Well, it looks like the bankers in the WaMu commercials have prevailed. Chase is in the process of dismantling WaMu’s distinctive branches (including the groundbreaking Occasio branches) and converting them to standard Chase branches. There’s no word on the whereabouts of WaMu’s spokesman, Bill, but has anyone checked that unusual lump in the end zone at Giants Stadium?

You can get the full story at the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) or here. Also, Jeffry Pilcher has a thorough opinion piece at The Financial Brand.

One could take this story a number of ways, but it’s probably best to accept that for better or worse many financial institutions are in a period of retrenchment, where the appetite for experimentation is temporarily suppressed. However, as anyone who’s been in business for more than a decade will tell you, the pendulum eventually swings back. It may be a ways off, but we will eventually return to a period of unabashed innovation in retail banking.

Meanwhile, banks still need to retain customers and generate cross-sales. Our survey of European and South African banks we learned that cross-sales was the number-one concern of retail marketers. Anecdotal evidence tells us that North American bank marketers have the same sense of urgency about strengthening and deepening relationships with customers.

So, how can banks like Chase, who remain committed to traditional branches, innovate within their four walls? I expect that if we see any innovation, it will be in the areas of in-branch marketing and in the sales process itself. We’re already seeing an explosion of interest in digital signage, which has great potential for cross-sales and adds a dynamic element to otherwise staid branches. We’re also seeing renewed interest in sales training. And so-called “educational marketing” seems to be a growing trend.

What these methodologies all have in common is that they can be highly localized. Digital messaging, for instance, can be customized down to the branch and screen level. It can be designed to change according to local events, market conditions and sales data. So, until the pendulum swings back in the other direction and banks once again tinker with the fundamentals of retail delivery, localization may be the only way that bank marketers can work within the traditional branch and offer an antidote to large-scale one-branch-fits-all banking.

Barclays president Robert Diamond, Jr. appears on CNBC

Barclays president Robert Diamond, Jr. appears on CNBC

Jeffry Pilcher at The Financial Brand has a brilliant post, “PR now completely overshadows ads in financial crisis,” which is highly recommended. It focuses on the need for big banks to avoid the temptation to advertise as they try to regain credibility in the eyes of the public. Instead, the post argues, banks should try to get the word out via executive TV interviews, speeches and op-ed pieces.

I certainly wouldn’t argue with the need for any company to manage crisis by becoming a visible and vocal presence in the media. But I would add that executives need to be equally visible with customers. So, while they need to get the word out, they also need to spread it internally.

The public furor over the financial crisis is simply going to take some time to sort out. In the meantime, customers have questions about the health of their own bank, and even more acutely, the health of their own finances. If ever there was a time for banks to be communicating with customers (and not selling at them), it’s now.

Below are just three ways that bank executives can reach out to customers:

• CEO message – What’s the chief executive’s take on the economy and the bank? What will the bank do for customers as times get/stay tough? On video, the format can be a monologue, or, if the CEO is not telegenic, a scripted Q&A with a professional presenter. If video isn’t possible, consider the use of audio, newsletter, statement stuffers or email.
• Online video – The cost of shooting and hosting video online is negligible. So, why not produce, post and promote a series of videos featuring key executives on issues that matter to customers? Some possible topics:
  - CEO on the “state of the bank”
  - Chief economist on the bank’s economic forecast
  - Head of Retail on how the bank is modifying products/polices to help customers
  - Head of Business Banking on how what the bank is offering business owners
• Executive roadshow - Local TV newscasts are actually enjoying increased ratings in this downturn. Yet, most of them don’t often get to interview top banking executives. Have any banks taken advantage of this by organizing a series of local TV interviews? The same interviews could be replayed in local branches to great effect.
• Branch visits – Lunchtime Q&A sessions at local branches can go a long way not only to get out key messages, but to demonstrate (not only at the event but via run-up promotions and post-event rebroadcasts) that the bank is trying to be accessible and helpful.

Don’t underestimate the importance of “trying.” After all, no single bank can cure the economy, much less save all its customers from economic perdition. It can take some tangible steps to soften the blow, to be sure. But when it comes to soothing customers fears, building goodwill and ultimately retaining customers, perception is everything.

Update (3/20, 12:50 p.m.)
And on the other hand, there’s this…

Ads Raise Confidence in Ailing Financial Brands (via @Kevin_McIntosh_)

I suppose for some customers, just seeing that the bank can afford TV spots provides the comforting impression that the bank is stable and solvent. Of course, it’s key that the ads strike the right tone. I’m sure there’s a fine line there, however. Some consumers may construe the adspend as an inappropriate use of money in this climate.

However, here’s an interesting find from the article that relates to this (and Jeffry’s) post:

When asked what factors would increase confidence in the safety and soundness of their financial institution, respondents cited:

* Seeing regular advertising for that institution (25%)
* Receiving regular mail or email offers from that institution (25%)
* Regularly seeing internet offers/advertising from that institution (21%)
* Reading positive stories in the press about that institution (44%)

Clearly, Nielsen drew the wrong conclusion from their own study. No single activity in the list has the impact of PR! Unfortunately, the study didn’t ask respondents about their would-be reaction to in-branch or other local activities as I described above. And even if they had, it’s possible that responents would have given it low marks, as there is no historical precedent for bank executives taking the message to the streets.