June 29, 2017 will mark 10 years since Apple released the first iPhone, paving the way for an era of mobile apps. With mobile and online banking so ubiquitous today, does the brick-and-mortar branch really serve a purpose anymore?
After surveying more than 4,000 North American consumers, the answer is yes, according to Accenture Consulting’s 2016 North American Consumer Digital Banking Survey.
Branches will be different, but not dead, according to Banking on Value, a report on the survey results.
For years, we’ve all heard the rising alarms about the death of branches, yet people still continue to visit them. In fact, 87 percent of consumers expect to continue visiting their local branch in the future. People like the trust, value and overall experience in being able to speak to someone from their bank in person.
However, that may not be quite enough to keep consumers coming back to your branches indefinitely.
What Consumers Want
Today the barriers to switching financial institutions are lower than ever, and 11 percent of consumers in the survey had left their banks in the past year.
Competition is heating up from online-virtual banks and payment providers, and consumers are actively looking for more value from their banks.
So, what’s on top of their wish lists? Here are the top 6 services consumers said would make them loyal to their bank:
- Locating discounts (45%)
- Help with car buying (43%)
- Simplified home buying process (41%)
- Personalized service (40%)
- Proactive bill pay (39%)
- Real-time financial advice (39%)
Unfortunately, banks are not delivering on these services today in consumer’s eyes: 79 percent see their relationship with their bank as transactional, not advisory, and few consumers are participating in rewards or loyalty programs.
It's clear that branches must make changes to compete on value and service to continue meeting consumer desires in the very near future.
Redefining the Branch Experience
These stats aren’t surprising to us at DBSI—it’s why we we work with financial institutions to redefine their branch experience and create news ways to engage and advise clients.
Some of these branch transformations include replacing teller lines with teller towers and Service Spot to foster and enhance a more advisory branch environment.
And some include interactive digital signage to educate and engage clients with apps like the “What Kind of Car Are You?” quiz. It’s fun and memorable way for clients to learn about the car loans you offer.
Our Financial Healthcheck tool quickly gives clients information about their
financial health, and gives your financial institution relevant client data for offering personalized service and advice.
We’ve also added more convenient ways for people to connect with experts like mortgage specialists who can’t always be in the branch. With our video conferencing solution, Expert Nearby, clients can have a private conversation with a specialist and take care of paperwork, right from their local branch.
Get Started
There are more reasons than ever before to reinvent your branch experience.
Get in touch with us to learn more about any of these innovations, the DBSI process, or to begin exploring the possibilities for your future branch design. Use the form below to let us know if we can provide you with more info, or schedule a call or meeting wth our branch transformation strategists.
