This year, Farmers and Merchants Bank is celebrating 100 years in California and existence. I have no personal experience with the bank except for sitting behind a busboard advertising this fact. The way it was advertised is "Banking California for 100 years." I was sitting behind the bus long enough to thing about the grammar of that sentence. When I think of banking as a verb, I think of myself as a customer doing the banking. Sure, we all know what a banker does, but I don't know if I were to speak to a banker, he or she would tell me that, for a living, they bank. Instead, the verb would most commonly be used in the sentence "I bank with..." and an institutional name insertion occurs. Princeton University at WordNet offers one definition as "do business with a bank or keep an account at a bank; "Where do you bank in this town?"' I don't think of myself has having been banked by Bank of America or Wells Fargo. I bank with them. They don't bank me or my state.



Maybe that took a long time to say, but what it comes down to is that the marketing focus is not on the customer. The busboard is saying, "Look at us." Apparently, it might be company wide culture, because the "About Us" section definitely tells "about them." Is there anything wrong with that? Not necessarily. 37Signals has an about us section that definitely focuses on themselves. But it's done in a different way. The entire "About Us" section reads:



"We’re a privately-held Chicago-based company committed to building the best web-based software products possible with the least number of features necessary. Our products do less than the competition — intentionally. We’ve been in business since 1999 and love what we do."



So, you can have an "About Us" section focusing on yourself and what you do, but have it still be done in a way that makes you want to join the group. As a contrast, take the time to read Pacific Premiere Bank's "About Us" section. It's only a paragraph also.



"Originally founded in 1983, Pacific Premier Bank is committed to the growth and vitality of the Southern California communities in which we do business. The Bank offers a wide range of business and consumer products and services through its retail branch network as well as it's highly interactive web site. At Pacific Premier Bank, you get exceptional service, with the personalized attention that can only come from a locally based dedicated community banker."



Even though the banner at F&M claims that the customer is the mainstay, which company do you think is actually more focused on the customer? Maybe it's only the "About Us" section and I'm extrapolating a little too much, or maybe it's company culture that has found it's way into the "About Us" section on each website. Based on personal experience with 37signals and Pacific Premiere, I would go with the latter. According to Kathy Sierra, this is "The New Way."



So, what's your company culture? Is it seeping through in unexpected places?