By now, most organizations have completed their annual planning process, and the board is giving its final blessing. As companies prepare their plans, there is much concern about what next year will bring, from a possible recession and increased trade wars to the rise of environmental and socially driven issues. To add to the planning […]
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The companies that truly succeed are those that get off the “follow the leader tread mill” and focus on what truly is relevant to their customers. It’s not about omni-channel or what you think you know. It’s about the insights your customers are not telling you. Those deep emotional needs that current companies are not
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Shikatani Lacroix Design and U.S. Bank are proud to have been awarded First Place in the Best Branch Experience category at the 2019 Bank Customer Experience Summit. The award is in recognition of a new branch design created with U.S. Bank. “Winning Best Branch Experience is a tremendous honor,” says Jean-Pierre Lacroix, President of SLD.
SLD and U.S. Bank Win Best Branch Experience Read More »
Shikatani Lacroix Design’s founder and president, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, will be speaking at the 2019 Think Global Conference, hosted by The International Trade Council. Jean-Pierre’s talk will be centred around how brands can future-proof their organization, and will leverage 30 years of industry experience and research. Steps to Future-Proofing Your Organization Taking a short-term view of
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Customer Segmentation is the division of a specific market into buckets of customers who share similar characteristics. However, gone are the days that big financial institutions can afford to segment their customers by merely using demographic criteria, including age and income, or firmographic attributes such as industry or company size. With fierce competition from fintechs and
Useful Customer Segmentation Methods for Banks Read More »
In celebration of Jean-Pierre Lacroix’s latest book, Think: The Future of Retail Banking, SLD recently held a book launch in Toronto. Along with an enlightening panel discussion, Jean-Pierre delivered a keynote presentation that focused on what the bank of the future will look like, and what emerging customer needs and disruptors banks should be aware of.
Think: The Future of Retail Banking Book Launch Presentation Read More »
How well do you know your competition? You know your own business inside out, but when it comes to your competitors, chances are your knowledge is limited to a reactionary perspective. That is, you know your competition about your brand. What if we told you that studying your competition as well as, brands that are
Worksheet: How Brands Can Learn From Their Competitors Read More »
Smart Banking promised to herald in the convenience of digital technology and more personalized customer service. Today most would agree what was imagined as utopia has yet to materialize for banks pioneering this new branch format. Early attempts have demonstrated that consumers remain attached to in-branch human interaction and are skeptical of the merits of
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From focus groups and brainstorming sessions to virtual reality and neuroscience, Jean-Pierre Lacroix’s newest book, Think: The Future of Retail Banking, leverages extensive research and design concepts to present a hypothesis on what the bank of the future could look like. In celebration of the new book, which is available for free download, we sat down with
An Interview with Jean-Pierre Lacroix Read More »
Shikatani Lacroix Design (SLD) is excited to announce the release of their newest book, Think: The Future of Retail Banking. Written by Jean-Pierre Lacroix, founder and president of Shikatani Lacroix Design and SLDNXT, the new book is now available for free download. Think: The Future of Retail Banking is based on extensive research conducted by SLD. Through the use
Think: The Future of Retail Banking Available for Download Read More »
The relevance of retail banking is under siege. Banks are responding with new formats, smaller footprints, and a nimbler approach to change. While banks have focused intensely on driving cost down through automated digital technologies, this has put retail banks at risk of losing their human connection with customers and losing marketshare to non-traditional banks.
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Seamlessness is now an expectation in our service-oriented society. Customers have little patience for services that are inconvenient, frustrating, and inefficient. We don’t want to wait in line, have to repeat ourselves, or deal with mistakes. Many major companies are selling services instead of physical products and are differentiating themselves based on customer experience. Brands
Service Design and the Banking Experience Read More »
The majority of financial institutions are focused on ensuring their strongest asset for driving growth, namely their retail banking network, remains relevant with the rise of Fintech start-ups and new types of banking competitors. This need is most prevalent in Asia, and more specifically China, where there is an enormous and underserved appetite for smart
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Shikatani Lacroix Design has added to its strategy team with the addition of two experienced professionals, Kunal Chopra and Glenn Dixon. Kunal is a collaborative and results-oriented business transformation leader and management consultant. With over 20 years of experience within the financial services industry, Kunal focuses on business effectiveness and will bring a new skill
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In our previous blog we discussed the four tiers of immersive experience with the pinnacle representing the “Bionic Human,” a fully symbiotic technology enabled human delivering superior customer engagement. We often wonder how far into the future it will be that we witness the convergence of technology and human beings, such as The Six Million Dollar
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Over five years ago, SLD introduced the word “immersive” into our company vision, and identified the term as the new definition of customer engagement. At the time, the idea of creating immersive experiences focused on how technology such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) would shift the way consumers engage with brands and
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Shikatani Lacroix Design is happy to announce the launch of Think Retail, a new podcast that features top designers, strategists, thought leaders and business people discussing what’s next in the world of retail and design. The podcast will include members of the SLD team as well as guests from around the globe, and focus on
SLD Launches New Podcast: Think Retail Read More »
In this digital era, it’s no longer a surprise to see “Welcome back,” followed by your name on the home screen of an app or website. The consumer is increasingly conditioned by e-commerce giants, such as Amazon, to expect a certain degree of personalization. In the words of Dave Carnegie, “a person’s name is, to that
Personalization Strategies for Banks Read More »
For our physical health, we have doctors and personal trainers. For mental health, therapists can help. But do you have someone to assist you with your financial well-being? As digital capabilities continue to improve, the need for convenience has largely been met. But what about financial advice? Most institutions offer solid transactional services, but providing
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Creating a name for a company, a service or a product is an important part of the overall branding strategy for a business. A great name helps convey what a brand stands for and is aligned with both the brand personality traits and its value proposition, helping build brand equity. Inviting employees and/or customers to
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