Category: General

General, Orthotic Prosthetic Continuing Education, Orthotics and Prosthetics State Meetings

NEAAOP Continuing Education Conference

CEC Admin
Brad Davis, CPA, CTP Fabricates a Prosthetic Socket

The New England Chapter of the American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists (NEAAOP) held its annual continuing education conference from October 23 – 25 2019 in Woburn, MA at the Hilton Boston Hotel.

One of the NEAAOP meeting highlights was the off-site Tech program. The course was held at FDR Prosthetics & Orthotics, the practice of NEAAOP President, Paul Harney, CO. Technicians were afforded real time lab experience with Brad Davis, CPA, CTP, the lab manager of Coyote Prosthetics & Orthotics. Coyote is a patient care facility and manufacturer based out of Boise, Idaho.

“The off-site program was a great opportunity for prosthetic technicians to participate in a meeting they normally wouldn’t attend, ” said Jennifer Fayter, Sales Director for Coyote. “The attendees were able to share experiences and learn techniques from other technicians. It was a lot of fun and the program was really well received.”

The curriculum focused on prosthetic socket fabrication using Coyote Composite, a basalt fiber woven into a proprietary braid. Seventeen attendees participated in the course. The technicians received real-time lab experience and got to “lay up” a socket using a unique product.

“Techs need to get their hands dirty, ” Fayter commented. “A proper lab is so much better than a conference center for this kind of instruction. Big thank you to Paul Harney for opening his facility to us and for organizing a great event!”For more information about Coyote Composite contact Sales Director Jennifer Fayter (Jennifer.Fayter@coyoteprosthetics.com) or call (208)429-0026 .

For a comprehensive list of orthotic and prosthetic meetings and conferences please visit the CEC Events page: http://cecpo.com/events .

General, Marketing with Mansfield

Now’s the Time to “GPS” Your Marketing for a Successful Year

Marketing with Mansfield

Happy almost-end-of-the-year! What will your marketing resolutions be for 2020? The end of the year is always a good time to reflect on the results of your marketing plan and to consider what changes you might want to make for the upcoming year. They key word is “plan.” Think of it like GPS directions for your marketing. When you need to get somewhere, GPS knows where you are but you have to tell it where you want to go and then it gives you options on how to get there.

Know your final destination

http://gps.gov

I am willing to bet that when it comes to a marketing plan a lot of people don’t start with the final destination, where they want to be by December, in mind. Instead they start heading off “down the road” – destination to be determined.

Awhile back I spent a weekend at Frequent Traveler University. It’s a convention for people who not only like to travel but they also like learning about how miles and points can enhance their travel experience. It was perfect timing because all my travel and loyalty calculators reset to zero at the end of the year (jut the calculators, not the accumulated points or miles.) This is important because in order for me to achieve my travel-related goals for 2020 and beyond, I need to know by the end of the year how to structure my 2020 travel plan.

For example, if my goal is to acquire a Southwest Airlines Companion pass in 2020 so that I can bring a companion along for free in 2020, then I need to determine what strategy I will use to acquire the required number of Rapid Rewards points in order to receive the pass. The final destination would be 125,000 QUALIFYING points.

Know your starting point

I know what I am starting with in January 2020. That would be zero points. Remember those point calculators reset on December 31st. You might think that there is only one route to get there – not true. The final destination would be 125,000 QUALIFYING points OR 100 QUALIFYING one-way flights . In reality, there are a plethora of routes that will get me to my final destination. Route 1 is flying. Route 2 is a mixture of flying and shopping. Route 3 includes getting a Southwest credit card (with sign up bonuses) and those are just 3 routes. Some might take me all year to get there. Some might take me a matter of months. Some might be cost prohibitive and some will be relatively inexpensive.

Important NOTE – not all Rapid Rewards points are qualifying points and not all flights are qualifying flights.

The two things I know for sure are – where I am right now and where I want to end up. What I also know is that I would really like that pass sooner rather than later and I don’t want to waste money or time getting it.

