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Officelayout 158
luglio-settembre 2014
The second life of the teller’s window
How the network and layout of bank branches is changing with the evolution of the world of banking
For years we have heard about the “end” of the
traditional retail banking network. The debate
resumes whenever the inexorable progress of
technology and the necessary evolution of the
banking business model lead to the introduction
of innovative channels of communication and
sales: this has happened with the telephone, the
mobile phone, the Internet and, more recently,
with the social media.
In any case, bank offices are still there, where we
were used to finding them: near the home or the
office, or more recently also in shopping centers.
This is true above all in Italy, where the
territorial presence has been and continues to be
a strategic key, and where proximity to clients
still represents an indispensable factor for
banking.
Something, however, is effectively changing.
While it is true that the present set-up of banking
networks is the result of the phase of market
expansion in the 1980s and 1990s, it is also true
that the number of outlets has continued to grow
even when macro-economic aggregates are stable,
or even in recession, as opposed to the
phenomenon of concentration of the banking
sector in Italy starting in the 2000s.
Since 2008 the financial crisis and the
deterioration of the economic context have had a
significant impact on profits of banks, putting
pressure on their cost structures. Furthermore,
socio-demographic factors and above all
technological-behavioral considerations, together
with a revision of the very concept of proximity,
are profoundly changing the modes of utilization
of banking services on the part of clients.
So innovation of the service model can no longer
be postponed.
Evolution of distribution networks
The present bank distribution networks are no
longer consistent with the pursuit of efficiency in
the sector, and the changing habits of clients.
Physical utilization of banking services, in fact, is
transforming from a model of “high frequency of
use and low variance of necessities” to one of
“low frequency of use and high variance of
necessities.” The resulting reduction of teller
operations calls for repurposing of the operative
capacities that have been “freed up” inside new
operative processes and logics.
The transformation of the model of supply and
use of services and technological innovation are
determining not just a new concept of proximity
(virtual and direct channels like call centers,
Internet banking, mobile banking, etc.), but
also the need for physical facilities that can
provide a more satisfying customer experience
than in the recent past. The improvement of the
customer experience should offer a sense of
gratification, greater trust and openness to
dialogue and relations, a perception of greater
satisfaction even when making use of the most
traditional services.
Updating the retail image
= updating the bank image
It is not enough to reorganize retail structures
with fewer teller windows and complete operation
positioned in strategic high-traffic zones, with
extended opening hours (a strategy already
launched by the main Italian banks). It is also
necessary to update the image of the service
facilities as a whole, effectively revising the logic
with which retail banking offices are built, from
the organization of the spaces (interior layout) to
the technological gear and the furnishings, to
fully respond to the needs of clients who have
changed their preferences and buying habits, who
have evolved and pay close attention to costs, but
are also more demanding regarding the quality of
the service they receive from the bank.
To “freshen up” the image of customer service
facilities and the bank itself, making them more
welcoming and pleasant to improve customer
relations, is therefore the imperative to which
the major banks are responding with a
physical restructuring of their retail offices.
This is also a strategy of differentiation in a
scenario of growing competition and
commodification of services. Today,
developing and maintaining customer
relations in the bank is more complex than in
the past, also considering the range of
alternative channels of communication and
operation available to clients.
A “fresh” and appealing look, modern
furnishings, a courteous welcome, less wait
time, attention paid to customers or potential
clients, simplicity of the technology in self-
service zones: these are all qualifying and
differentiating factors in a sector where services
are becoming the main commodity.
Models and experiences
from other industries
In this process of updating of the image of bank
outlets, one successful approach can be
“contamination” of ideas and models borrowed
from other sectors, such as department stores and
fast food chains. In these contexts customers are
accustomed, by now, to receiving multimedia and
interactive communications and using self-service
tools that convey a perception of great quality of
services and more personalization, leading to
greater willingness to purchase.
Likewise, in banks the structure and layout of
new outlets should contribute to the
reconstruction of a relationship of trust with
clientele, while realizing that the presence of
customers at branch offices is increasingly rare
and happens only for operations that cannot be
performed in other ways, through the direct
channels of the bank. It should also be kept in
mind that customers raise their expectations for
the use of banking services in relation to their
experiences in other everyday shopping
experiences.
Technology, an enabling factor in
the bank-customer relationship
Bank-customer contact already begins from
the outside. A lively window with appealing,
modern, “transparent” messages encourages
undecided clients and can make potential new
clients curious. This new kind of presentation
invites customers to enter and primes them for
relations, which to be effective require the
contribution of technology. Simple, user-friendly
technology that should not be perceived as yet
another barrier, another discomfort or waste of
time, avoiding discrimination between customers
