More than just experts
Retail Bank Branch Office Strategy
Adapting retail bank branch office coverage to the target markets can help banks ensure positive return on investment and further their development strategies.
Ensuring that retail bank branch offices cover key areas while keeping pace with changing markets
An effective retail bank branch office strategy must:
- Cover regional markets appropriately and ensure a positive return on investment
- Constantly adjust sales and marketing efforts in response to market changes
- Select retail locations carefully using an objective process
- Pace expansion and include target deadlines
- Penetrate local markets and adjust retail locations accordingly
A structured approach that ensures optimal retail bank branch office coverage
• Select criteria for estimating potential business volumes
• Incorporate business development goals
• Geocode branch offices, customers, competitors
• Determine socioeconomic profile of area
• Capture and process data
• Describe and rank locations of interest
• Factor in likely competitor responses
• Highlight impact of public or private development plans
• Openings
• Transfers
• Closings
• Reallocation of sales staff
Equinox consulting can help develop retail bank branch office strategies, provide qualitative and quantitative advice on strategy implementation, train field personnel, and ensure the necessary knowledge transfer.
We have the capacity to quickly compare multiple retail bank branch office scenarios using a battery of highly-specialized tools and techniques that allow us to:
- Resolve retail location issues using specialized mapping software developed in partnership with Magellan Ingénierie
- Gather relevant data, break an area down into individual street sections, and produce spatial representations of potential retail bank branch locations
- Produce detailed, easy-to-read maps
- Provide point-of-sale accessibility simulations based on traffic plans and travel times for each type of location analyzed (vehicle or pedestrian)
- Generate, via a rapid optimization algorithm, the best combinations of business potential and customer access to identify and accurately assess potential locations
- Factor in the economic dynamics of the locations assessed using: :
- Economic forecasts, development and zoning plans
- Qualitative factors such as site risks, parking, etc.
Equinox Consulting uses a step-by-step approach that involves field personnel at every stage and makes sure that the necessary skills are transferred to clients’ employees. More specifically, our consultants:
- Review recommendations in conjunction with field personnel (area or branch office managers)
- Help integrate the selected software and maps into existing information systems
- Train and support marketing staff
We also possess extensive experience in retail banking and business development and can therefore:
- Model potential business (individuals, professionals, etc.) in line with a given business development strategy
- Assess sales performance and the risk of cannibalizing existing businesses
- Help determine the most effective type of branch office (size, merchandising, etc.)
Sample project
Equinox Consulting has provided retail bank branch office strategy services to Crédit Agricole regional banks, Banques Populaires and Crédit Immobilier de France.
Sample project
Clients: Caisses Régionales de Crédit Agricole, les Banques Populaires et le Crédit Immobilier de France