Park City, Utah, the training ground for America’s elite Olympic athletes, was an ideal backdrop for the 2014 Oticon Advanced Marketing Boot Camp. Now in its sixth year, the two-day training immersed participants in a series of drills, exercises, and workshops focusing on developing the mindset and skills needed to launch a distinctive practice brand in today’s highly competitive hearing care marketplace. More than 100 hearing care professionals from across the country learned innovative and actionable marketing strategies to help them “bring home the gold” to their own practices and to people in their communities who could most benefit from their professional care and services.
Sheena Oliver, AuD, MBA, Oticon vice president of marketing says, “Our goal is to empower Oticon Advanced Marketing Boot Camp recruits to take full advantage of both traditional and new marketing strategies to reach the people in their communities [who] are most vital to the success of their practice[s]. Today, hearing care practices are under siege from competitors—online, at large retail outlets, and more recently, in big box stores—that attack existing and potential client bases. The most powerful defense is a well-branded practice that communicates each professional’s unique value and benefits.”
Nationally recognized marketing experts presented at the boot camp to share their insights on shaping a modern hearing care practice. The presentations focused on how to successfully navigate the challenges of a continually evolving marketing environment.
David Meerman Scott, viral marketing strategist, social media expert, and author of the best-selling The New Rules of Marketing & PR, discussed the ways in which the web has profoundly changed the rules of marketing. He brought his perspective on strategies to more effectively reach today’s consumers. He provided practical guidance on using content-rich websites, blogs, YouTube videos, twitter, and other online media platforms to connect with existing and potential clients.
Marketing consultant and business authority, Karen Post, president of Brain Tattoo Branding, provided guidelines on how participants could begin building a memorable practice brand that creates loyalty and adds value to the client experience. She recommended that hearing care professionals infuse their marketing with emotion that motivates action, an experience that is relevant, and personalization and engagement that rewards and appreciates their clients.
Pictured from left to right are: Sheena Oliver, Oticon VP of marketing, David Meerman-Scott, social media expert, Patty Greene, Oticon marketing manager, Nancy Palmere, sr. marketing manager, Kelly O’Keefe, AudiologyDesign ,Stephanie Young, sr. digital marketing manager, and Karen Post, branding expert. Photo provided by Oticon.
Throughout the conference, a series of interactive workshops gave participants a hands-on experience of both new and proven marketing tools to help their practices stand out from the competition. The Oticon marketing team illustrated how best practices from top brands could be applied to smarter, more effective practice marketing. Participants also learned how new social media marketing tactics and strategies, and timesaving electronic marketing tools could streamline their marketing activities.
“Advanced Marketing Boot Camp is one of the broad range of business support [programs that] Oticon provides to our partners throughout the year,” explains Oliver. “With our comprehensive marketing approach, we aim to give practitioners the best chance of success in their markets.”
Source: Oticon
