard of 43 percent margins.

You do the math: Wouldn’t you spend $1 to make an impression that will earn a customer worth $12,500? How many “wow” impressions do you encourage your people to deliver in the course of a day, a month or a year to your customers? Consider if those nickel, dime and dollar charges are costing you more than you’re charging in lost goodwill and future customers.

Have You Planned for Heroic Acts of Kindness?

Zane’s Cycles decided to give away bike parts costing less than $1. This makes Zane’s the lifeline for their customers throughout their bicycle ownership. These gestures create “wow” memories that pull customers back to the store.  Ask yourself these questions:

• Is everyone in my business ready to go the extra mile? Do they have permission? Are they inspired?
• Do I celebrate heroism every day?
• How would I rate my intent and ability to enable and deliver heroic acts of kindness?
• Do customers rave about your heroic acts of kindness today?
• How does my decision to go the extra mile compare with this beloved company?
• Let’s identify one simple gesture you can make to give people permission, ability and the freedom to go the extra mile.

Image from Gabi Moisa/Shutterstock

From Small Business Trends

How (Small) Heroic Acts of Kindness Will Grow Your Business

Back in 1982, Griffin Hospital was very far from enjoying extreme loyalty. At that time, one-third of the local community named Griffin as the hospital they would avoid if they could. That rude awakening pushed them to rethink their purpose and literally everything they did. The hospital wanted to create an experience to remember.

Music in the Parking Lot and a Piano in the Lobby

Being told that it was avoided whenever possible pushed Griffin to rethink the purpose for their hospital, physicians, and caregivers. Their goal was to become the hospital of choice in the community. Griffin knew that if “choice” was the goal, then they had to readjust their purpose; they needed to move from being healthcare providers to being service providers.

Griffin had to stop executing required tasks and determine what experience they would deliver, what patient and family emotions were involved. They found that the emotional journey of going to the hospital begins in the parking lot. So Griffin provides free valet parking and concierge services. Music in the parking lot and lobby welcomes visitors and takes away the sterile “hospital” feeling.

Says Bill Powanda, Griffin Hospital vice president:

“It doesn’t matter if you have the shortest emergency room wait times around and deliver the greatest care in the nation; if parking is a nightmare, your patients won’t be completely satisfied.”

Griffin Hospital Enjoys a 99 Percent Recommendation Rate

Understanding the customer emotions involved in “coming and going” from a hospital visit prompted actions that made Griffin stand out. Those bookend experiences are part of the magnet that pulls people back to Griffin. No longer considered the “black sheep” hospital of the community, Griffin grows through customer referrals. Inpatient admissions grew 28 percent from 1997 to 2009, compared with a state average growth rate of 10 percent. And outpatient services grew 92 percent from 1998 to 2009.

Griffin Hospital has become the hospital of choice not only for their community, but for surrounding communities as well. One-third of Griffin Hospital’s customers come from outside of the community where it’s located. Ten percent of administrators of U.S. hospitals want to visit Griffin Hospital to learn from them.

Do you think about how you punctuate your moments of connection with customers? First impressions last the longest. Is yours purposeful? Does it create the ideal first opinion of your business?

What Are Your Customer Experience Bookends?

Griffin Hospital decided to eliminate the fear of hospital visits with music in their parking lots and a concierge in their lobby. The memory of these “experience bookends” bonds visitors to them. Ask yourself:

• Do you have a purposeful beginning and ending to moments of customer contact?
• Are you creating memories or just executing tasks?
• How would you rate your intent and ability to create purposeful moments of customer contact?
• How would your customers say you are doing?
• Do customers rave about a memorable experience?
• What are the marquee moments in your customers’ experiences with you?
• Do your decisions for creating memorable bookends earn you “beloved” status today?

