From the ubiquity of brick-and-mortar to powerful store-in-store concepts, Juliet D’Ambrosio, Managing Director of Strategy, shares her thoughts on “8 Inspirational Ideas from Other Industries that Banks Should Use Too.”
Thursday, January 20, 2022 – In their recent exploration on successes outside of financial services, the Financial Brand taps brand experts and industry innovators for some fresh thinking to help decision-makers move the needle in banking. First up: brick and mortar locations. “We’ve been hearing ‘Retail is dead or dying’ for a long time,” says Juliet D’Ambrosio, Adrenaline’s managing director of strategy. That’s the same thing the banking industry always says about branches. Upending this kind of thinking, one ecommerce giant has been opening retail locations even during the pandemic – when people have been intentionally limiting their shopping excursions.
With their Amazon Fresh grocery and Amazon Go cashless stores, the digital retail giant has been investing in store locations, along with their industry-leading home delivery services, to create the kind of seamless omnichannel experiences consumers demand, pandemic or not. “They could have curbside pickup, they could have delivery, they can buy online and pick up in store – they can sort of interact with us in the way that they choose,” Juliet D’Ambrosio explains. Further, she describes how Chase is leaning into that same type of digital through to physical design with its retail branch expansion over the past several years.
Another investment into brick-and-mortar is store-in-store retail concepts seen in Best Buy with its Apple shop, a concept also found in JC Penney and Sephora, spotlighting their own premiere partnerships. Juliet D’Ambrosio describes these experience-first pop shops as a way to add value for consumers. “I think that it could be something that the financial industry could consider doing and especially with things like hospitality or vacation brands where the consumer is already in a financial environment,” D’Ambrosio states. “What if there were an Airbnb planning section within a financial institution where you pull those connected activities together?”
Another leader that consistently inspires on their signature service is Chick-Fil-A. Their renowned drive-thru strategy – which Juliet D’Ambrosio helped design – puts people first, making customers feel like the brand values their time, no matter how long the line is. While efficiency is at the heart of the drive-thru experience, “what Chick-Fil-A does incredibly well is they built everything from the point of view of the guest,” according to Juliet D’Ambrosio. “They’re not called customers or diners, they are considered guests.” That guest experience is carried all the way through every brand interaction, up to and including “my pleasure” as a standard response.
For all of Adrenaline’s insights, read the Financial Brand’s full article on 8 Inspirational Ideas from Other Industries that Banks Should Use Too.
The Financial Brand is a digital publishing platform focused on brand, marketing and strategy in financial services. Serving high-level leaders, the trade publication features ideas, insights and information for banks and credit unions building their brands and covers a range of critical issues facing FIs today, including technology, customer service and branch transformation.
To speak with one of our thought leaders on customer experience and banking best practices, contact us at info@adrenalinex.com. Also, be sure to stay tuned in to Believe in Banking as it highlights industry insights and Adrenaline’s Insights channel for banking and credit union strategies for success.
Adrenaline is a brand experience company that creates and implements end-to-end branded experiences through creative and environmental design. We enhance our clients’ customer experiences across digital and physical channels, from their branding and advertising to design and technology in their spaces. After transforming an organization’s brand, Adrenaline extends it across all touchpoints — from employees to the market to in-store environments. And, we focus on serving industries that sell human experiences including financial, healthcare, sports and entertainment.
