Integrated luxury brand with lush branch, gorgeous website
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Loading ...Every now and then, there’s a bank that really understands the importance of having an integrated brand supporting a narrow focus on a specific audience.
Goldwater Bank, targeting upscale residents in the posh retirement mecca of Scottsdale, Arizona, is such a bank. Their website is a visually lush and stunning reflection of the bank’s equally-impressive in-branch experience.
When you pull up to their prestigious location on Scottsdale’s ritzy waterfront, you can have the Goldwater valet park your car for you. Then, when you’re inside, you can help yourself to a cold drink from the refrigerator and check your email on a new Apple Macintosh. There are no tellers, just private, sit-down transaction pods.
Everything about them is refined, sophisticated. Even the name is on-brand.
They call it “Lifestyle Banking,” and it’s built on what they refer to as “The Five C’s:”
Common sense- Courtesy
- Customization
- Concierge
- Courier
It’s the last two C’s – the concierge and courier – that really stand out. Yep. That’s right. They have a courier. If you’re too busy to make it to the bank, don’t worry. You can use Goldwater’s door-to-door banking services.
That’s not all. Their concierge will help you with everything from taking care of your pets to picking up your mail. They’ll also help you with such things as buying flowers, arranging dinners, booking exotic trips, getting tickets to exclusive events, and all that other stuff the rich don’t have time to do themselves.
Luxury banking with swanky pampering. Sounds pretty nice, doesn’t it?
Surprisingly, this bank isn’t just for the super-rich and mega-famous. The minimum required to open a checking account is $25,000. Maintain an average balance above that and you qualify as a member of their Elite Status program.
The only downside to the website is its music track. It gets old pretty quickly. And forgets that your preference was “no music” when you reload the site.
Key Takeaway: When you focus on a specific audience and their unique needs, it’s much easier to align every aspect of your organization around a cohesive brand — what you do, what you offer and how you offer it.
Source: Cashcow.in (thanks!)
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Tags: emerging affluent, lifestyle banking, luxury, upscale, wealth management
July 21st, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Looks pretty sweet! I was totally let down when I took a demo of their online banking. If you’ve got kick ass digs like that, you’ve gotta have an online banking interface to match.
July 21st, 2008 at 7:42 pm
Agreed. Thanks for doing the extra legwork to investigate!
July 22nd, 2008 at 8:35 am
Great concept, one that I think has traction in a lot of markets.
I did get a kick out of the graphic they used to represent “Remote Capture.” As FI’s we still seem to have trouble describing this service properly to our customers (and in this case - describing it properly to the web designer!!).
ps: Great site! Keep up the good work.
July 22nd, 2008 at 9:22 am
Thanks for the comment Marc. You’re absolutely right, this idea can play in any market with a concentration of affluents.
Branding is all about differentiating in a relevant way. Goldwater had done this — in one swoop, simply by narrowing its target audience down as finely as possible/practical. They are able to connect with their customers by providing a solution unlike other banks (differentiated) that aligns with their target’s lifestyle (relevant).
They would have never ended up with this brand if they had said their target audience is “people ages 25-55, with a slight focus on women.”
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:33 am
Check out Great Wisconsin Credit Union: http://www.greatwisconsincu.org
It’s not quite Goldwater obvious, but can you tell what their target market is after a few clicks through the site?
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Interesting site for Great Wisconsin. Seems like (young/active) women are the target. They present it well as to not be exclusionary towards men, but it isn’t hidden. I like the “Changing Your Marital Status” section…with links for those on the way in (getting married) and out (getting divorced).
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Ha, I caught the “Changing Your Marital Status” thing too. I love looking at the various ways financial institutions tackle lifestage marketing. To me, this was the most interesting part of the site.