Advice You - Business

Sooner or later, it happens to every business owner. A customer, that you thought was really great because they praised and flattered you, has suddenly turned into the most difficult customer you have. If it's not a matter of quality-control on y

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

our part, then it may simply be that your "good customer" isn't as easy to work with as you thought. Maybe they don't pay their bills on time, and you have to chase them down. Or they're always late for their appointments, and expect you to be late for your next

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ustomer. Sometimes, it's just that their personality is so needy, draining, or obnoxious that you just can't take it anymore. As a business owner, you spend a lot of time & energy in learning how to attract and keep customers. But how do you handle it when it's t

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

me to say good-bye?

Know your personal & professional boundaries
On a social level, personal boundaries are the bottom-line standard of what you are willing to tolerate from others. You may run a service business, but does not mean you are less impor

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

ant than your customer. Even if your profession involves working with people that have known emotional issues, it does not mean that they have license to act them out on you.

Personal boundaries need to be drawn when someone is abusive, rude, or consistently tak

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ng advantage of you. If you don't teach others how to respect you, then you won't feel good about yourself. Never compromise your dignity because you're desperate for more business.

Professional boundaries are the business policies you need to make your business

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

run smoothly. That includes things like your terms of sale, refund/exchange agreements, appointment cancellation policies, etc. Ideally, these should be in writing so that new customers know what the rules are. In actuality, most business owners allow for some fl

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

xibility and occasional exceptions. But if you've already done that for a difficult customer, it may be time to strictly enforce your policies. At that point, it's really about setting a professional boundary that says, "We either do business in a way that works

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

or me or we don't do business at all."

Stand up for yourself
Usually, the social pressure to be accommodating falls on the business owner. After all, if you want someone's business, then a "customer is always right" attitude will encourage repeat bus

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

ness. For the most part, I agree with that approach. Excellent customer service policies need to be created and maintained by you. Similarly, the work of setting and enforcing personal & professional boundaries ALSO needs to be done by you. It's not fair to expec

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

your customers to simply know better. You've got to communicate what your standards are, in a way that is clear, respectful, and effective.

If you've got a customer relationship that is causing you worry and upset due to something that a particular customer is

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

doing (or not doing) then you need to be honest with them. If you can address the problem early, it will be much easier to say it with a smile and hopefully nip it in the bud. If you let the problem build and get worse, or the offense is just too upsetting to rep

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ir, then it might be time to "fire" your customer.

Make a clean break
Once you've decided that it's time to refuse to work with a customer, it's best to get it over with as quickly as possible. If something really awful has happened, you may need to

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

do it on the spot. But in any case, you'll want to protect your professional reputation by handling it as calmly and cleanly as possible.

There are 7 key elements to a smooth customer break-up:

1. Tell them in private, never in front of other customers.

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

f you feel that you need a witness, ask a trusted person to be there. Just don't turn it into a situation where your customer feels "ganged-up" on.

2. Be explicitly clear that you are ending the professional relationship. Use direct language, so there is no room

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

for misinterpretation or confusion later.

3. Have a simple explanation that justifies your decision without shaming the other person.

4. Be gracious and respectful. Remember, anything you say or do can be used against you if your customer is angry about it late

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

.

5. Be firm. Half-way measures can really backfire, so once you've said you're letting them go, do not go back and try to "make it work."

6. If they pre-paid for your services, be prepared to refund them on the spot. If they owe you money, tell them exactly wh

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

t you expect (or don't expect) from them.

7. If you have a mailing list, remove their name. Don't annoy someone you've dropped by continuing to market to them. Take care of yourself

No matter how justified your decision is, letting go of a customer is hard to

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

do. Part of you will feel good knowing that you are doing the right thing for your business and your self-esteem, but be prepared for a few emotional ups and downs. If you can, give yourself some free time to process the feelings afterwards. Take a walk, call you

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

business advisor or a friend. Stand tall, knowing that you deserve to be treated with fairness and appreciation. By letting go of business relationships that don't work for you, you are creating room for new prosperity and better relationships to enter your life

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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The Department of Minerals and Energy has embarked on a small-scale mining programme aimed at encouraging and facilitating the development of economically viable small-scale mining and mineral-based industries, in line with the government's desire that small miners gain access to mineral rights suited to small mining activity.

Your business can’t survive without customers. That’s the number one law of customer service. Find out what the other laws are in this article.

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