For nearly 150 years, Univest has distinguished itself as a uniquely customer-focused bank throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Based outside Philadelphia in Souderton, Pennsylvania, the company maintains a strong presence in the community—not only through its dozens of brick-and-mortar financial centers, but through philanthropic giving, educational outreach, and employee volunteerism. 

While Univest provides the kind of personalized service customers expect from a local bank, it’s also part of the largest industry in the world—and perhaps the most dynamic. The financial sector is subject to ever-changing regulations, security risks, and evolving business models. As acquisitions by larger banks become the norm, regional banks are under increasing pressure to modernize in order to remain competitive. 

After years of collaborating on customer research, strategy, and Salesforce solutions, Slalom and Univest already had a strong foundation. This initiative would be the culmination of those projects. We began with a four-month strategy program to map the multi-year digital transformation, then embarked on an eight-week discovery for the new website. We explored technical requirements, the existing business framework, ways of working and partnering with customers, historical data, and current challenges. 

Because Univest’s legacy website was hosted by a third party, content ownership presented significant challenges. Templates were limited and real-time updates on the bank’s current offerings—mortgage and interest rates, for example—were difficult to implement. To create or edit content, the company had to submit a ticket and wait several days for the changes to be applied. Univest needed a modern user interface and robust mobile experience that fully showcased its services.  

Thanks to our previous collaborations, we were able to hit the ground running—and for Univest, the implementation of its multiyear strategy couldn’t come too soon. “We wanted our website to be more than a billboard—it needed to drive conversion, lead generation, and functional and performance-based marketing items,” says Jacklyn Bingaman, senior vice president and director of marketing strategy and services.  

The Slalom team worked closely with internal teams to quickly create 15 initiatives around people, processes, technologies, and customers. ”Because we were working on such a tight deadline, we had many conversations about the right approach—one that would balance time, resources, and quality,” says Justin Fentress, a principal at Slalom. “And we had to make sure the quality was there.” 

For a more seamless integration with its existing Salesforce CRM, Univest selected Experience Cloud as the new platform. To test the company’s technology stack and ensure a smooth delivery of the new website, we launched a pilot site for Univest’s wealth division. Based on that work, the Slalom team was able to anticipate challenges and customize solutions, including integration with Google Search.  

In just four months, we implemented Univest.net, a modern customer-facing website that’s already received overwhelmingly positive feedback from executives, employees, and customers. For leadership, the work represents more than a change in technology—it’s an evolution in the way the company positions itself in the world.  

“The true value in our partnership with Slalom was the team’s ability to tie together the components of our Univest.net journey—beginning with strategy and incorporating technology and data. Slalom’s deep understanding of the Salesforce ecosystem and how to strategically leverage its full potential allowed us to gain new insights and apply them to the user’s experience,” says Bingaman.

The solution not only provides marketing and analytics to support the company’s growth but it gives internal teams control over its implementation schedule and business processes around industry compliance. “Univest said many times that the strength of our partnership has helped upskill its teams. That’s one of the hallmarks of this project,” says Brandon Kreider, a senior principal at Slalom.  

With newly accessible data and customized tools, Univest can better understand the options customers want and need—and has the capabilities to deliver them.