Eenie Meenie Minie Moe, the site we pick, better grow. Ok, sothe rhyme isn't perfect, but the location of your next branchfacility better be. Ever wonder if the site you want to buy, orworse yet, just bought, will produce the expected growthprojections? Will the site support a $30 to $50 million facility inthree to five years? How did you pick your last branch location?Did you simply drive around town to see which piece of land isavailable? Did a parcel look good, because it was near a newresidential or new retail area? Is it near a McDonalds or a BigBox? Was the price right? Did you fly above the town in a plane toget a better view? Did you get advice from your significant other?Did you buy it because a board member or friend had "the perfectpiece of land" for sale? Any of the above branch strategies soundfamiliar? Please don't get me wrong; if you are from or have livedin the community for 30 years, and have grown up with thecommunity, you probably have a very good feeling about where yournext facility should go. Knowing your community or a specific siteis a very good starting point, but there should also be data basedon several key criteria, to support a `gut' feeling. The bestchoice might be to work with a consultant who, before you pick asite, asks many questions to learn more about your credit union'sculture and business plan. The consultant needs to tour thespecific town(s) to learn as much about the community as possible,along with having maps developed based on selected demographics andthen grade the site(s). Then and only then, should a consultantprovide you with a report that substantiates all of the data. Withthat data, based on specific research, the Team can make educateddecisions about the sites to determine which site will meet yourcredit union's specific requirements and give you a better chanceto succeed. There is a definite process in branch facility siteselection. Why do you think McDonalds, Arby's, and Burger King seemto always be in the `best locations?' All of these franchises use asimilar model to analyze and grade their potential sites beforethey buy a piece of property. Yes, there is actually a mathematicalmodel to give the potential sites a letter grade, based ondifferent criteria. If the site is graded an A or B, it haspotential, if it's a C, D or F, be careful. A site could have greatvisibility, which is important criteria, but the site accessibilitymust also be good. Take, for example, the client who had a facilitythat had a very steep incline or bump at the curb cut as membersentered the site. Many of the lower vehicles would `bottom out' asthey entered the site. This was an ongoing problem causing membersto complain. The credit union's employees could do nothing about itother than apologize. Someone should have assessed that the sitegrade was going to be higher than the street. The site visibilityfor this site was graded as an `A,' but the accessibility was a`D.' When a branching study is done, mapping alone will not provideenough information to determine if the site is good or bad. Mappingis the research process of gathering specific data for a givenarea, using such criteria as demographics, household income, whereyour members work and live, etc. Maps can easily be ordered by anyconsultant, but that is just part of the process. Meeting with thecity's community development director, city planners and engineers,local residents, etc., are just as important as the maps. And yes,taking the time to drive up and down every street in the town mustalso be done, because what the maps don't show, the streets andneighborhoods will. Today, it is becoming harder and harder to findland in the right spot. Land is expensive; so get used to it! Landis generally expensive for a reason; consider whether it's in anarea that will provide the best VALUE for your credit union. I'venever had a client tell me, one or two years after they move in,when they were boasting about exceeding quotas and growthprojections, that they still wish they would have paid less for theland, because by then, the cost of the land has become a`non-factor.' If you are going to spend anywhere from $1 to $4million on your next branch or main facility, doesn't it make senseto spend a little extra time and money to be confident that thesite is right for you and what you want to accomplish, resulting inthe maximum return on your investment? Historically, credit unionshave been `destination points' for their members. With increasedcompetition and credit unions being granted community charters, thesites will need to be more accessible than before, when theirmembership was more defined. The number one key to a branch studyis the `interpretation of the data' by the consultant. Let merepeat that, the number one key to a branch study is the`interpretation of the data' by the consultant. All the maps in theworld will not tell the entire story. Interpreting the data is thevalue of a report. Find a consultant who will not only provide themaps and data, but also has a proven track record of visiting thecommunity and analyzing the data using a mathematical `model.' Afriend once told me that the most successful credit unions are theones that do everything just a little better then the next.Products, services, staffs, selling abilities and the facilitiesare all very important. Yes, your credit union can succeed if yourlocation is so-so, but you have the best products, services, staff,etc. But, wouldn't it be nice to have the piece of mind that yougave yourself and your staff a little head start knowing that youhave selected the right location for your next facility?