March 1, 2011
Kaplan University, Marketing AB219-01
Introduction
Financial institutions such as Umpqua Bank know the positive impact of employee incentive programs. Financial institutions such as Umpqua believe that they can ensure their customers will be treated well by first treating their employees well. They go beyond compensation to make their employees feel valued by using performance recognition programs. An annual awards gala for employees, on-the-spot employee-to-employee recognition rewards, ongoing training and development opportunities, and a paid-time volunteer program are some of the programs that are offered. In 2007 Umpqua Bank placed 34th in Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work for” list, proving that employees truly feel valued by Umpqua (Casison-Tansiri, 2007). Characteristics Affecting One’s Choice to Become A Customer
Umpqua Bank is a new generation of the banking. This gives new sense to bank work culture where most of the works is done by online transactions. As customers do not wants to go to the bank just for transaction only. Rather Umpqua bank wants customers to come to their branch and spend their time. Umpqua calls itself an Innovation lab (Umpqua Bank, 2011).
A bank is like a small community where different cultures, subcultures, and every segment of social class people visit. The customer is made to feel comfortable spending time at the bank which also gives more opportunities to Umpqua bank to interact with its potential customers and the ability to meet their financial needs. As Umpqua states, “It’s understanding our customer’s financial needs and at the same time realizing there’s more to life than money” (Umpqua Bank, 2011). So whether a consumer walks into the bank wanting information on a basic account or has thousands of dollars to invest, they can be assured that their need will be met with the greatest attention and respect.
References: Casison-Tansiri, J. 2007. Solid Returns. Manage Smarter. Retrieved February 26, 2011 from http://www.managesmarter.com. Haywood, Lani. Umpqua Bank Transcript. Kohler 13th Edition Chapter # 18. Retrieved from Kaplan Course Home, Document Sharing, February 25, 2011. Marketing, An Introduction, Global Edition, Custom Edition. 2011. Pearson Learning Solutions. Umpqua Bank – Welcome to Umpqua Bank. 2011. Retrieved February 25, 2011 from http://www.umpquabank.com/