Community West Bank
Services we provide:
- Discovery
- Strategy
- UX/UI design
- Website development
- Xperience by Kentico implementation
About Community West Bank
CWB is a large community bank in southern California with over 20+ locations and a track record of financial strength, security and stability gained over its 44 years in business. CWB has set itself apart from other banks by its people, dedication to client advocacy, exemplary "relationship banking," strong community support and a mission to exceed expectations. With a passion for providing customized solutions, the merger drove the decision to revamp their digital services to better serve their customers.
The Process
In an era where digital presence is critical to financial institutions and mergers are frequent, the successful merger of Community West Bank (CWB) and Central Valley Bank (CVB) depended on a robust and well-executed digital strategy, critical to providing a seamless user experience for customers and employees. SilverTech, leveraging its expertise in Xperience by Kentico website development, customized a digital solution that unified the brands of these two banks into one cohesive user-friendly digital experience in just 4 months from start to launch.
The Challenges
The merger of CWB and CVB presented unique challenges, particularly in integrating two distinct digital landscapes into a single cohesive website. The biggest challenges included:
- Differing Content Strategies: CWB's site was optimized for SEO with a rich content library, while CVB's site focused more on detailed product pages. Balancing these different content approaches was crucial.
- Short Timeline: The project needed to be completed with a demanding timeline, delivering a high-quality, functional website, from planning to launch in less than four months.
- Outdated Technology: The old CWB site suffered from poor mobile optimization, slow speeds, outdated information, and a lack of interactive features. This hindered customer engagement and usability.
Goals for New Site
SilverTech identified four main goals for CWB's new website with the main goal of unifying the brands. The merger of the two banks presented a unique opportunity to take advantage of the best from both brands.
Solution and Implementation
Based on the insight gained, SilverTech devised a comprehensive strategy roadmap to address the challenges and deliver a seamless digital experience for the bank merger. It was SilverTech's recommendation that Kentico's newest hybrid CMS platform Xperience by Kentico would be the best solution for the new website. Xperience with robust features and functionality allowed SilverTech to create an exceptional digital user experience efficiently for CWB.
The Key components of the solution include:
- Unified Content Strategy: SilverTech developed a content migration plan that combined the SEO-rich content from CWB with the detailed product information from CVB. This approach ensured that the new site would benefit from both banks' strengths while avoiding duplication and inconsistencies.
- Modern Design and Functionality: The new website was built with Xperience by Kentico, featuring a modern, responsive design to enhance user experience across all devices. Key features included:
- Enhanced Interactivity: Interactive elements and engaging content to improve customer interaction and retention
- Improved CTAs: Clear, strategically placed CTAs to guide users through the site effectively
- Technical Upgrades: Faster loading speeds, improved reliability, and mobile optimization to ensure a smooth user experience
- New Functionalities: Inclusion of essential tools like product comparison tools, branch locator and more
- Accelerated Development Timeline: Despite the tight timeline, SilverTech employed agile development practices to ensure timely delivery without compromising quality. The team worked in sprints to continuously test and refine the site, leading up to a successful launch within the four-month timeframe.
HIGHLIGHTS
Jump-start Your Digital Goals for 2024
By: Kim Smith | 11/16/23
Have you thought about your digital strategy for 2024? What goals does your team have? Do you have a plan for the coming year? If you don’t have the answers just yet, you are not alone. Most businesses start the planning late, and primarily because they are not sure where to start, but SilverTech has some ideas that can help.
Digital Strategy
Making your digital strategy a priority can be difficult, however, forming a good digital strategy is vital to providing a robust digital experience. Here are four keyways to kick start your digital strategy.
- A strategic website analysis including but not limited to:
- Competitive analysis
- Conversion point analysis
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) analysis including technical and content.
- Optimize your website click paths for better conversions.
- Develop a high-level digital roadmap for your 2024 digital initiatives.
- Conduct usability testing or user testing to see if you are resonating with your audience.
Digital Marketing
Your digital marketing efforts can have a direct impact on your revenue and the success of your business. As technology changes constantly, there are some tried and true initiatives you should be implementing in 2024 – and some new and innovative strategies you should consider testing out.
- Utilize Google’s Performance Max campaigns to accelerate your lead generation efforts.
- Test Google’s new Demand Gen campaign format to amplify your brand.
- Launch a TV commercial using the Connected TV (CTV) network, reaching not just your local TV stations, but also streaming platforms and channels; Hulu, HGTV, Pluto & more.
- Perform an audit of your marketing efforts and review your ad spend to ensure you are getting a positive ROI (return on investment).
- Analyze your competitors to see what they are doing, what ads they are running, keywords they are bidding on to see where your organization can do better.
- Identify where AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology can make your marketing more efficient while still effective.
- Invest in more personalized marketing using you customer data, advanced ad targeting, the right creative messaging, and a cohesive website experience.
- Prepare for big changes to data privacy and ad blocking technologies.
- Leverage more programmatic advertising that utilizes real-time bidding and a wider ad market beyond just Google.
- Explore newly emerging channels like Reddit, TikTok, and Threads.
- Leverage more native ads that feel less intrusive to your audience.
Web Development & Design
We all know the website is the biggest part of your digital presence. Do not neglect your website assets. These recommendations are fundamental to maintaining your website.
- Enhance your modules within your CMS (Content Management System), making small page changes will result in a huge benefit.
- Upgrade your CMS to the latest version. This is important and ensures that the latest security updates.
- Perform an ADA audit and implement fixes to verify compliance and accessibility to all website users.
- Develop an advanced site search, users want to be able to find the information they are looking for with ease.
- Integrate your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) with your website allowing you to track the data across your MarTech stack.
- Utilize the personalization features of your website, giving users a unique experience tailored to their needs.
A Big Website Project
Is 2024 the year that you have designated for a complete overhaul of your website? SilverTech’s team of digital experience experts are here to make that a reality for your business. In 2023 we helped dozens of businesses with large web projects.
If you need assistance with your digital strategy, digital marketing, and minor or major website updates - we are here to help. We would love to sit down and discuss your digital goal for 2024.
Contact us today to set up a meeting.
