NATM has been named a 2018 All Star Award winner by Constant Contact, a company in email marketing solutions. The annual award recognizes the most successful 10 percent of Constant Contact’s customer base, based on their significant achievements using email marketing to engage their customers and drive results for their organization during the prior year.
 
NATM has made significant strides in enhancing its email marketing strategies. The Association’s communications department has been hard at work in its efforts to reduce the amount of emails that hit users’ inboxes.

“We’re happy to be recognized by Constant Contact for achieving strong marketing results and engaging with our customers. We’re grateful for our subscribers who are consistently engaging with our content as well as providing constant feedback for how we can improve our marketing efforts,” said NATM Executive Director Kendra Ansley.
 
Small businesses and nonprofits using Constant Contact’s email marketing tools are eligible for this award. Criteria used to select this year’s All Stars included the following during 2018:

• Level of engagement with email campaigns
• Open, bounce, and click-through rates

• Use of social sharing features
• Use of mailing list sign-up tools
• Use of reporting tools

 
“Constant Contact’s primary goal is to fuel small business success. We know it’s not an easy road for small businesses, which is why we work to provide easy and affordable marketing tools and advice that can elevate their customer engagement and awareness to new levels,” said Holli Scott, Vice President of Customer Success. “The campaigns created by this year’s All Stars demonstrate that a business, regardless of its size, can accomplish their marketing goals and we celebrate NATM's impressive achievements with this All Star Award.” 

Not subscribed to NATM’s mailing list? No worries! You can subscribe to NATM's monthly newsletter, NATM Insider, here or text “NATM” to 22828 to automatically subscribe. For more questions or concerns regarding NATM’s marketing efforts, contact NATM Marketing Coordinator Savana Morrison.

​NATM continuously aims to provide exceptional membership services and benefits. One way the Association attempts to do this, is by conducting a phone survey to both Regular and Associate members, in hopes to better understand the current climate of the supplier and manufacturing industries.
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There are several common themes that have surfaced when asked about challenges or barriers that members are experiencing:

• Tariff/rising component prices
• Uncertainty in the marketplace
• Workforce challenges
• Transportation availability and costs
• Marketing

 
Armed with this knowledge, NATM will strive to provide educational opportunities and resources in the coming year to assist members in tackling the hurdles that they may be facing or expect in 2019. The 2019-2021 strategic plan aligns well with the feedback received. The Board, committees, and staff are already at work to address these barriers and add more value for your investment. NATM will provide updates on these actions in upcoming issues of Tracks and the NATM Insider eNewsletter as well as Government Affairs updates via email.
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If there are additional topics or hot button industry issues that you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to contact Kelli Maydew, NATM Membership & Education Director. 

Membership renewals for 2019 have been mailed, and the main contact for your company has received an email notice as well. If you would like to confirm who your main contact is, please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew or call NATM at (785) 272-4433. You can also log into the Members Only portal of www.NATM.com and select the “Update Your Contact Information” link to make edits instantly to this information. 

In addition to paying your membership dues by check or over the phone by credit card, you are also able to pay online using the Members Only portal at www.NATM.com. Once you are logged in using your company’s login credentials, select “Pay My Bills.” If you need your credentials, or have any questions during this process, please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew.

For trade show exhibitors, it is important to note that NATM DUES MUST BE PAID BY DEC. 31, 2018 to maintain the member rate for your booth at the February 2019 trade show in Lake Buena Vista, FL.
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NATM is committed to improving the compliance program, delivering safety education and information, increasing consumer awareness about the importance of buying compliant trailers, providing opportunities for member input, and continuing to develop relationships with key decision makers on Capitol Hill and in federal agencies to advocate for industry needs.  
 
NATM, the Board of Directors, committees, and staff are working diligently to provide more value to members, and we look forward to working with you in 2019. We sincerely hope that you will allow us to continue to serve your needs and provide value to your organization.
 
Please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew if you have any questions at (785) 272-4433 or email Kelli.Maydew@natm.com
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It’s no secret that health care costs are rising. A number of factors contribute to these increasing costs—some of the biggest contributors include:

Increasing Pharmaceutical Costs and Use:
Health care costs are growing in part due to the increased use of prescription drugs, and an increase in the number of newer, more expensive drugs prescribed. Though prescription drug manufacturers have revolutionized modern medicine, these advances come at a cost.

As pharmaceutical companies develop new drugs to treat serious medical conditions, the market for those drugs expands accordingly. The trend in the pharmaceutical industry is to maximize profits by developing drugs to treat conditions for which there were previously no drug treatments. These new “lifestyle” drugs treat or control conditions like nail fungus, impotence, obesity or hair loss. Manufacturers then use direct-to-consumer advertisements that encourage customers to ask their doctors for prescriptions for these medications.

