If I were a bank, I’d want to be Umpqua Bank. That’s a bank with class.

Consider its “Wish Upon a Star” program, which grants holiday wishes to those in need. Or the fact its web site links to local musicians, allowing users to create a playlist ($0.75 per song) plus $5.25 for the playlist burned, wrapped and delivered.

Umpqua takes a retail approach, and has for years, to keep its customers its customers. There’s been a lot said about Umpqua over the years, but now seems like a particularly appropriate time to understand its customer-centric approach with banking in tatters.

“If you lead with service, the sales will follow,” says Lani Hayward, executive vice president of creative strategies at Umpqua Bank. “Banks are entrenched with sales. If you lead with service, you have more opportunity to sell.”

HANGING OUT

Part of this has to do with creating atmosphere.

“You want to create an experience where people want to hang out,” Hayward says. “Good retailers want you to hang out so you can make impulse buys.” To help create this atmosphere, Umpqua hired merchandisers that come from varied backgrounds, ranging from Starbucks to Nordstrom.

“You have to rip everything apart and rethink what a bank can be,” she says. To do this, a bank must look outside of the industry and follow others’s models like The Ritz.

The bank fosters a community via a social networking site, LocalSpace, which allows people to connect with their community and their neighborhoods. No bank information is relayed on the site, and thus far, no compliance issues have come up.

When engaging in online conversations like blogging, as a bank or any business, it is important to monitor it, Hayward says.

One challenge Umpqua faces is shifting more of its culture online, a feat Hayward says no one has quite cracked yet. “True power is through the socialization of things,” she says, noting if banks can take advantage of this, there is a big opportunity.

CAN BIGGER BANKS CREATE ATMOSPHERE?

Bigger banks can improve its looks, Hayard says, but not necessarily shift the culture.

“If I’m Bank of America or Citigroup, I have plenty of resources to build pretty stores, but it’s harder to create a cultural shift about how you operate and how people feel about their jobs to make it more special.”

This doesn’t mean financial institutions aren’t trying.

My local Chase bank tried to seduce me into choosing it as my primary bank today. Instead of standing in line to cash a check, the manager pulled me aside, offered me a seat and cashed my check for me. Maybe taking a cue from Umpqua? I have to say, as a consumer, I enjoy personal touches.