In the event that more than one branch needs to be updated, changed, or redesigned, it is considered a branch network transformation. Ideally, a financial institution would plan to have all of its branches updated within a short time period to maintain a consistent brand and public appearance. Consumers most frequently interact with your branches, so they should be positioned to bring you the most success. Consider these factors and how to adapt your branches to meet them.
Growth: Growth is a good thing. It means that your financial institution is increasing its consumer base, you’re gaining more employees, and in general, you can predict a future of success. However, you need to ensure that your branches reflect this growth to best serve your consumers. This may mean building more locations, ensuring those locations are in the best sites or overhauling a design to include more space for employees and/or technology.
Consolidation: In order to save money and manpower, sometimes the smartest thing for a financial institution to do is to consolidate. This doesn’t always mean the business is shrinking, it could just mean that more consumers are shifting to digital channels as opposed to more physical retail branches. Consolidating means optimizing the branch to ensure space isn’t wasted and that employees and consumers have the best resources available without your institution having to waste unnecessary time or money.
Mergers: A merger or acquisition can be an exciting and challenging time for financial institutions. You have to combine and adapt brands, integrate new consumers, and find a balance between old and new. Branches also have to reflect this critical change. If branches feel too disjointed, it won’t reflect the new sense of unity and trust consumers need to have. After a merger, nearly all branches need to undergo a transformation to adapt to new branding and designs.
NewGround understands retail branches. We have years of experience designing branch prototypes and rolling them out across several locations. If you’d like to see examples of our work, check out our work with ABCU Credit Union, a branch that needed to adapt after several mergers, or 1st Choice Savings & Credit Union, a branch that required a unique design to meet local standards.
If you’re unsure which of your branches would need to be changed, check out our free Branch Growth Snapshot to get a sneak peek into the future of your branches.
