VIENNA, Va. -
While Naval Air Station Atlanta in nearby Marietta has been home to thousands of Navy and Marine Corps aviators and ground support crew since World War II, Navy Fed VP of Branch Operations Gale Lewis said the lure of Atlanta city life served as a draw to NFCU members regardless of their status with the U.S. military. Navy Fed members who've left the service and are raising families in the Peachtree State will be the focus of the new branches. Lewis said as many as 40,000 NFCU members are already living in the Atlanta metro area.
"As with any major city, we've had members move to that city. We ended up with a fair concentration in Atlanta," Lewis said.
The $29-billion CU opened new branches in Buckhead, Stockbridge, Snellville and Roswell, with each branch offering a full array of products and services, extended hours and 24-hour access ATMs. Lewis said Navy Federal usually creates one branch per 10,000 members and expects a 30% growth rate for a new market.
"In the first two weeks, we had 150 new members," Lewis said. "We're expecting our membership to grow in the Atlanta area."
Lewis related one story to illustrate her point. Several days before the opening day on June 25, Lewis was present when a new ATM was being installed and activated when a Navy Fed member walked up and asked if it was in operation. That man told Lewis how happy he was about the new branches and that he was set to open new accounts for his three children. Another 29-year member told Lewis that he would be opening accounts for his grandkids after the opening. In fact, Lewis said Navy Fed members' families are a focus of the new branch network.
"You're going to see that kind of growth," she said.
Three of the four new branches are located outside the Atlanta "perimeter", the Interstate 285 extension that encircles the city, with one located in Buckhead, an older, well-off and popular section of the city. Lewis said the credit union giant has a unique first step when deciding where to place a new branch. NFCU staff mine member ZIP codes in the intended area and place red pins on the map to show the distribution. Lewis said staff then consults with trusted real estate officials and other planners to pinpoint the future branch sites.
"So you're looking for clusters of dots," Lewis said.
As Navy Federal wanted to open in the Atlanta market this year, Lewis said the CU giant selected inline office locations for three of the four new branches. One inline branch and the free-standing branch will have drive-through tellers for member convenience. While the new branches were already built, the exterior of each branch is different, but the interiors were redesigned to provide a common experience for NFCU members.
To reach its 40,000 Atlanta-based members, Lewis said Navy Federal has been running print, radio and billboard ads in order to fight through the huge volume of marketing in the Georgia capital. However, Lewis stated quite clearly that Navy Federal isn't straying from it maritime roots and has no plans for a change in what it stands for.
"We have no intention of going community charter," Lewis insisted. "Our members are very, very happy we're there. We have to get the word out."
Lewis said the NFCU experience in opening branches is just like the Kevin Costner movie "Field of Dreams", that when the credit union builds a branch its loyal members always come. More than calculating a hard ROI, Lewis said Navy Fed staff can simply watch the activity. Each branch opening has shown an increase in new members, new accounts, higher deposits, wallet share and the increased use of financial products and services, she said.
"Every branch we've opened, we can prove that," Lewis said.
