Pandemic positives

A session on marketing in the “new” real world featured a panel of marketing leaders:

• Ben Bauer, vice president of awesomeness (marketing) for Simplicity Credit Union, Marshfield, Wis.

• Jennifer Topzand, director of marketing for Frontwave Credit Union, Oceanside, Calif.

• Mike Bridges, vice president of marketing & communications for Five Star Credit Union, Dothan, Ala.

• Lorrell Walter, senior vice president of marketing & member experience for Western Vista Credit Union, Cheyenne, Wyo. (moderator).

One topic the panelists addressed: A positive development that came out of the pandemic.

“We wanted to pump up our mortgage portfolio, and we had a lot of restructurings and refinancings,” Bridges says. “We restructured one member’s mortgage and saved him $24,000. We also refinanced an auto loan for a couple and saved them $4,000. We have a low-income membership, and that’s a lot of money.”

“We weren’t in business lending before the pandemic, and our new chief loan officer got us approved for SBA lending,” Topzand says. “We helped 175 businesses and did something we’d never done for our membership.”

“One positive was how quickly we were able to operate remotely,” Bauer says. “On Friday, March 13, we decided to start working from home the following Monday and we didn’t skip a beat. Our efficiency and communication improved because of this, and two co-workers saved significant commute times. And I don’t know if we’ll ever have an in-person annual meeting again.”

The conference concluded Sept.15.

►Visit CUNA News for more conference coverage and view event highlights on Twitter via the #MBDVirtual and #MBDCouncil hashtags. Learn more about the CUNA Marketing & Business Development Council, a member-led professional society for credit union executives, at cunacouncils.org.