Back Story
Cornerstone Bank was created when SpencerBANK and Southbridge Savings Bank joined together, and Davis Advertising was tasked with establishing the new brand identity from scratch—along with a new website. The analysis we conducted revealed that the customer journey on the SpencerBANK website ranked higher, and we used that data to drive the design of the new site.
Design Concept
The design of the Cornerstone Bank website needed to be new enough to build excitement around the alliance and show existing customers how they would benefit. But it also needed to retain enough design elements that SpencerBANK and Southbridge Savings Bank customers were familiar with to ensure they felt comfortable with the change and trusting of the new brand.
Design Process
Our analytics revealed the best aspects of each existing site and the way that customers preferred to travel through it, which guided our subsequent designs. The content structure was kept exactly the same, so if customers already knew how to get to a certain page from the homepage, they could still find it. And if they already had a bookmark, they could still use it. We put in 303 redirects everywhere so nobody lost their way when traveling through the new site. Customers were also able to keep their previous user login information, so they were not inconvenienced in any way.
While the actual customer journey remained the same, the experience along that journey was completely refreshed with a new look and new imagery that firmly established the Cornerstone Bank brand. The site was also updated with a large focus on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and search engine optimization (SEO).
Launch:
The website launched on a Friday, and Davis Advertising employees were on hand all weekend to field calls and emails from the Banks. They made sure that the transfer went perfectly smooth, with absolutely no downtime for customers and no difficulties for the employees.