Know your route options

Back to O&P marketing…if you know that you have 270 newsletter subscribers as of today but that you want 2,499 subscribers by the end of 2020 which route are you going to take? Just like getting the Companion Pass, there are a lot of different routes with different time frames and different costs. I have clear goals. Get the points to get the pass so that my companion can fly for free so that I can save a lot of money. I know most of my travel schedule for 2020 right now so I can actually calculate how much money I will be able to save depending on when I acquire the pass. That is very helpful in determining my route.

In our newsletter subscriber example, we have a clear goal of acquiring 2,229 new subscribers. We want to make sure that all of our new subscribers are people who are relevant to the success of our business and not just “route detours” for the sake of pumping up our numbers.

What’s your marketing GPS route for 2020?

General

American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association (AOPA) Annual National Assembly

CEC Admin

The San Diego Convention Center hosted the American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association’s National Assembly from September 25 through September 28. The convention center did a fantastic job simultaneously accommodating both the O&P conference and TwitchCon 2019.

You would have been in the minority if you had a working knowledge of both Twitch and O&P.

“It’s really great Twitch is here! What a fun and fascinating experience to share this convention center with all these ‘Twitchers’.” Ed McKenna, owner of Horizon Prosthetics in Colorado said. “I had no idea what Twitch was before I got here and I’m still not really sure how they do everything they do, but it looks like everyone is having a great time.”

AOPA hosted the O&P Leadership Event at Pirch Beach, directly behind right-center field at Petco Park. Board members and executive staff from the ABC, USISPO, BOC, NAAOP, and AOPA, the Amputee Coalition and AAOP enjoyed an amazing view of Max Muncy hitting his first career grand slam which helped the Dodgers clinch home-field advantage throughout the National League playoffs. Thank you AOPA – really a great night!

Great view of an exciting game!

“This was a great event hosted by AOPA. I was honored to be included!” Elizabeth Mansfield, USISPO Chair said. “It was so nice to be outside with all these fun people after a day of meeting rooms and PowerPoints. We were right on the field and…on the JumboTron!”

Congratulations to Erin McGraw and Charles Noble (Elizabeth’s cousin!!), both from the University of Pittsburgh Prosthetics & Orthotics program for their award winning poster presentations.  Here they are pictured below with the AOPA President, Jim Weber.

Erin McGraw, Jim Weber and Charles Noble

The 2019 American Orthotic & Prosthetic Association’s National Assembly was well run and well attended. The exhibit hall, presentations, events, and hotel accommodations were all exceptional and the weather was glorious.

General, Marketing with Mansfield

What Email Newsletter Marketers Know That You Don’t!

Marketing with Mansfield

I have a collection of “oops” emails that I keep in a folder in my inbox. I would like to share some with you. “Oops – Corrected Date/Time Inside: Best Practices for Content Marketing Webinars” is one. I received it from Chief Marketer, a content marketing company in Connecticut. “We forgot something…” from Magazines.com, a company that believe it or not, sells magazines. “Oops! There’s been a slight mistake” from Thrifty Car Rental. “Oops!” from IKEA. “Oops! 5-Star Cupcakes We Couldn’t Wait to Share” from Betty Crocker. There a lot more, most with some type of “oops” or “apologies” in the subject line.

Mistake? Or No Mistake?

I do not know what you think, but I think that IKEA, Thrifty Car Rental and Betty Crocker have pretty sophisticated marketing departments and consultants. Of course, the people who work there are just that, people, and we all know that humans make mistakes. What if I told you that not all of those “oops” emails were mistakes – would you be surprised?

According to MediaPost, email recipients click on these emails because they are either curious or genuinely interested in figuring out whether the sender’s mistake is going to have an effect on them.

I think it is pretty obvious that a “Best New Cupcake Recipes” email might not appeal to everyone but that an “Oops! 5-Star Cupcakes We Couldn’t Wait to Share” might garner a higher open rate. Either you opened it the first time and are curious what you might have missed the first time, or you saw it, ignored it and are now curious about the mistake Betty made.