The increased use of lifestyle medications and direct-to-consumer advertising have raised serious questions about where America’s health care dollars are being spent and if consumers are getting the best value for their money.

New, Expensive Medical Technology:
New medical devices, diagnostic tests and medical imaging tools are enabling doctors to deliver care that would have been impossible in years past. Medical technology, just like pharmaceuticals, has revolutionized medicine and improved the lives of many people—but those advances have also come with hefty price tags. As the number of older Americans increases, these new devices and treatments are being used even more and with escalating price tags.

Chronic Care:
The health care system is primarily geared toward providing acute care and curing diseases. However, many people need care for chronic conditions such as heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes. Chronic conditions are the major cause of illness, disability and death in the United States, and they account for a significant portion of health care spending.

• According to the National Council on Aging (NCOA), about 80 percent of older adults have one chronic condition, accounting for more than two-thirds of the nation’s total health care costs.
• The NCOA also cites that 95 cents of every dollar of Medicare and 83 cents for every dollar of Medicaid go toward treating chronic disease.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.

Provider Consolidation:
Before managed care revolutionized the American health care system, individual medical providers determined the fees for their services. However, with the domination of managed care plans, most providers have been forced to negotiate their prices lower or risk losing patient volume from managed care plans willing to exclude non-compliant providers from their networks.

In order to maintain or regain some negotiating power, providers in many communities have consolidated their medical practices, effectively monopolizing procedures within specific service areas. These large provider groups have a much greater ability to negotiate with managed care plans that wish to provide convenient care options for their members.
Health care costs and, consequently, employee health benefits costs have been increasing at a very high rate for nearly a decade. Unfortunately, cost increases are still outpacing the rate of inflation, making health care a growing cost burden for consumers.

As costs increase, frustration grows for health insurance buyers and the consumers of health care in our nation. Advances in medical technology and expanded pharmaceutical dependency will only grow and continue to drive your health care higher. So, what is a business owner to do? How can consumers of health insurance better manage the costs of the benefit they are providing?

Association Health Plans (AHPs) will allow businesses to join together through an Association such as NATM to form a larger, more influential buying pool for the purchase of health insurance. This leverage should allow the AHP to negotiate more aggressive insurance pricing as well as the cost of administering those plans.

NATM Members from more than 20 states have already provided information for NATM’s Association Health Plan (AHP) evaluation.

To learn more about how to leverage NATM Membership to better manage healthcare cost:
Plan to join Marsh and McLennan Agency for the workshop session scheduled at the 2019 NATM Convention & Trade Show on Wednesday, Feb. 20 at 8:00 am. Schedule a one-on-one meeting with Marsh and McLennan Agency consultants during the 2019 NATM Convention & Trade Show to discuss your specific employee benefit challenges, strategy and NATM’s Association Health Plan initiative. Contact Lane McNeil at Lane.McNeil@natm.com to sign up.
Complete a Data Collection form for your company and if you want to be included in NATM’s AHP evaluation, please submit the completed form to Lisa Clark at Lisa.Clark@marshmma.com.

Contact Lisa Clark if you have specific questions regarding your employee benefit plan or NATM’s Association Health Plan progress prior to the 2019 Convention at Lisa.Clark@marshmma.com.

For more information about Marsh & McLennan Agency, visit www.marshmma.com. 

​Membership renewals have already been sent to members, which makes the end of the year a perfect time for the Association to reflect on how membership dues are critical in supporting the actions, services and educational programs that NATM provides for its members and the light- and medium-duty trailer industry. 

In 2018, NATM membership dues allowed NATM to:

• Complete 258* compliance consultations 
• Hire a 3rd full-time compliance consultant 
• Proactively address government affairs issues, particularly tariffs
• Educate members of Congress during the annual Regulatory Roundup and Capitol Hill visits
• Host two free Regional Educational Workshops with topics covering the skilled labor shortage, NHTSA and EWR regulations, and employee recruiting and retention best practices 
• Update the 2018 Guidelines for Recommended Minimum Manufacturing Practices for Light- and Medium-Duty Trailers
• Conclude the 2016-2018 Strategic Plan and begin work on the 2019-2021 Strategic Plan
• Execute the first annual national Trailer Safety Week
• Redesign the Association's website, www.NATM.com 
• Raise awareness of the importance of compliance by exhibiting at conventions such as the Lifesavers National Conference, the KDOT Transportation Safety Conference, and the North American Trailer Dealers Association (NATDA) trade show.

