A Caring Community

Northwestern Financial Review, May 15-May 31, 2005 by Hilgert, Jackie

Minnesota's Community Bank Group offers seniors more than safety and soundness

Roy Terwilliger admits there probably are more efficient ways to operate Community Bank Group, the Wayzata, Minn., holding company for Community Bank Winsted and the seven offices that make up Community Bank Minnesota Valley.

"We could pool accounts and operations, and have fewer locations, fewer tellers and such," said the soft-spoken chairman of Community Bank Group. "But then we wouldn't be the same bank."

Terwilliger made that admission recently while standing with six of seven bank employees dedicated to managing Community Bank's seniors club - an effort that serves customers in about 700 households. And while the club leaders all have other roles within the bank, the investment Terwilliger made when he launched Community Club gives credence to the longtime banker and former state Senator's desire to build a bank that is a caring and friendly neighbor.

Terwilliger's first experience with marketing to seniors through an affinity club came at Suburban National Bank, which he started in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie in 1974. "The club there was an huge success," he recalled, "so we thought we should start one charter to Jordan and, along with a name change branched back to Henderson. The bank also had acquired a former TCF location in LeSueur and brought it into the fold. Once it consolidated those five Minnesota River valley offices into the Jordan charter, the bank launched Community Club. The club also operates in Winsted even here." The bank turned to Reno, Nev.-based Heritage Clubs International to get the effort going.

The bank launched Community Club in 1999 after it did a bit of internal restructuring. At one point, Community Bank operated three charters. The Winsted location had one. Another charter was held by Community Bank, St. Peter, which had offices in St. Peter and Cleveland; and the holding company also owned Sibley County Bank in Henderson, which later moved its though that location retains its original charter.

Despite the internal consolidation, developing a relationship-driven marketing program for six of the eight offices - each located in a different rural community presented a challenge. "It's quite a team," said Nyla Probst, branch administrator for the bank's LeSueur office. Probst manages the Community Club in a town of 26,000 people with Barb Iten and serves as lead club director on a team that is made up of Sarah Riga, Jordan; Ginger Deno, Henderson; Deb Geldner, St. Peter; Karen Ziesmer, Cleveland, and Mary Quast in Winsted. Probst acts as information central for the effort yet allows each director to set programming for her location. Each director also manages her own budget.

There were several kick-off parties - one at each location that included dinner and entertainment. The offices staggered the events allowing Terwilliger to attend them all. Probst said all the eligible customers who attended those kick-off dinners joined the club.

Together - and separately - the club directors work to communicate the bank's mission of being a caring neighbor. They invite customers in for socials and offer a periodic first-run movie at a theater in LeSueur - an event that draws from all of the bank's market areas. The club also offers travel opportunities both far and near - but mostly near, as age and lower interest rates have stifled the ability of many to travel extensively.

In its sixth year, the club is growing, albeit slowly.

At Community Bank in St. Peter, where competition among banks is tight and there are other bank clubs trying to lure seniors through their doors, club membership has grown more slowly than in Winsted, for example. "I've got a younger clientele and it's difficult to get people to be active because they work," Geldner said. Yet seniors who have joined the Community Club in St. Peter have told Geldner that they appreciate how much the bank cares about them as a people - not just customers. "Many have had their spouses pass on and family move away," Geldner said. "We watch out for them." Some, in turn, watch out for Geldner; one gentleman brings homemade sweets into the bank for Geldner and her coworkers to share. It's the type of gesture that's commonplace among caring neighbors.

Deno has built membership by focusing on individuals. "I had one that I worked on for three years!" she said. "Now he's traveling with me." Another gentleman that Deno had her eye on for awhile became a customer because a competing bank requested he submit to fingerprinting. "He was very upset about that," Deno said. The man brought his money to Community Bank and now she's working on getting him to join the club.

By concentrating on customers as individuals, it's not a surprise that Community Club's membership is smaller than one might find at a similarly sized bank. The membership as a whole, however, is fairly loyal, Probst said.

"I wanted to stay away from the sort of mercenary approach to banking where customers think we're only interested in their money," Terwilliger said of his affection for the bank's seniors club. He's so supportive of the effort that he makes sure he's present each month when the seven directors gather to brainstorm ideas and plan their calendars. His presence at the meetings is meant to send a message to the rest of the bank, he said, especially upper management. "I don't want the club to get lost as we go about the business of banking," Terwilliger explained.