But Liberty faced some big hurdles before installing the new technology, including figuring out how to recoup the investment. McDonald says the challenges were ensuring the technology would operate efficiently to save money, determining whether the upgrades would lead to new customers, and making sure the modifications wouldn’t upset existing clients. “We had to make sure the new technology achieved those three things,†he says.
Liberty made the following investments:
- $350,000 for the institution to rebrand itself. This process included the development of surveys and pulse readings of its staff and customer base to determine factors such as customer wants and needs as well as the bank’s core competencies. The effort included changing Liberty’s colors, signage, and delivery of services.
- $100,000 was invested on remaking Liberty’s website (www.libertybank.net).
- $200,000 was allocated for new software for remote banking and deposit captures, and improvements to the delivery channels.
Expanding its Reach
McDonald says the new technology will expand Liberty’s reach where it operates. “We needed to make those changes because in today’s environment we have to communicate with our future customer base and new people entering the workplace [that are] banking through new technology,†he says. Liberty’s roughly 30,000 customers are served by several Louisiana branches in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Opelousas, and one each in Jackson, Mississippi; Kansas City, Missouri; Kansas City, Kansas; and Detroit. Liberty can now target these customers by age group, income, asset ownership, and size of household, and determine who may be prime mortgage refinancing candidates.
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