To ensure there is no wasted space, Litman said new branches are kept within a range of 1,100 to 2,400 square feet. The new branches all feature a concierge desk or "service central," a scaled down teller area, new accounts area, and on-site mortgage and investment experts. She added that the branch selling space is wisely used in terms of merchandising layout to talk up any Tech CU services and specials.

According to Tech CU Vice President of Sales Cindy Smith, the credit union formula for setting goals for each branch is to divide its annual corporate goals of membership, loan volume and deposit volume between the branches based on the branch size, in terms of staff.

"We primarily rely on our financial center consultants to meet membership, loan and deposit goals and the tellers for referrals," said Smith. "So, for example, if we've determined that to meet the annual membership goal, each FCC needs to open 30 new memberships per month–the membership goal for each branch for new members would be their number of FCCs times 30."

Branch success is measured based on the number of key products per household. When a new branch is first opened, it is expected that within 90 days, at least 80% of all new members will have a checking account with direct deposit and at least one loan, added Smith.

"With the two new branches opened since 2005 in Santa Teresa and Cupertino, we have been successful in meeting the monthly targets for membership, as well as the cross-sell ratio goals. We measure that cross-sell penetration ratio using reports from our data warehouse," said Smith.

From a marketing perspective, the strategy is to promote in phases before, during and after a branch grand opening. In addition, Litman said she also finds a social partner to act as an anchor for Tech CU with potential members in the new market. Branching With Communities In Mind

"We've always supported the communities we serve," said Litman. "Partnering with a charitable organization as part of our branch openings helps us to immediately communicate that we plan to be an integral member of that community and helps introduce us to area locals who may not have heard of us. It's so much faster and more effective than just advertising in the area because it is a great way to establish good community relations."

The partnership concept has been a win-win all around added Litman. A grand opening for its Cupertino Financial Center found it partnered with Cupertino Community Services, which provides basic needs, family services and housing services including: information and referrals, food, clothing, shelter, affordable housing, financial assistance, and case management. With some 200 new accounts opened in just two months the credit union raised $2,000 for the organization, which will help not only expand the food bank and other needed services, but also develop new financial education programs.

To celebrate the recent opening of its Dublin branch, Tech CU has partnered with Valley Children's Museum. Tech CU will donate $10 to VCM for every new account or membership opened at the Dublin center between Dec. 1, 2006 and Jan. 31, 2007. Donated funds will help buy books for the museum's mobile library. The partnerships don't stop with charitable organizations. To further reinforce its community ties, the credit union also teams up with area vendors for everything from promotional pieces to grand opening raffle prizes. For example, to create a buzz about its Santa Teresa branch, Tech CU not only leased kiosk space in a popular area mall, but also ran animated spots about the upcoming branch on video screens near the mall's movie theater, about three weeks prior to opening. A local GM dealer gave the credit union a great deal on the grand prize of a black convertible Pontiac Solstice and during the first two weeks of the branch opening the credit union also teamed up with Jamba Juice and Starbucks to offer members a free beverage and cup of coffee on Tech CU. More local flavor is found in the entertainment and food selections, which have run the gamut from spicy Indian cuisine to Chinese food. To keep interest in the new branch going long after the grand opening festivities, each branch is provided its own community relations fund.

"That branch manager is now empowered to decide how they will be involved in their community and how best to spend the money," said Litman. "Yes we have a good start on our branch goals and what it takes to break even on a new branch but we also take into consideration that the member relationship is dynamic. How they use the branch changes and is unique to each location so we look at the data to determine how best to meet their needs rather than just meeting a product quota."

The idea of personalization carries over to targeted direct mailings that are sent out during each grand opening, which include a Tech CU member magazine.

"We found a very cost efficient way to do a great member magazine rather than the typical newsletter. We had an overflow of about 10,000 and thought it'd be a great idea to use the magazine as a way to introduce the Cupertino branch to select area residents," said Litman.

A shrink-wrapped invitation included on the magazine was delivered to households near its Cupertino branch and helped generate 25 to 30 new members within 56 days. Plans are also underway to introduce a more sophisticated CRM screen next year that will include a next logical relationship predictive model.

"We want to give our branches a more powerful tool in determining how to best meet the members' needs at that moment," said Litman.

She adds that the combination of all the elements of having the right people in place, incentives, partnering and linking new branches to the community has helped make the new branching strategy a success. –[email protected]