Commerce Bank Case Study

Retailtainment is a term rarely used in banking. Banks do not usually target the experience of the customer in a specific branch as a main objective, more so almost every bank is pushing to drive customers to use electronic resources for their day to day transactions such as deposit and withdrawals. In this case, Commerce Bank is a bank willing to go to the extremes just to make the customers experience worthwhile, as one of the most well-known Commerce Bank employee trainer stated “we’re not here to satisfy customers, we’re here to blow them away”.
Now, the question that we are asked to give answer to is the role that Retailtainment plays in the delivery of Commerce Bank’s mission. Vernon Hill founded this bank with a mission, a commitment to do things differently. This mission has been widely accepted, proof of that is the exponential growth of the company and its business, having started with just a couple of branches in New Jersey to having more than 435 branches in different states. Vernon felt that if he could make the customer experience feel like any other experience they felt when purchasing at a retail store, he could turn that into profitable business.
For us to really understand the role that Retailtainment plays in Commerce Bank mission delivery we need to fully grasp the concept. Retailtainment is more than entertaining a customer, it is a conscientious effort to use every element at your disposal to influence the decision maker. Businesses that focus on providing these types of experiences to customers tend to focus more on the customer experience and the atmosphere rather than on the products itself. One of the disadvantages of this model is its high cost, due to the great amount of detail that goes into creating this experience. Everything has to be in place and has to go accordingly, the slightest mistake can ruin any other effort, the ambience, the experience, sounds and emotion all have to have armony and match with everything else. If