The Branch of the Future webinar, held on 26 October,
presented by Retail Banker Interactive in association with
Finacle from Infosys, was a holistic, information-packed session
that threw light on various aspects of bank branches and their
possible evolution
With more and more branches shutting down, the Branch of the Future
webinar – the second webinar held by RBI and Finacle –
highlighted why and how branches are helping lenders strengthen
their brand value and earn profits.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Chaired by RBI editor Douglas Blakey,
the speakers of the webinar were Sai Kumar Jayanty – lead product
manager at Finacle, Michael Allen – chairman and managing director
at Allen International, and Wayne Bossert – executive vice
president sales for Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
Starting off the webinar, Jayanty stressed on
how despite their decline, branches still remain key in acquiring
customers and selling more complex products.
Emotional orientation
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Jayanty said the need
for the existence of branches in day to day lives is one essential
measurement of how well satisfied customers are with a bank’s
service, as it is largely about the customer experience.
“This customer experience varies through the
various interactions we have with a bank – through the various
channel such as branches, internet banking, mobile banking, call
centres, etc,” explained Jayanty.
According to Jayanty, the catalyst for optimum
customer experience is “emotional balance”, as it has been proven
by a recent study that “customer experience is enriched and
satisfied when it is emotionally oriented rather than rationally
oriented”.
“Emotionally satisfied customers have higher
rate of spending and contributing to the bank profits or the bank’s
revenue compared to customers who are rationally satisfied, or just
met with their financial needs,” said Jayanty.
However, customer engagement alone is not
enough for banks to be successful, said Jayanty, adding that it is
equally important for the branch staff to “have enough knowledge to
service the customer”.
Jayanty said that one can clearly see the
evolution of the bank from a transaction-based role to an advisory
role globally.
“For key products and services in a bank, the
customer needs are advisory. The branch will be a brand ambassador,
it will be a place where not just transactions take place but
customers also get advice,” said Jayanty.
Jayanty informed that it is important that the
technology available to the staff at branches – particularly those
in the front line – present multi-channel capabilities and that the
technology they hold have a 360 degree view of all the products and
services the branch has to offer.
At the end of his presentation, Jayanty said
that while branches are taking on a more advisory role, it is
important that they are not only offering the right experience but
also providing the right product.
“All these things are reshaping and
influencing the design of the branches so that branches have the
technology and are ready for the customers of tomorrow,” added
Jayanty.
Technological innovations
Taking this point
further, Allen presented four case studies that prove how
technological advancements and needs have influenced the look,
feel, and persona of several bank branches across the world.
Allen focused, through his case histories, on
banks are concentrating on incorporating new technology appealing
to the youth, environmental segmentation, multisensory branding,
and social networking in retail branches.
Starting with the iBank store from the
National Bank of Greece, Allen stressed on how “even in a bad
economic climate like Greece, branch design can really play an
important part in increasing revenues and assist in improving a
bank’s image in a very positive way”.
Allen moved on to Santander Select in Mexico,
Helm, and Bancolombia in Colombia – specifically citing how each of
these concept branches are changing the way lenders operate and
reach out to their customers.
Where Santander Select is about mass affluent
customers, and Santander has brought in lifestyle brands that
“complement Select”, Helm is the first bank in the world to offer
“multisensory branding” that is designed to “appeal to all
senses”.
“The idea is as the customer comes into the
branch, he can smell the brand, taste the brand, see the brand, and
of course they can touch the brand.
“Latest results have shown that the brand
awareness has increased by a 100% in 18 months. Customer
satisfaction moved from 92% to 98%. And new branches have shown a
25% increase in new customers,” informed Allen.
With Bancolumbia, the challenge was to
increase the brand value and “integrate it as part of the local
community”, said Allen.
In the Bancolumbia branch, Hub of Columbia –
an area that is developed “almost like a Facebook space where
customer can contribute images, ideas, film, sound to an
ever-growing digital database” – has been designed that is “working
and reacting with the local community in a really positive way”,
said Allen.
The Hub concept is being rolled out in all
Bancolumbia branches, Allen informed.
Customer first
The last speaker,
Bossert, said at the very onset that close to three quarters of
RBC’s profit comes from its retail banking operations.
RBC has revamped its retail branch and
launched concept RBC stores recently.
Bossert said that “integrated distribution
channels have been very important to us” and “the branch plays a
very important role in that in the short and mid term, but also in
the long term with the investments we are making.”
RBC wants to use branches to better educate
customers.
Through RBC research, the lender has found
that the primary reason why customers keep returning to branches is
because of the “quality of our people and the support that they can
provide”, informed Bossert.
Bossert focused on how RBC branches have “best
in class retail services” alongside a merchandising drop in the
community and transaction zone that aims to educate customers as to
how to use the RBC channels.
The new seminar area that aims to draw in
customers into a “buzz of activity” is also a point of focus at RBC
stores and customers’ also have the opportunity to interact with
“experts on demand”.
The concept RBC braches have experienced “good
sales life” that is relevant in “paying for the slight premium that
it takes to launch this kind of a branch”, said Bossert.
The Q & A session that followed was packed
with listener queries and interesting responses.
A key question to Bossert was, “On average,
how quickly do the new retail concept RBC stores become
profitable?” To this Bossert’s reply was that RBC is investing a
premium into these stores that are 15% to 20% more in cost.
However, “that premium is paid back in the first year”.
Bossert added that the additional investment
is “worth it” as the new stores represent the RBC brand, and also
pay back more than traditional branch do.
When questions about geographical
specifications and comparisons came up, Allen informed that a lot
of the location-based needs differ around security and privacy
measures in branches.
As time ran out, the webinar was still buzzing
with questions, and Blakey summed it up saying he could “go on all
afternoon” discussing branches of the future. Two spot polls were
held during the webinar.
