Fast-Track Web Design and Development for Optima bank

A fully customized website that yields high levels of customer engagement.

Overview

Optima bank was created to bring an optimum banking experience to its customers. It aims to offer a simple, flexible, and contemporary service alongside safety and transparency. It is a newly introduced bank, and it was imperative to build a website that ticks all the technological boxes and lets the bank's values shine through.
Linakis.digital delivered the first phase of optimabank.gr in just 4 months including all the vital sections to begin the bank’s digital journey. The main system we used was Umbraco Cloud alongside a phygital design approach that ensured consistency on and offline. A Storytelling strategy and the use of micro-interactions and animations enhanced the design. The result is a website that offers an outstanding customer experience, promotes engagement, generates leads, and can drive sales. 

The background

Established in July 2019, Optima bank aims to bring a new approach to the banking experience. It offers services that are efficient, transparent, and put the customer at the center.

In their own words, Optima bank is a simple, flexible, and contemporary bank that responds promptly and effectively to the needs of individuals and modern businesses.

It was clear from our brief that Optima Bank needed a robust digital presence that accurately translates its vision.  

It is a distinct approach that simulates the color palette and the design that customers encounter in-store. It triggers the customers' memory and helps them navigate the website as easily as they navigate inside the store and vice versa. 

This technique reinforces the brand perception of Optima bank in the minds of its prospects and existing customers and increases loyalty to the brand and its values. Creating a unified omnichannel brand will help Optima bank develop long-lasting and trustful relationships with its customers.

Storytelling strategy

Our user experience research and interaction design team developed a storytelling strategy that addressed the positive emotions Optima bank wants to elicit from its customers. To develop a successful storytelling strategy, they connected each user's personality with a particular product and created highly customized sections. This enhanced personalization enables users to navigate through information and services efficiently and quickly develop a familiarity with the website.

The performance of the bank's services and products is improved through a coherent interaction and visual design that leave a positive impression on the users. For this project, easy navigation and familiarity are critical elements in generating more leads and increasing customer loyalty. 

Micro-interactions and animations

We introduced Micro-interactions and animations to enhance lead generation and loyalty acquisition even further. Moreover, we strategically placed Calls-to-Action on every page, such as Find a Branch or Let's talk via phone or email. This practice serves the bank's goals and objectives, as the website is its primary digital contact point. It is a significant strategic objective of Optima bank to cultivate personal relationships with its customers through every available communication method.

The technology

To bring our design to life, we built optimabank.gr on Umbraco Cloud. A CMS that serves even the most demanding needs and offers ease of use and incredible performance. The simple and customizable editing and content creation tools allow users to create and manage content in a fully controllable manner while ensuring a smooth flow. 

Two more key requirements of Optima bank that were served using Umbraco Cloud were having a multilingual website and a build-in Search engine enabling visitors to find what they're looking for.  

Notably, the superiority of Umbraco Cloud in comparison with other CMS lies in its ability to automate the upgrades, so our client can always run the latest and most improved and secure patch version of Umbraco.

The results

At Linakis.digital, we build high experience digital assets. As with every project, in the case of Optima bank, the results were:

- Fast delivery. For Optima bank, we completed the project in two months.

- Easy and smooth user experience. The website serves the customer's needs while serving the strategic objectives of the business:
o Increased volume of sales
o Generation of high-value leads
o Acquisition of long-term loyalty
o Meaningful relationship with customers

- Consistent branding. Brand and values are expressed in every visual element and design across all channels.

- Enhanced customer engagement. Strategically placed, small, elegant, and meaningful Calls-to-Action generate leads and drive sales. 

- Easy to use CMS. All the technological requirements are fulfilled, and the owners can easily control their CMS and create powerful content.