3 min read
You know how every time you walk into a Target store, it feels like a Target? No matter the location, you’ll see their iconic red, a flooring combo of carpet in clothing sections and tile everywhere else, the same lighting, hardware, and other fixtures—and the smell will even be familiar.
It is this consistency that makes them such a large and recognizable brand.
Real quick, before we go any further and look at what makes Target’s approach to offering a consistent, branded experience so successful, let’s define what a ‘brand’ is. We will use the Business Dictionary’s definition, which describes a brand as a “unique design, sign, symbol, words or combination of these, employed in creating an image that identifies a product and differentiates it from its competitors. Over time, this image becomes associated with a level of credibility, quality and satisfaction in the consumer’s mind.”
You may be wondering, what is it exactly that allows Target to stay so consistent? The answer is their commitment to design, with a program known as Design for All.
“Design has been central to Target’s DNA for decades. We see design as more than a process—it’s a path,” said Todd Waterbury, SVP and Chief Creative Officer for Target, “What began as a radical declaration—Design for All—has become an integral part of Target’s brand.”
In fact, it is even stated proudly on their website, that “No matter where, when or how our guests choose to shop Target, we’re creating easy, convenient shopping experiences that are also inspiring and beautiful, inside and out. “
And Target isn’t the only retail leader to put design first when it comes to building their brand. A few other examples include Starbucks, Apple, McDonald's, Walmart, almost every grocery store, and even bigger financial institutions like Wells Fargo.
So, it is safe to say that having consistently designed locations is one of the keys to dominating the retail world—which is no surprise since people are attracted to what’s familiar.
However, beyond brand recognition and familiarity, there is another reason these leading retailers have such a consistent and dialed-in design for their locations. That reason? It saves them a ton of time when it comes to building out new locations because they can skip over the tedious (and sometimes expensive) process of designing from scratch.
And this time savings comes from their pre-developed kit of parts, which you can think of as a ‘branding guide’ but for their physical appearance. Including everything from paint colors to furniture choices to iconic design features, everything is determined and presented in a way that allows for easy replication.
Banks and credit unions especially benefit from this consistency, however very few have achieved it at the same level of success as the previously mentioned retailers. And this is at no fault of the financial institutions—as the need to shift into a more retail-friendly environment is (somewhat) new.
However as more financial institutions begin to build more retail-focused branches, more and more financial institutions will fall into an expensive and time-consuming process. That is, however, unless you’re working with DBSI.
Only DBSI offers SmartKits for our clients, making sure they have a kit of parts alongside best practices, so they can skip the design process the next time they build. And just by using this ‘Catalogue of You’, our team can quickly, strategically, and cost-effectively create a branch or headquarters that screams your brand—often times cutting your branch transformation timeline in half!
This means that without this type of kit, it’s very likely your second, third, and tenth branches are taking much longer (and costing much more) to build than is actually necessary.
So, what exactly is a SmartKit, and what does the process of building one look like? Let’s dive a bit deeper into the SmartKit with some FAQs...
Who is a SmartKit right for?
- Financial institutions without a unified, consistent, branded experienced
- Financial institutions with plans to build new branches or a headquarters
- Financial institutions looking to expand their branch network into new markets
What’s all included in a SmartKit?
Every design element you could think of mapped to different locations of a branch or headquarters and paired with best practices. The main elements include:
- Flooring and ceilings
- Color palettes
- Lighting
- Millwork
- Furniture
- Permanent features (like living walls or murals)
- Digital signage
- Banking equipment
- Security features
- And more!
What does the process of building one look like?
Regardless of whether you have a specific branch in mind, or need to expand your entire network, we start the process off the same way: by getting to know you.
One of our architects and designers will come and tour your existing branch(es) and headquarters space(s), interview your team, survey the area you serve, and collect all the info needed to start building a unique and customized look for you.
After the scouting trip, our team begins to pull different materials, furniture, and more to build a “mood board”. And if you already have a style that you like, we can take any existing design choices into consideration, and then elevate them.
From here we review our many design selections with you and begin to narrow down the choices into your very own, expertly documented SmartKit. We even send you sample boxes along the way so you can see, touch, and feel all of the elements! And once everything has been finalized and decided upon, we document everything into that ‘Catalogue of You’ we were speaking of earlier.
How do you get started on your own SmartKit?
That's easy...
Shoot us a call at 1-855-ASK-DBSI
Send an email to info@dbsi-inc.com
Or just fill out the form below and we will reach out to you.
Bonus Tip: You know that popular complaint, “if you walk into Target to buy one thing, you'll almost certainly leave with 100 more?” Want to know how Target has mastered the art of upselling? This article has some of their secrets!
