By Kevin Blair

There is an alarming trend happening in the financial industry right now. Financial institutions are allowing their legacy branches to undermine their overall brand. These legacy branches that gave birth to your organization are the branches you feel most loyal to, and yet often are the same ones you neglect. They’re old. They communicate the way banking use to be, but don’t reflect your current retail delivery. As your branch network has grown, these older branches have become less and less aligned with your brand promise and value proposition.

 

These types of branches undermine your brand in many different ways. They grow inconsistencies in the look and feel of your brand, your employee culture, and member service. When your legacy branches are not aligned with your new branches, members will experience breakdowns in your brand promise.

 

 

 

A branch network should share a cohesive retail delivery strategy. Although your branches do not need to be identical at every location, they should have a consistent focus on certain elements of your retail approach, in addition to conveying your organization’s vision and brand identity.

 

Many financial institutions with an expanding branch network have adopted a new retail strategy focused on delivering a richer, multi-sensory member experience to differentiate them in the marketplace. But these new branches often make the old branches look worse.

 

The tired, outdated look of these older branches raises questions in the minds of members. They wonder why the branches near their home or workplace don’t have the same look and feel of these new branches. “Am I not worthy of the same technology and design? Doesn’t my credit union think I’m ‘worth it’?” By neglecting these branches, you send a clear message to your members that your organization’s priorities are focused on new markets and not on your legacy markets.

 

It’s not only your members receiving this message, but your employees, too.

 

 

The virtual brand experience demonstrates the commitment of the organization to the individual. Both members and employees need that experience. But within these outdated branches the virtual brand and retail experience suffers.

 

As your employees see the proliferation of these new dynamic branches, they also feel neglected. Employees want to work in these fresh environments with new technology and merchandising to aid them in sales, especially the ambitious and highly motivated who understand that’s where they’re likely to be noticed. They feel like they’re at a disadvantage when it comes to sales performance. They are not equipped with the same tools that employees have at the other branches. An unhealthy “us” versus “them” mindset begins to evolve throughout the organization.

 

The branch environment has a major impact on employee performance. If it’s a positive sales environment, employees will respond with high client interaction. If the environment is stale, employees will simply complete the transaction and fill orders. Employees in these legacy branches are not engaged themselves, thus they will not engage members.

 

When these mindsets overtake your staff at legacy branches member service level drop and overall member satisfaction declines as well.

 

 

Brand Experience  

 

In today’s Experience Economy, members want a memorable and personable relationship with their financial service provider. It’s about providing consistent experiences, not consistent services. Credit Unions cannot compete today on products and services alone. Differentiation in the marketplace comes from unique branch experiences.

 

One of the many factors that play into a Credit Union’s brand is the member’s expectations versus the perceived quality of banking experience. Inconsistencies in your brand promise and branch network create an insecure and unstable banking environment. The goal of the branch experience is to provide members with an environment in which they feel comfortable discussing their financial goals. Your branch network needs to have a cohesive retail delivery approach to provide a branded member experience.

 

Once your brand promise fails within your legacy branches, everything starts to crumble. The repercussions from neglecting legacy branches arrive with high employee turnover rates, low employee morale, dissatisfying member experiences and the loss of member relationships.

 

But there is a simple solution to saving your brand and these branches. Retrofit your legacy branches to include the same retail delivery strategy of your newer branches. The investment required to acquire a new site, then design, construct and furnish a new branch today could cost millions. But that same multi-million investment could otherwise be used to make a significant impact in a number of tired, worn out locations through updates and renovations.

 

Your brand is the foundation of your business. Don’t allow your legacy branches to become the crack in your foundation.