I hope you do not think that I am encouraging you to send out digital correspondence with mistakes on purpose. I am not. I hope you do not think that I am advising you to send out these emails if you made a stupid mistake that everyone can clearly see was a mistake. Take the date for example. One of my pet peeves about email newsletter programs is that even though they love to have a date section, one which often stands alone, the section does not update automatically. It seems to me that should be an easy programming fix. Even Microsoft Word knows how to fill in the current date once you start typing. Anyway, my point is that sending out an email newsletter with a November date in the middle of March is clearly a mistake. Especially if everything else in the email is timely. If that happens, you do not waste an “oops.” You just move on. Address it if you want to in the next issue but do not waste people’s time sending them an email over a spelling error.

Reason for sending?

What does constitute a reason for sending an “oops” email? Something that has the potential to have a negative impact on the recipient:

  • Broken link – this is a big deal.
  • Day or date of an event mistake – definitely send one.
  • Venue mistake – of course.
  • Incorrect directions – absolutely.
  • Sent the email to the wrong list – HURRY!

So you made a legitimate, oops-worthy mistake. Do not fret. The silver lining is that your apology email will probably outperform your original email. Just do not be that little boy that cried “Oops!”

Reference:

McDonald L. MediaPost. 2011. Available at www.mediapost.com/publications/article/141444/fake-oops-emails-stop-it-already.html

General, Marketing with Mansfield, Orthotic Prosthetic Continuing Education

Who’s a Winner? You’re a Winner!

Marketing with Mansfield

Who doesn’t love a winner? Everybody loves a winner! Everybody loves to win. Winning something – and talking about it – can be a marketing bonanza. Even just making it into the qualifying rounds or final stages of a competition can get you great buzz.

Step One. Determine Eligibility.

The first step is to find some awards you are eligible to win. The Small Business Association is always a good place to start. Also, check out awards offered by your national trade and professional organizations. Your local chamber of commerce is another association that routinely gives out awards. Don’t forget to just…google!

Do you have a resident on staff? There are several awards available for O&P residents, too.

Research these organizations and others like them, but then go beyond professional and trade associations and do a little research on your vendors– big and small. Do you use Dell computers? They have a small business award. Have a business plan? The Miami Herald has the Miami Herald Business

Step Two. Plan Your Challenge.

Doing any renovations or remodeling or upgrading of computer or fabrication systems? The Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest clean technology business competition and are looking for the best clean technology ideas from around the world, according to their website.

Step Three. Toot Your Horn. Loudly.

Alright, you’ve found some awards for which you, your staff and/or your company might be eligible. Submit the application and make sure you monitor your progress. A Google Alert would be a great way to keep tabs on the contest so you know when the winners are announced. Hopefully you win but even if you’re nominated as a finalist or receive some kind of ranking you can still toot your own horn.

Step Four. Write a Release.

Submit it to trade publications. You might not even have to write it yourself. In many cases, the award organizers will actually supply the winners with a press release template for the award.

Of course you are going to put it in your email newsletter. This gives you a chance to share the award and with the people who are most interested in you and your business: your subscribers. You don’t have to be nearly as politically correct as you have to be in your press release. Make sure you link your announcement back to the original announcement or news story in which you were featured.

If there’s an image or logo that goes along with the award, use it. Whatever it is, if it has a symbol that people will recognize, make sure you put it on your letterhead, your website, your front door, your window, your service vehicles … use it.

Step Five. Link. Link. Link.

This where all that social media marketing comes in hand: Draw traffic. You need to link to the website listing the winners. Link to your announcement. Make a photo gallery of you receiving the award, of the award itself. Tweet it. Put it on your LinkedIn page; your Facebook page. Use links and use photos. People want to click and they want to look. Make sure they can do both.

Step Six. Keep Me in the Loop.

Last but not least, make sure you tell me. I am a one-stop word-of-mouth-marketing guru. I’ll tell everyone. Email me. Elizabeth@cecpo.com