SOMERSET, NJ November 14 – More than 550 hearing care professionals from across the US attended the Oticon Catalyst Conference, held November 10-12 at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, Texas. The two-day conference explored the ways disruptions in the marketplace have created unique challenges and fresh opportunities for practitioners to grow and solidify their practices.
(l-r) Douglas L. Beck AuD, Executive Director of Academic Sciences; Bill Taylor, Entrepreneur and Co-founder, Fast Company; Nancy Palmere, Director of Consumer Marketing and PR; Oticon President Gary Rosenblum; Sheena Oliver, AuD, Vice President of Marketing; and Don Schum, PhD, Vice President of Audiology. Not shown: Daniel Burrus, Technology Futurist and Innovation and Business Strategist.
“In presentations by keynote speakers, hands-on workshops with Oticon experts and open forums throughout the weekend, we covered a lot of ground on topics of critical importance to the success of hearing care practices today,” said Oticon President Gary Rosenblum. “Our focus went beyond sharing new technologies, research and resources. We also looked at the ways that Oticon can serve as a catalyst for success in a changing business landscape by providing the comprehensive support that hearing care professionals need now.”
(l-r) Thomas Lunner, PhD, Senior Scientist, Project Leader and Group Manager, Eriksholm Research Centre; Arianne Laplante-Levesque, PhD, eHealth Research Area Manager, Eriksholm Research Centre; Niels Henrik Pontoppidan, PhD, Research Area Manager, Advanced Algorithms, Eriksholm Research Centre; and Don Schum, PhD, Vice President of Audiology, Oticon, Inc.
Keynote presentations by Bill Taylor, Entrepreneur and Co-founder, Fast Company, and Technology Futurist and Innovation and Business Strategist Daniel Burrus encouraged participants to move beyond market challenges to craft new opportunities to increase patient engagement, transform the patient experience and deliver practice and patient success. Expert presenters discussed the importance of understanding dramatically changing consumer trends and behaviors and applying this knowledge to strengthen the practice marketing and sales process. The group also took on hard questions about managed care , increased competition, OTC devices and new channels of distribution to provide hearing care professionals with strategies to successfully navigate an evolving marketplace.
Presenters made the case for the value of the enhanced user experience and high satisfaction ratings delivered by advanced technologies like Oticon Opn™ and ConnectClip™, a Bluetooth® partner microphone with mobile phone headset capability that Oticon will introduce in January. A panel discussion with researchers from Eriksholm Research Centre provided an intriguing glimpse into the future of hearing aids - how they will interact with the brain and how they might help hearing aid users to better connect with their providers.
A series of workshops introduced conference participants to the tools and resources needed to put inspiration into action, including Oticon’s comprehensive business support that combines powerful consumer marketing to drive lead generation, practice resources to save time and improve productivity, training and education to elevate skills and services and financial support.
For more information on Oticon business support and the Oticon Opn family, visit www.Oticon.com/Opn. You may also learn more about Oticon on the Oticon Partners Page on AudiologyOnline.
