Educational presentations key to market development

NAID members may have recently read about the success of the NAID-Canada Data Destruction Policy and Training Workshop in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Because of the nature of advanced promotion, the audience was comprised of more than 40 compliance professionals from the region’s health care community.

The Health Information Protection Act (HIPA) is the Saskatchewan health care data protection law. At the event, the provincial Information and Privacy Commissioner’s (IPC’s) Office was particularly focused on promoting HIPA’s requirement to have written information protection policies and training in place.

Just for a moment, think of what it would mean to your secure destruction business if you gave such a presentation to 20 or 30 of the top health-care-compliance professionals in your market. Now consider how you could build on that, and do the same thing for financial compliance professionals or local government employees.

The presentation was only the first step. Now you have the names of these attendees. You have the opportunity to follow up with the attendees on an ongoing basis.

Readers know as well as I do that this would have amazing benefits for any service provider.

Therefore, my next question is: Why are so few companies doing this type of marketing?

I believe the short answer is that they are afraid to do it. They simply do not have the confidence necessary to pursue this strategy.

I have stated elsewhere that NAID will attempt to conduct similar educational workshops across North America. The next one is planned for Toronto in February 2013. Like the event in Regina, we have the full support of the provincial IPC, in this case, Dr. Ann Cavoukian. More information about NAID’s educational workshops may be found at www.naidonline.org.

What about you? You too can find local alliances with associations, chambers of commerce, Better Business Bureaus and government offices in your area. NAID has provided you with every tool you might need to stage these events. NAID will continue to add to that list of tools specifically so members can pursue this agenda. And, of course, the officers of NAID will continue to do their own barnstorming.

It is said the only way to grow personally or professionally is to step outside your comfort zone. With NAID’s help, I urge you to do just that.

Bob Johnson is CEO of the National Association for Information Destruction. He can be reached at rjohnson@naidonline.org.