The digital branch

The branch is not dead.  There, I said it.  For years the notion that the bank or credit union branch is dying or dead has been something people love to talk and write about, but it’s 2014 and I’m still typing this from an office that happens to be in a branch.

While one study I found addressing this issue was written a little over a year ago, it clearly illustrates that credit unions that are adding branches outperform those who don’t.  There’s no denying that human behavior as it relates to banking is changing, but let’s not get all carried away.  Instead, let’s drop the notion that branches are on their deathbeds and reassess how we do business.

Branches are expensive, but they are needed.  If you want a better idea of how expensive it is to build a new branch, check out this article by the Financial Brand.  **Spoiler Alert** The average cost of building a new branch in 2013 was $1.3 million!  Regardless of cost, according to consumers, proximity is still important.  Here lies the rub: While consumers claim that branch proximity is high on their list, their online banking behavior and actual branch visits tells another story.  Enter the digital branch.

The digital branch is just another way of saying your credit union’s website.  If we know that consumer behavior is shifting, that more and more transactions are taking place online, and that people value the idea of the bank or credit union branch, wouldn’t it make sense to treat our websites more like a branch?  For the past year or so, I’ve really enjoyed hearing James Robert Lay speak on the importance of generating digital leads and conversions.  James is right on the money and most credit unions could be, too.  Here are a couple of things you should be thinking about and hopefully doing in 2014 to transform your credit union’s website into a digital branch.

1. Manage

Every branch needs a manager and your website is no different.  Do you know how your members are using your website?  Chances are that the vast majority are going straight to online banking, a much smaller section of viewers are searching for the nearest branch and the smallest cohort is looking to switch financial institutions or interested in a specific product or service.   Over the last year, this is the trend I’ve seen every time I’ve reviewed a credit union website.  If the bulk of your viewers want to manage their money online, why not make the online login more prominent?  We all want and need loans or more products per household, but making online banking an extra click away is not the way to increase loan volume.  Actually, it’s quite the opposite.  If your online banking login is not easy to locate, you soon might find that members are bypassing your website altogether and bookmarking your online banking login page.

2. Monitor

Just like you would keep an eye on branch profitability, you should be routinely looking at your website traffic and how behaviors may or may not be changing.  If you want people to use your website in a different way, looking at the design is the first step.  In an ideal world, you would create the desired user experience prior to a website build, but if you have not done this and you’re not happy with how your current website is being used, now is the time to take action.  It’s tough, but sometimes we need to forget about what we want our members to do on our website and focus more on what THEY want to do and how they want to feel.

3.  Optimize

Optimize your website and increase product penetration by giving your members a reason to use more of your product or services.  A rate is not a reason, it’s a feature.  Instead of focusing so much on slashing rates and hoping for a deluge of loans, give your members a compelling reason to do more business with you.  Tell stories, share information, and deliver value to your members.  Instead of creating a banner ad featuring your newest auto loan promo, why not use a short video of a member talking about their experience financing with you?  In lieu of making a statement about the quality of service you provide, try using a blog to help people understand the unique processes your credit union has in place for opening a checking account or closing on a loan.  Stories are a powerful marketing tool and because of the cooperative business model, chances are you have plenty of great things to talk about.

4. Responsive

Over the course of the last year, you may have heard the term responsive website design being thrown around.  If you have, good.  If you haven’t, in simple terms, responsive web design describes a website that notices if a user is searching the Internet on a computer, smartphone or tablet and selects the optimal size to display a website.  With predictions that 2014 is the year that web searches on devices other than desktop and laptop computers are on pace to eclipse the 50% mark, chances are a lot of your members are viewing your website from something other than their office desktop computer.  Like a new branch, every touch point with a member should be well thought out.  Your brand is as important on the Internet as it is in your newest $1.3 million branch.  If your members or potential members can’t navigate your website on their shiny new iPhone or tablet, they may not give you another look.

This was not intended to be an exhaustive list that will solve all of your website woes, but it is a great place to start.  If 2014 is the year your credit union is thinking about having a new website built, please be sure to make it a digital branch.