The recently published World Branch Report 2019 highlights some interesting and, at times surprising, data about the role of branches in retail banking. including

• 70 percent of bankers surveyed consider branches to be so important that their financial institution's survival is dependent on them
• People still like branches because it feels like a bank can be more trusted when it has a physical presence
• 47 percent of bankers surveyed believed branches would be a differentiator over digital only banks
• 51 percent of customers said their trust would be higher if their bank had a branch office they could visit and a further 14 percent said that their trust would be lower if the bank had no branches

Though customers obviously value the branch, the reality is that footfall is declining. Research from CACI shows that as things stand, by 2022 customers will, on average, only visit their local branch four times a year. I have spent the past 2 days at RBR’s Branch Transformation 2019 conference hearing how banks around the world are fundamentally repositioning their branch strategies.

Back in the eighties Sears in the US came up with the slogan 'buy your stocks where you get your socks'. 'Get your mortgage where you practice yoga' may not have the same ring but going forward it might be an apt description of a new approach to branch banking that may indeed have more 'legs' than Sears' ultimately unsuccessful venture into financial services.

Increasingly banks are trying to make branches a part of the way we live. The logic is clear. Our lifestyle choices revolve around the bank. If this becomes somewhere customers are comfortable visiting for exercise, a coffee or community events then it may become somewhere they are equally comfortable in receiving advice that impacts on the way they live.

The challenge is to create a 'place of trust', somewhere people want to visit. Unlike the old days of a meeting with the branch manager, new developments will mean it's more on your ground, somewhere you are used to 'hanging out'.

But as a bank how do you achieve this symbiotic, equally beneficial relationship between branch and customer? What do you 'give' in order to 'receive'?

The RBR Branch Transformation event provided plenty of insight as to how a number of banks are working to change the relationship with their customers and are positioning themselves as part of the customer's everyday life.

As banks re-examine their role and endeavour to create 'sticky' customer relationships, the focus has moved away from being a place to store money and sell financial products to helping customers prepare for and manage life events.

So how do you create an engaging environment, somewhere customers use for everyday activities and feel 'at home'? Is the key coffee, live music or even yoga? How do you convert the branch to a community hub?

Of course, it is one thing to make your customers feel at home, it is another to fully understand and respond to their changing needs at different stages of their lives. As Dan Makoski, Lloyds Banking Group's Chief Design Officer put it 'Financial services need a human centred view'. Perhaps the word we're looking for is 'empathy'. Speaking at the RBR event, Barbara Vanhauter, global head human channels at ING, explained the new approach as 'When it comes to complex decisions or moments in life, that's where the human touch is critical'.

So how do you develop the branch into a community hub? For a long time now, we have been talking of an open plan environment, but here we are going a step further. You need a flexible space suited to different activity types. Seating options may include stools, armchairs or even cushions; art on the walls rather than posters promoting product and even bookcases and sofas that more resemble a living room that a retail space.

It's about giving people reasons to come into the branch and helping build an affinity with the bank that converts into increased financial activity. The coffee shop branch concept has been around for a while, and Santander has taken this a new level with their 60 Work Café “branches” around the world. What draws customers to a coffee shop branch? Well why do we use any such establishment? The quality of the coffee! As well as providing free wifi, co-working areas, meeting rooms and comfortable seating, Santander employs trained baristas and they proudly declare all the coffee is Q-rated.

Elsewhere banks are using events such as live music and fashion shows to draw customers to the branch. Some events may be more targeted and include talks on key issues such as home ownership and financing, fraud awareness or, more generally, presentations by business gurus to help start-ups and small businesses grow.

Again, it's all about creating loyalty to the brand, and it's not just about individual customers. If you want to attract small businesses, why not offer them space to do business or indeed training opportunities. Virgin's B Works offer (opened in Manchester in January 2019) is a 'place to learn, work or bank' for customers and non-customers alike. And of course, there are yoga sessions – a surprising number of them as I have learnt over the past 2 days!

For me the main takeaway from the RBR event was a slide from ING that highlighted 'the bank of the future is a meeting place for specialists, customers and third parties that creates memorable experiences and solves customer needs'.

The bottom line is that 'the real product the banks provide is trust' and the branch plays a key role in this. However, the bank branch must change and evolve. One way of doing so is to become a 'consumer destination of choice'.