OCTOBER 22, 2009 ISSUE
Business Spotlight
LifeStore Seeks To Be Lifelong Resource
AF Bank Changes Name, Look, Updates Philosophy
The redesigned lobby in the LifeStore Bank’s 1675 Blowing Rock Road location in Boone features teller pods, which replace traditional teller lines. The physical changes come as part of the more customer-based philosophy the former AF Bank is currently implementing in its branches. Photo by Ken Ketchie
The large brick building located at 1675 Blowing Rock Road in Boone, formerly AF Bank, is now the prototype for the financial institution’s forward-thinking, changed look and feel. The most noticeable change from a motorists’ perspective is the new, prominent orange “LifeStore” sign.
The LifeStore name was chosen to replace AF Bank to reflect the business’ desire to meet the financial needs of customers throughout their lives. Representatives from the bank, consulting groups and research companies chose the new “mango and pewter” color scheme for LifeStore.
“We kept coming back to it, and the reason is because it is so nontraditional for financial services,” said Judy Current, vice president and marketing and public relations director.
“We wanted people to see our signs and know we’re here,” Current said.
Judy Current, LifeStore vice president and marketing and public relations director, explains the LifePlan Center, a new online tool to help customers prepare financially for both planned and unplanned events in their lives. Photo by Ken Ketchie
LifeStore Financial Group serves six counties in northwestern North Carolina, operating seven bank branches in Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties—some of which also offer insurance. The corporation also operates four standalone insurance offices, two of which offer mortgage services as well, and one standalone mortgage office.
The bold color scheme is part of the new branding effort, but the branding itself only scratches the surface of what the local banking group hopes to accomplish.
“It’s a paradigm shift for employees and customers, too,” said Bob Washburn, president and CEO.
At the heart of the new philosophy is a more customer-based model of business.
Employees will ask about all the events going on in customers’ lives to determine their banking or insurance needs, incorporating events such as births, planning for college and other expected and unexpected events into their financial planning, Washburn said.
Current came on staff in January 2008 after she learned the bank was looking for a marketing employee for the transition, which sounded “so unusual for a local bank…I wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
LifeStore’s new teller pods replace the traditional teller line in banks. Resembling small café or coffee shop ordering counters, two pods, each with two computers, enable the employees stationed at the pods to establish more meaningful relationships with customers, Current said.
The pods are governed by an onstage/offstage concept, Current said. Offices in the back of the building are used for employees to return phone calls, fill out paperwork and complete other tasks, she explained, but when an employee has a customer in front of them at the pods, the customer is their only focus.
Bob Washburn, president and CEO of LifeStore Bank, is enthusiastic about the future of the former AF Bank as the company embraces a paradigm shift. Photo submitted
“The phones aren’t ringing,” Current said. “There are no phones [at the pods]. It’s all to be onstage with the customer.”
A greeter station is located immediately inside the remodeled Boone building, and upon entering the building, a greeter will direct customers to the appropriate services.
“We feel it’s a real plus that we have so many services under one roof,” Current said, naming banking, insurance and commercial loans as several of the services offered.
Rooms to one side of the lobby are used for opening accounts, discussing CDs (Certificates of Deposit) or other matters, and rooms to the other side of the lobby provide office space for LifeStore’s employees who work in insurance.
The LifeStore concept was four years in the making, but even before that planning stage was research, Current said.
AF Bank was founded as Ashe Building and Loan Association in 1939, receiving its state charter and beginning in West Jefferson, where it is still headquartered today. The company has undergone 15 name changes in its history, all but three of which included “AF.” Research sought to find a niche for the bank and what it could do to be different, in both name and approach, she said.
“We’ve gotten so accustomed to traditional banks. We expect it to be conservative [and] kind of quiet [inside],” Current said.
The more personable atmosphere of LifeStore is one way in which it strives to break out of the mold.
David Cottrell, market president and a LifeStore employee for the past 10 years, will lead the LifeStore branding efforts in Boone. Photo submitted
Other new amenities at LifeStore include a coin counter, which is free to customers, and a commercial window to service business owners. LifeStore branded merchandise—including umbrellas, T-shirts, bags and books about financial planning—is available for sale in the bank.
LifeStore has also embraced technology in its everyday operations. Each Saturday, one loan officer works in one of the facilities, but customers at any of the locations can participate in a teleconference with the loan officer, who can answer their questions or help with a loan application, Current said.
A paperless account option for customers is another recent change, she said, adding that statistics show that transactions have changed over the years, and some people never write a check or use paper for anything in their banking experience.
Washburn said his son is one of those who never uses checks and pays all his bills online, but LifeStore also caters to the other end of the spectrum—people who do not even own computers and want the face-to-face interaction at the bank—as well as meeting needs for everyone in between the two banking style extremes, he said.
Other new concepts are extended weekday hours and Saturday hours, as well as the LifePlan Center—an online resource center that is accessible by clicking to www.golifeplan.com.
The website includes tips on writing a resume, what questions to ask when securing a first job, tips on buying a first home as well as advice on an array of other topics.
The idea for the LifePlan Center came about as AF Bank employees encountered many customers over the years who lacked access to such resources or had not planned for unforeseen life circumstances, Current said.
A “What If” section of the website broaches topics including loss of job, long-term illness and divorce.
“We combine a lot of different resources into the LifePlan Center,” Current said.
Although currently strictly a resource center, the website will eventually allow people to create individual accounts, she said.
“We knew using this tool would be an integral part of the [overall LifeStore] plan,” Current said of the LifePlan Center.
“We’re excited with what we’ve got,” Washburn said. “There is going to be more to it in upcoming months.”
One resource that will be available soon is a tool that allows people to fill out a series of questions and then automatically takes the answers and fills them into the appropriate places on a financial form, he said.
“Standard financial forms look like Greek to a lot of people,” Washburn said, adding that this tool will be a more consumer-friendly way of filling out financial forms.
LifeStore “didn’t participate in the subprime lending market,” Current said. “We maintained very conservative lending practices [and were] able to really stay out of that.”
Despite being on perhaps more solid financial ground than other institutions for that reason, some people have questioned the financial undertaking of re-branding and recreating the bank at this time.
Current has been asked, “Shouldn’t you have waited until the market is more stable?,” she said, but replies that, “We feel this is an investment in our future so we can be here [and] not be part of a merger.”
LifeStore implemented its new branding elements on September 28, and the Boone location is the first bank to receive the full physical makeover. Other branches have implemented parts of the overall design concept, and, in time, will make the full transition as well.
“We’re doing kinds of things to meet customers’ expectation [and we will] be ahead of the curve,” Washburn said. “We’ve been here for 70 years [and] we hope to be for many, many more years.”
“Once [customers] understand what the name means, I feel they’ll embrace it,” Current said of LifeStore. “Our desire to help the customer is really unique, [we are] not just [offering] the customer a service or product. It’s a place for the small community member.”
LifeStore has plans for another release of the LifePlan Center for small businesses, she added.
“As a local bank and a local insurance company, I think that’s one of our strengths—we have a person who can go onsite [to small businesses],” Current said.
And those in the community who are curious about the new LifeStore look are encouraged to take a peek.
“We invite customers and noncustomers to come in,” Current said. “We would be absolutely delighted to give a tour [and] show them the LifePlan Center [and] coin counter.”
For more information or to view hours or other locations, click to www.golifestore.com.
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