From Small Business Trends

Become a Provider of Choice: Shift Your Focus to Customer Experiences

When The Container Store was building their business in 1978, founders Garrett Boone and Kip Tindell wanted to encourage their employees to bend over backwards for customers and each other. They wanted to make sure that going the extra mile was core to everybody’s actions. So they decided to shorthand this intent by asking everyone to focus on “Being Gumby.” A dark green clay figure who came alive through stop-motion  animation, Gumby was the star of  The Gumby Show, which ran over a 35-year period on American television.

Gumby was always getting into some predicament, which he managed to get out of with grace. Not so different from working retail. Makes sense that “Be Gumby” is a favorite mantra.

Customers Can Spot a Fake Culture

Plenty of companies tout their customer service and commitment, but many are “lip service” cultures: all talk, no action. Boone and Tindell wanted to ensure they didn’t deliver forced customer “service,” defined by rule books and execution of required tasks. The Container Store frees workers to trust their judgment and solve customers’ problems. But the company also puts the staff in a position to succeed.

A full-time salesperson at The Container Store receives about 263 hours of training, compared to an average of 8 hours for most retail businesses. By preparing people through training and throwing away the rule book, the company wanted to create an environment where people are encouraged to do whatever it takes to assist coworkers and customers. They simply want everyone to be flexible and find the right solution for each situation.

Simply put:  Be flexible; “be Gumby.”

Flexible Employees = Employees Who Stick Around

At The Container Store, employees feel uninhibited to connect with customers and coworkers in an uncommonly warm and genuine fashion. It’s a place where, on a new store’s grand opening day, the chairman pushes the new store manager around on a “victory lap.” “Just because we have titles doesn’t mean we can’t still be corny,” said Kip Tindell.

Corny works for them. This is a company where “I’m being Gumby today” defines success. With less than 10 percent voluntary turnover, compared to an average 50 percent or higher in retail, this is a company where employees want to stay. They’ve had a place on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list for 12 years in a row.

Does your organization blend whimsy with business and pass on that warmth to customers?

Do You Encourage Flexibility and Gut?

The Container Store’s  mantra is to be like Gumby.  This is their whimsical way of saying to all employees, “Do what it takes.” It gives everyone permission to find the right solution for each situation–to put their humanity into it.

Be Gumby and ask yourself these questions:

• Do you give customers a positive view of how your front line is encouraged to do what’s right, to work together, and to serve customers?
• Are your people encouraged to cross boundaries and work together?
• How would you rate your ability to encourage flexibility and teamwork?
• Do customers rave about how you bend over backwards to serve them today–no matter whose “job” it is?
• How do your decisions to encourage mutual respect and support for helping colleagues compare with those at this beloved company?
• Do your decisions to encourage your front line to do what’s right to serve customers earn you “beloved” status today?
• What do you need to do differently to move toward earning raves from customers and employees?
• Can you come up with one way to get rid of the practice of “You do this, I do that” on the front lines and behind the scenes? (Especially when it ends up hurting customers who just want to be noticed, served and cared for?)

From Small Business Trends

The Container Store: Be Like Gumby

Customer Ownership in Product Design Ensures Success

In the beginning, the Threadless community was created to give artists and designers a place to submit their design ideas and give those designs a home—on the unexpected canvas of a T-shirt. This idea exploded into a fast-growing community reaching far outside the initial graphic and computer-designer circles that first came to Threadless.com.

Customers embraced the idea of being involved in the design, the selection and the purchasing of the products they had a hand in creating. As a result, the Threadless.com community exploded far beyond a small cluster of Web designers to hundreds of thousands of zealot customers. The idea of having designers submit ideas for T-shirt designs, and then giving customers a vote in what gets sold, struck a nerve. A big, profitable nerve. In the company’s first two years, the Threadless.com community swelled to over 100,000. Since then, it has grown to over 1 million members.

Every Single Product Eventually Sells Out

Threadless.com has become a company of the customer, by the customer, for the customer. Customers are in the driver’s seat, submitting the designs, voting on the shirts, buying them, talking to one another and even working at the company. And because customers vote on the designs, and therefore decide which T-shirts are sold, every single product eventually sells out.

