Kevin Blair, CEO of Newground, said a number of trends are influencing branch design, including:
Going Gray: Blair noted that the aging of America is an important influence to keep in mind.
Feminine Influences: "Eighty percent of financial decisions are made or are strongly influenced by women, but 90.95% of buildings are built and designed by men." To illustrate how important this is, Blair noted that all the buzz in the automotive industry is a new car from Volvo that was entirely designed and engineered by a team of women.
Women And Children First: since women are such a strong influence on financial decisions, it's only logical that those women are often thinking of their children when the make those decisions.
Tradition Isn't Infallible: To get out of the comfort zone, credit unions need to consider making the leap from teller lines to tellerless branching, transactional business to relationship development, offices and cubicles to closing rooms. "It's traditional business versus creating an experience, and the experience economy is already upon us."
