Familiarity breeds good business for community-based banks

There’s an old saw that says in business, you tend to deal with those you know.  That means there’s strategic and marketing value in establishing long-term business relationships and in playing the “local” card.

A premiere way to display home-town character is in the exterior and interior design of your company’s place of business.

In the financial services industry, independent banks create their own brand identity and can feature design that relates to the communities they serve.  Institutions located in distinctive geographic locales may choose design elements such as facades, colors, textures, and accessories that suggest a regional theme and promote a sense of shared community. Other banks may draw design inspiration from a customer base that shares a strong cultural or ethnic heritage.

For larger institutions with extensive branch operations, creating exteriors and interiors that help establish a sense of community must incorporate national or regional brand design such as logos, colors and other elements.  Melding the two identities allows branch operations to be recognized more readily as a community banks and to compete successfully for local business.