Threadless.com sold more than $30 million in T-shirts in 2009— with a 30 percent profit margin. Revenue growth is approximately 200 percent per year, with no help from professional designers, advertising, modeling agencies or a sales force.

How Do You Involve Your Customers?

How do you engage your customers? Do you seek their validation after the decisions have been made, or are customers truly part of how you imagine, build and deliver your products and services?

Beloved companies tap the passionate energy of their customers to grow and prosper.

Do customers have a seat at your table and a hand in the design of their experience and the products you offer? What do you need to do differently to move toward earning raves from customers and employees? Can you identify your version of creating passionate, involved customers who want to have a say in what you do for them?

From Small Business Trends

Threadless.com Models Customer Driven Success

A garment made with W.L. Gore products is probably hanging in your closet somewhere at your home. It’s nearly impossible to buy a ski jacket or slicker without seeing the “GORE-TEX” tag hanging from the garment. But W.L. Gore’s reach extends far beyond the cold-weather gear most of us know, to dental floss, guitar strings, surgical products and many other categories.

Revered for its ability to innovate, W.L. Gore has been named “pound for pound, the most innovative company in America” by Fast Company. What lies behind this ability is what founder Bill Gore decided to focus on as he began the business: how people inside a  company come to make decisions among themselves. Deciding how to decide has driven the growth, ingenuity and continued innovation at W.L. Gore.

Sustain a Culture of Innovation for the Long Run

W.L. Gore’s ability to drive a culture of continuous innovation rests with its ability to reject traditional hierarchical convention, titles and rank in its decision making. The company focuses instead on a democratic process in which decisions stick.

Founder Bill Gore wanted a company where employees’ spirit grew based on what they accomplished, not which corporate scrimmage they had won—where more time was spent generating ideas than generating ways to cover one’s backside. So he decided to create a “non-organization” approach for his new company that would inspire creativity in its employees.

Gore envisioned a “lattice” structure where people would work interconnectedly with each other rather than through a hierarchy. Gore wanted “leaders” to emerge through the ideas they presented and the commitment received to put ideas into action. “Power” is about ideas and the ability to get them sold.

Democratic Decision Making

This radical idea for a corporate culture has lasted because Bill Gore’s idea honors and upholds the human spirit of the people inside the company. At W.L. Gore, the belief is that people will step up and deliver when they are not regulated. Through a democratic decision and innovation culture, W.L. Gore has grown to a $2.5 billion company. And 2011 marked the 14th consecutive year W. L. Gore & Associates Inc. earned a position on FORTUNE ‘s annual list of the U.S. “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

Even though W.L. Gore is a large business now, it’s the decisions they made when they were just starting out that created their marketplace position of innovation.

As a small business, decision making is even more critical because everyone in your company is a Customer Ambassador. Does your company thrive and grow because of the people you hire and how you honor their contribution to the business? Does everyone feel like they are an equal part of the success of your business?

Do You Practice Democratic Decision Making?

W.L. Gore continues to innovate by shedding formal hierarchy in favor of the power of the idea. Belief that good ideas come from everyone is their growth engine.  Do the best ideas of your company get to see the light of day? Are good ideas given a chance to prosper, no matter where they come from?

From Small Business Trends

Make the Decision to Drive Growth With Ingenuity and Innovation

So whenever a T-shirt gets printed by CustomInk for a charity event, the company also sends a donation. Initially, this started as a casual gesture by Lori Mayfield, a CustomInk order analyst. Now, Mayfield says, “We try to donate to every charity event that our customers hold close to their hearts.”

Giving Back to the Customer’s Cause

CustomInk wouldn’t feel right printing T-shirts for a charitable organization without giving back to their cause. With this one gesture they let their customers know they back their efforts. What’s most important about this gesture is that CustomInk did not take this action as a marketing effort. It began as a personal expression by an order analyst who wanted to give back to companies that trusted CustomInk.

In the end, like many other noble decisions, doing something good returns to the sender. CustomInk’s genuine gesture to contribute to what their customers care about separates them from other T-shirt suppliers. It draws customers back to do business with a company that thinks this way.

