Independent Banker - June 2021 - 35

Marketing
Last year challenged the marketers on our list to connect with their
communities. They discuss how they crafted messages that struck the
right tone with customers amid the discord of the pandemic.
Q: How did you engage customers during
the COVID-19 pandemic?
Molly Day: When it became necessary, we
shut our lobbies down, split our teams in half
and operated a drive-through only. Now we've
brought people back, and we're able to function
safely and responsibly. We did our best to stay
engaged with our customers and prospective
customers through our focus on relationship
banking. Our employees have always been
empowered and encouraged to keep those
one-on-one conversations going. As part of all
that, I've been paying close attention to our own
internal culture, making sure employees felt
supported, engaged and appreciated during
hard times.
Tyler Kraupp: We immediately went on the
off ensive to see where we could help. Our slogan is
" Committed to Community, " and this pandemic was
no diff erent in terms of our focus on doing whatever
it took to lend a hand to the community. Right away,
we set up a Community Commitment Fund with
other businesses, and we were able to allocate more
than $85,000 to local nonprofits who were working
on the emergency. We also started an initiative that
allowed us to deliver more than 1,000 meals to local
frontline workers at regional hospitals.
Jillian Malecha: What we do well-
community-banker partnerships, meeting
face-to-face and off ering personalized
services-had to evolve. We had to find a
way to let the community know that our
promises were not changing. We continued
to do educational messaging, especially
through videos. We launched a blog with a
library of resources and emphasized email
marketing that was segmented by customer
base, and we worked with small businesses
on navigating [Paycheck Protection Program]
loans and loan forgiveness. Through it
all, we continued to find ways to support
the community, such as by hosting virtual
graduations and food and clothing drives.
Molly Day, 33
Senior vice president,
chief deposit and chief
marketing off icer
FNBC Bank * Ash Flat, Ark.
* Established a new visual
brand and a brand council
for FNBC Bank
* Serves on the board of the
Spring River Innovation
Hub, which supports
entrepreneurs and
promotes local tourism
Tyler Kraupp, 30
Director of marketing
Bank of Idaho * Idaho
Falls, Idaho
* Managed the bank's virtual
events and hand-delivered
" thinking of you " kits during
the pandemic
* Led the marketing eff orts
of more than 1,200 firstround
Paycheck Protection
Program loans
Jillian Malecha, 39
Director of sales
and marketing
Roundbank * Waseca, Minn.
* Launched an educational
blog and chat feature,
which has given customers
the support they need
during the pandemic
* Transformed marketing
eff orts during the pandemic
to include sponsoring
graduations, partnering
with radio stations and
more -Eric Best
independentbanker.org Q 35
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - June 2021

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