CX is the new battleground, but are banks missing out on an opportunity to create a winning customer experience by not employing rigorous service design methodologies when it comes to new model bank branch design?
Capitalising on the shift to digital retail banks are taking the initiative to redesign and rationalise their branch portfolio. Some have gone space age, many have adopted the style of an internet café and others have gone Apple-esque.
The cost of implementation is high, yet many of these new format and highly stylised branches are not delivering on their intent. Here we explore why and how banks could employ design thinking approaches to optimise the bank branch experience.
Let’s start with the intent.
Branch re-design is typically being driven by several factors:
- Repurposing the branch as a sales and consultation space, whilst using lower cost digital channels to manage transactions
- Using the branch to educate, assist and encourage customers to facilitate and speed up the adoption of digital channels
- Acting as a public showcase to enhance the bank’s position as an innovator
- Enabling self-service to drive cost efficiency and reduction in full time employee count
These are all good and strong reasons to modernise the branch design. However, these are all motivations that serve the bank’s purpose. What’s in it for the customer?
If the customer experience is not kept front and central to any redesign you can expect a disconnect between the intent and the result.