Growing Business by Connecting With Customers

CustomInk has delivered over 15 million shirts, with 98.9 percent of their customers saying they will purchase from the company again. Though their donation to charity customers is small in amount (as little as $30), this gesture connects the company personally with what their customers care about. And it shows customers that CustomInk’s service is not just about getting and filling orders.

With this gesture, CustomInk figuratively sticks their hand out of the shipping box and warmly embraces customers. And customers embrace CustomInk in return. Says one:

“I definitely was not expecting an email asking if CustomInk could give a donation to our organization. This makes me proud to have picked this company to do our printing for us.”

And as you can see from the increase in CustomInk’s growth in donations, charities are rewarding CustomInk because they care. The percent of CustomInk’s charitable donations is directly related to the growth rate they are experiencing in charities flocking to them.

How do you connect in that personal manner with your customers? What selfless acts tell your customers and employees about what matters to you on a personal level?

From Small Business Trends

Honor What Customers Care About

“At the core of that call is respect,” says founder and CEO Mike Faith. “The customer deserves our respect. Sometimes they could be wrong. But they always deserve our respect.” And that’s why if any one of those reps rolls his or her eyes, acts exasperated, or does not give customers the respect they deserve, that is the end of that rep’s job at Headsets.com.

Compromising Culture Hinders Growth

To ensure that disrespect is a rarity, Headsets.com is very rigorous in how they screen and hire candidates. Before they are hired, candidates go through what Mike Faith calls a day of customer service tryouts. This includes up to eight interviews. Candidates talk to a voice coach (to check for warmth, tone, and empathy) and a business psychologist, to understand how they react to pressure and how they might, for example, keep their exasperation in check when customer calls escalate. They are tested for memory and English usage and grammar. They sit in on calls. After these initial screens, multiple interviews inside the company determine if they are a “fit” for the Headsets.com culture and customer commitment.

This rigor is in place because reps are encouraged to trust their gut in how they interact with customers. And respect is paramount to these interactions. Although rarely acted upon (because of the rigor used during selection), this commitment to making disrespect a “fireable” offense helps reps who have had a long work shift, or a chatty customer asking obvious questions, remember that customers are entitled to their point of view, to their rant, and to have their say.

Rules for Customer Respect

Headsets.com is, according to Mike Faith, “dedicated to customer love.” Respect for customers is at the core of that love. The company is a success because of their ability to sustain service passion. Only one in 30 applicants who goes through their customer service tryouts makes it into the company as a Headsets.com rep. And once you’re there, customer respect rules. Rigorous? Absolutely. But effective? Something must be working. This company focusing on selling headsets grew from a $40,000 investment in 1998 to $30 million in revenue in recent years.

How do you decide who to pick as the people who will deliver your special blend of service, support and personal connection to your customers? Is your interview process as unique as your business? Should you give applicants a “customer service tryout” like Headsets.com does?

From Small Business Trends

Building a Company Culture of Respect

There’s a rule of thumb at LUSH cosmetics, and that’s to fearlessly retire one-third of the product line every year. Change is the magic behind the suds at LUSH. Rather than waiting for customers to tire of products, LUSH imposes a rigorous process to get rid of the old to make way for the new. It is what keeps LUSH fresh, and it is what keeps pulling customers back. LUSH grows because customers fuel its growth.

Remember when you were a kid and couldn’t walk by a candy store without going in, because of the lure and the scent of the candy? That’s how LUSH lures people into their stores. It’s hard to walk by without going in to see what’s new, and it’s hard to walk out of a LUSH store without a bag full of its fresh cosmetics.

Beloved companies offer the freshest products.

