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Craig Thompson SVP/Client Services Banking |
Does it sound too fast to implement a branch rebrand conversion program? It shouldn’t. Once a merger is announced, your brand enters a period of high risk for potential trust erosion if your customers perceive the transition as confusing or clumsily executed. With 48% of customers routinely thinking about switching banks after a merger,1 how much time do you really have?
For a branch-wide conversion rollout program, one year is fast, but it’s not overly aggressive. It’s about responding to and respecting customer expectations for a timely transition that feels thoughtful and frictionless while maintaining a branch experience that retains the trust they have in your brand.
Brand loyalty in banking is hard-won and very easily lost. As nearly every customer interaction today is measured and qualified in terms of its experience, customers notice details large and small, from inconsistent signage and branch disruption to misalignment between mobile modernity and older, outdated branches. A year affords you the opportunity to get things right on all fronts, from design and operations to culture management, both for customers and associates.
Fifth Third Bank located in Chicago. Fifth Third wanted a dynamic, customer-centric banking experience within its refreshed branches, one that is aesthetically pleasing, purposeful and flexible. Miller Zell's end-to-end services provide clients the customized experience they need to optimize their branded environments, meeting both budgets and deadlines.
Time is on your side — sort of
In the world of banking execution, timelines reign supreme, and industry trends show that the financial sector is moving even faster due to advances in technology integration. In previous years, it could take banks 18-24 months to consolidate their tech assets for branch network conversions. Now, that effort can be finished in a matter of months. This clipped timeline means that branch conversion teams have a considerably shorter runway to prepare and develop their conversion rollout programs.
To effectively execute a rebrand across a broad branch network, you need three strong key roles: a strong core decision-making internal team, real estate managers and execution partners.
Role 1: Too many voices create confusion. Too few create blind spots. Assemble a cross-functional group that includes key stakeholders from brand, marketing, retail operations, customer experience and legal. This baseline group sets the tone, defines the priorities and protects the customer’s experience.
Role 2: Your rebrand won’t succeed unless your physical spaces are ready to receive it. Real estate and facilities leaders are essential partners who know the timelines, lease considerations and construction realities that will either support or hinder your rollout.
Role 3: Externally, your partners matter more than ever. The American Bankers Association provides guidance on choosing a rebrand partner, and we agree with their selection criteria: Look for firms with deep experience in bank transformations, a record of successful rollouts and the project management infrastructure required to handle scale and complexity.
Another must? The creative team needs to know how to develop scalable branding elements. You’re not just looking for great creative... you’re also looking for innovative problem solvers, logistical excellence and clear-eyed honesty about what it takes to deliver a rebrand with impact while also being fiscally responsible.
Cadence Bank located in South Haven, Mississippi. Cadence maximized its rebranding opportunity and upgraded every branch in its network. After partnering with Miller Zell, it now has a standardized program across 400+ branches.
We’ve seen the data that shows what happens when brands underestimate the effort required to rebrand well. According to BrandFinance,2 “Non-rebranded acquisitions are 56% more likely to result in serious damage to their business than rebranded acquisitions.” Their Technical Director — Alex Haigh — even commented, “The list of rebranded acquisitions gone wrong includes many small regional banks rebranded to national or international names. Banking, especially local banking, is a relationship business in which stability and security are extremely important. Many of these rebrands underestimate the impact to customer loyalty as a result of changing someone’s bank brand and suffer as a result.”
Many moving parts comprise the greater rebranding/conversion machine, so it’s important to engage all critical partner teams. Marketing is an important body that needs to be at the table and involved in the initial stages of rebrand and conversion strategy. In a McKinsey study,3 marketing was “significantly involved pre-close in only 50 percent of cases.” Too many banks wait too long to initiate the branding component to this process. By then, it’s a race to the finish.
We advise our clients to vet branding partners as soon as merger details begin to take shape, not after the press release is issued. And ask tough questions: Can you scale across hundreds of locations? Can you hit a 12-month window? Do you understand how to express a brand creatively while balancing a pragmatic approach to production and execution? Making the right choice can make the difference between a year that feels stressful and complicated or one that feels exciting and forward-moving.