Membership renewals for 2019 have gone out in the mail and the main contact for your company will receive an email notice as well. If you would like to check to see who your main contact is, please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew or call NATM at (785) 272-4433. You can also log into the Members Only portal of www.NATM.com and select the “Update Your Contact Information” link to make edits instantly to this information. 

In addition to paying your membership dues by check or over the phone by credit card, you are also able to pay online using the Members Only portal at www.NATM.com. Once you are logged in using your company’s login credentials, select “Pay My Bills.” If you need your credentials, or have any questions during this process, please contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew

Membership dues will again go unchanged in 2019. Rates are $795 for Associate (Supplier) members, $135 for Associate (Supplier) Branch members, $925 for Regular and International Regular (Trailer Manufacturer) members, $300 for Regular (Trailer Manufacturer) Branch members. If you joined between February and October of 2018, your 2018 dues will be for the prorated amount provided when you joined. 

For trade show exhibitors, it is important to note that NATM DUES MUST BE PAID BY DEC. 31, 2018 to maintain the member rate for your booth at the February 2019 trade show in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. 

As NATM enters the final quarter of 2018, membership numbers remain strong. All categories of membership are up from the same time last year. As of Oct. 15, 2018, NATM has a total of 930 members. The membership breaks down as 425 Regular Members, 50 Branch Regular Members, 28 International Regular Members, 386 Associate Members and 41 Branch Associate Members. 

Contact NATM Membership & Education Director Kelli Maydew if you have any questions at (785) 272-4433 or email Kelli.Maydew@natm.com.  
*Consultation estimates as of Oct. 15, 2018

To directly communicate proper trailer usage and safety to end-users, NATM recommends that all trailers include an owner’s manual. As members of NATM, trailer manufacturers understand the importance of safety and build trailers accordingly. Unfortunately, it does not matter how well a trailer is built if the end-user improperly hitches, loads or fails to maintain a trailer.

To educate customers, trailer owner manuals provide instructions regarding maintenance and safety, as well as important warnings. Creating owner's manuals for the trailers you manufacture can be a daunting, and often expensive task. Fortunately, NATM has made it easy and affordable for members to include manuals with their trailers as an additional resource and benefit to doing business with their dealers. By providing a quality owner’s manual with every trailer, it not only markets the company as reputable, but also helps to reduce liability due to legal issues and misuse by end-users.
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NATM offers manuals for 12 trailer types. Bumper pull style trailers include: utility, enclosed, horse, livestock, dump, and boat trailers. Gooseneck-style trailers include: utility, enclosed, horse, dump and boat trailers.
Every manual purchased will be personalized to include the company’s name and address, and each manual is product-line specific. The manuals have the required compliance items and include the following sections:

• Section 1 - Introduction/General Information
• Section 2 - Safety
• Section 3 - Tire Safety Information
• Section 4 - Coupling and Uncoupling
• Section 5 - Loading and Unloading the Trailer
• Section 6 - Towing
• Section 7 - Inspection, Service and Maintenance

One of the top shortcomings of trailer manufacturers working to become NATM Compliant is failure to include the NHTSA notification statement. It is required that trailer manufacturers provide the following statement to the purchaser in the owner’s manual, or, if there is no owner’s manual, on a one-page document:

If you believe that your vehicle has a defect that could cause a crash or could cause injury or death, you should immediately inform the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in addition to notifying [Insert company name here].

If NHTSA receives similar complaints, it may open an investigation, and if it finds that a safety defect exists in a group of vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy campaign. However, NHTSA cannot become involved in individual problems between you, your dealer, or [Insert company name here].
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To contact NHTSA, you may either call the Vehicle Safety Hotline toll-free at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153), go to http://www.safercar.gov; or write to:
Administrator
NHTSA
1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E.
Washington, DC 20590
You can also obtain other information about motor vehicle safety from http://www.safercar.gov.

By including an owner’s manual, trailer manufacturers are easily able to meet this requirement of both NHTSA and NATM, as well as reduce the chances that customers are left frustrated and confused. The inclusion of an owner’s manual helps to avoid mistreatment and misuse of the trailer in a way that could damage both the trailer and your company’s reputation by word-of-mouth.

The manuals are available for purchase by members only and are sold individually, but discounts are available when ordering multiple manuals. Once purchased, they are emailed as a non-editable PDF format and can be easily reprinted as many times as necessary.

For more information about purchasing generic owner’s manuals, or having your manuals updated, contact Marketing Coordinator Savana Morrison.