There are many practices in the running of our operations that are legacy practices. The “beloved companies” stand out because they break from the pack in how they develop an experience to intersect with the customers’ life in a personal and differentiated manner.

This inspiring story of Umpqua Bank shows how a much regulated industry changed their growth trajectory because of how they enabled the front line to serve the entire customers’ need.

What are you challenging in your operation?
Customer experiences are delivered year after year in many industries without challenging or changing process, policy or approach in what they do. And when questioned the answer is “this how we always do this.” And then they wonder why they don’t stand out in the marketplace.

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.

This year, new research by Peppers & Rogers shows that “experience” in retail banking is essentially lacking. Their key findings included that less than one-third of the banks surveyed have a clear definition of their customer experience. I call this ‘clarity of purpose.’ And it is one of the key defining characteristics of organizations that thrive in good times and bad.

Clarity of purpose unites the organization from executing tasks to delivering an experience customers want to experience and tell others about. It unleashes the organization’s ability across the silos – to make decisions guided by its purpose, its promise.

Editor’s note: Read part two of this blog tomorrow.