“If anything, as businesses mature, they get more dull,” says LUSH founder Mark Constantine. A major product development guru in his previous ,life at The Body Shop, Constantine had developed products that, by the 1980s, made up about 80 percent of that chain’s sales. As The Body Shop matured, Constantine felt the fizz leave the business, and so he departed with his concept of the “bath bomb” and eventually founded LUSH. Irreverently calling their bath bomb “A Giant Alka-Seltzer for Your Tub,” LUSH has stayed true to its core of creating natural products with surprising ingredients and off-the-wall names.

To stay constantly fresh, LUSH brings together an annual meeting of senior managers for what it calls the “mafia meeting,” during which they decide what products to kill. Their goal is to offer “the freshest products in the history of cosmetics.” The company is making this happen by not sitting still. “Innovate like mad, then start over again” is the mantra LUSH lives.

Word of mouth grows beloved companies.

Every day, LUSH sells nearly 60,000 bath bombs, the concoction that created the LUSH fan base. LUSH spends little on advertising (customers spread the word) and packaging (they use less material in order to stay green). Because of this combination of customers’ word of mouth growing the business and LUSH’s enviable low margins resulting from minimal advertising and packaging, a new LUSH store can break even in as little as three months. In fiscal year 2007, 462 LUSH stores in 46 countries had a combined revenue of $292 million, up 28 percent over fiscal 2006. And LUSH has kept growing from there—reporting over $338.4 million in recent years.

What do you do to stay fresh for your customers? As customers’ needs change, do you commit to understanding what they need? What should you consider retiring? A service, a practice, a product?

Are you fearless in dismissing the old and bringing in the new? How do you keep customers enticed and interested?

From Small Business Trends

How Fresh Are You?

Founded in 2001 by John DeHart and Ken Sim, Nurse Next Door was born out of their personal experiences when, seeking a caregiver for their parents, they were repeatedly sent inappropriate candidates. Like many small businesses born out of personal passion, Sim and DeHart’s business has grown rapidly.  But as with any fast-growing business, growing pains occur. So DeHart and Sim decided that when mistakes happen, they would send a sincere and heartfelt apology, explaining what went wrong, how they will resolve the situation, and humbly asking forgiveness.

How $1,500 Spent on “Humble Pies” Saved $100,000 in Business

When they slip up, Nurse Next Door sends a freshly baked pie as part of their apology. Not any old pie—they send a humble pie, with a note that says, “We are very humbled by our mistake and sincerely apologize for the poor service.” They depend on a few local bakers in Vancouver to supply the pies, the most notable of which is an outfit called Acme Humble Pie. Sim and DeHart say, “What’s wrong with eating a little humble pie?” Especially when a customer is at stake?

Decide to Say “Sorry”

Gail Watson, whose story we began with at the top of this blog, received one of those pies after Nurse Next Door missed her initial appointment. Though she was angry at first, the swift delivery of a heartfelt apology and the whimsy and humility of this simple gesture took the edge off. Watson remains a loyal customer today.

What started as a spontaneous gesture by one employee is now a regular part of how Nurse Next Door nurses customers’ wounds from the occasional service failure. DeHart estimates that yearly, Nurse Next Door spends about $1,500 on humble pies, but saves around $100,000 in sales. “It’s more about keeping clients than a question of whose fault it is. The value of lost clients is very high,” DeHart says. “And satisfied customers share their experience with friends and family.”

Since its early years, Nurse Next Door has thrived and grown to become British Columbia’s largest home health-care company. It’s likely that their much-talked-about services fuel their growth . . . or do people just want a piece of that pie?

Go Try This

Evaluate How Well You Say “Sorry”

• How would you rate your ability to identify and acknowledge mistakes?
• How would your customers say you are doing?
• Do customers rave about your humility and recovery from mistakes?
• How do your decisions to recover from mistakes compare with this beloved company?
• Do your apologies earn you “beloved” status?

Can You Decide to Say “Sorry”?

• What’s your version of “humble pie”?
• Are you open enough to consider that there are times when you’ll need one, and proactively go out there and find a baker to make them?
• What’s one way to earn back a customer’s trust when you occasionally slip up?

From Small Business Trends

Keep Clients Happy by Humbly Asking Forgiveness