7 Years in Prosthetics - A Reflection

I got a chance to walk down memory lane earlier this week with Mike Bolland on his amazing podcast, We're Not Stumped, where he let me ramble on about the things that I could talk about for hours and days - prosthetics & marketing!

I still can't believe it all started in January of 2016 where a group of phenomenal people, some of them pictured above, gave me a chance to join their team and run the US marketing department of TouchBionics, now part of Ossur. Here are the things I have learned over the last 7 years in product and marketing, and most recently at BrainRobotics.

• It's ok to not know it all - I had ZERO clue about anything to do with prosthetics. I asked the same questions over and over to different people to both understand the business, understand the industry, see what was working, and more importantly what was lacking from a marketing support perspective.
• Use what you know - While I didn't know anything about the industry, I knew marketing. I've never been a die hard SEO, social, digital, content only person. I've become a jack of all trades, which allows me to be flexible and fit wherever needed. I relied on what I knew, and that was story telling - through social, web copy, ad copy, case study write ups, etc
• Ask questions, even the ones that you think are stupid - I've learned over the years that it's better to ask questions than pretend like I know what's going on, when I don't. People have no problem explaining or clarifying something
• Just keep swimming - For me, being thrown into the deep end is what works best. I just have to figure it out, there's no other way. There are some buoys to hang on to in the people around you who know more but ultimately you were hired for a job, git 'er done ??
• You can't do it all, nor should you - This is true for a number of different scenarios. In this case I'll focus on the marketing aspect - you would not be a good marketer if you signed on to get on ALL channels and tried to do it all because that means that you're just hoping *something* works. It may be where you start, or where the org is at the time, but it's up to you to narrow the scope and figure out where your customers are and how they digest the information, and what information they want. I learned that we have 3 audiences in prosthetics - the user, the clinician, and the payer - and they all care about different stuff, with some overlap.
• Create & re-create strategies based on what you see working & most importantly NOT working - A good plan is a great jumping off point but he ok with change. Something that worked elsewhere or for some other audience won't necessarily work today, or for this particular audience.

What is the goal?

Is it more prospects to feed over to sales?

Is it thought leadership?

Is is brand recognition?

Different tactics may need to be used for each of the above - what are they and how do they change over time?

• Be honest - That's it. Whether you forgot something, don't know something, screwed something up, are overwhelmed, etc. Just be honest - in that moment. The answer will come much quicker that way and you'll be seen as a trustworthy colleague. Everyone screws up, but owning it is the true test.
• Continue learning & be flexible - When I jumped into doing product management along with marketing and branding it was a whole new set of skills I needed to re-learn as it had been a while but I was ready to take on the challenge and be a marketer who understood my product & audience. I also still didn't know a whole hell of a lot about the reimbursement and clinical end of things which I tried to soak up as much as I could from anyone that was willing to teach me.

What it looks like now is me being pulled into being a lead on a company wide quality and regulatory related project - supported by an incredibly knowledgeable partner org, working directly with engineers, and so much more.

Am I an expert? Absolutely not.

Will I gain a ton of new knowledge and make new connections? Absolutely.

• Reach out to anyone and everyone - In most cases, at least some subset of your audience is on LinkedIn. I read industry articles in our key publications and reach out to the people who write them. It's a great way to connect on a particular topic and learn from more people.
• Being remote doesn't mean you can't connect & learn - I had been working remotely well before Covid hit and continue to do so now. I enjoy going into the office when needed but I can do all of my work from home. What changed when nearly everyone went remote was the opportunity to connect virtually and it has stayed. I have likely 10x'd my network during these last three years because it's SO much easier to connect with people without constantly being on a plane or away from home where my family needs me.

So to these 7 years, I say thank you! I have so much more to learn and I am really trying to dig my heels in deep by taking AOPA's O&P certificate program in business management, holding all the webinars with so many incredible people in this field, and continuing to learn.

I'm hoping to not go anywhere any time soon!

Thank you to everyone who has LinkedIn with me, been willing to hop on a call or take part in a webinar, and for all the support.

Let's do something great!

-Linda

P.S. If you're interested in helping the Limb Loss & Limb Difference community during the month of April, I am fundraising to help more people have access to prosthetics.