Advice You - Business

Recently I was visiting some family members over the holiday season. I thought I would drop into my favorite pizza outlet and sneak one of their luscious pies that I really should not be eating. You see, (and this is my gilt-edged excuse...) I don't have one of these outlets wi

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

thin 500 miles of where I now live, so I figure this is a good excuse to cheat on the old diet a bit.

I had not been in this outlet for more than 18+ months, and then only a few times. The owner-franchisee (let's call him Vijay for simplicity) was in the back; but the moment h

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

Examples of combination products may in

e saw me, he came out with a huge smile and said: "Hello Mr. double-cheese-sausage-and-mushroom...how are you?" He did not remember my name (if he ever knew it in the first place); but he remembered my face and my favorite pizza nearly two years later!

I was shocked and deligh

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

ed at this. He remembered some of our conversations when we had talked about some of my franchising experiences over the years in six different countries; particularly my being the first to open a "Burger King" in Australia, and helping to launch KFC and Pizza Hut there too. I

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

immediately asked him how things were going.

He grimaced and did not look happy. "I am now the owner of this store. They made me an offer I thought I could not refuse, and so instead of operating it for them, I now own it and I have lost several thousand dollars this year." I

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

Combination pro

was astonished. This was a huge, successful pizza franchise that was famous for making money...lot's of it. I asked him how and why he thought this was happening. He answered with two reasons: the rent was too high (which it was when he confided in me just how much he was payin

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

for this location) and more importantly, the constant discounting by way of couponing was killing him.

Additionally, other pizza outlets had opened up not too far from him and increased the choices for the younger demographic that patronize pizza places for the most part. He

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

has a nice sit down dining area, a super-clean, efficient store, but a lousy parking lot with bad egress and exit. Now here's the point: the franchisor, in an effort to generate sales volume (remember how the franchisor earns his money, right?) will do anything (includ

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

ing lots of couponing) to pump up the sales on which he earns his royalties. Today "pizza" is an almost commoditized food service offering. To get that sales volume, they cover the marketplace with multiple coupons good for two-for-ones, price off, extra toppings, you

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

ame it. This is great for them at the head office...they make a percentage of gross revenue. But the little guy, the franchisee, has to pay his bills with what's left, AFTER he has paid the franchisor, food purveyors, staff and other bills.

Usually, the franchisee doe

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

sn't have much choice about honoring those coupons either. If they are being dropped in the local newspapers, online, or advertised on local television, if he doesn't accept them, his customers will go elsewhere and he loses a hard-won customer, perhaps for life.

What can you

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

Following aspects would a

do in such a situation? It's like trying to compete with Wal-Mart on price. Don't even think of doing it. What you have to do is find another way to differentiate yourself so that you still get the business all the time when there are no live coupons out there. In other words,

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

eality dictates that you can never really win on pricing, or discounting (which is what couponing really is). Anyone can drop prices. But you can do things that other competitors won't ever think about doing.

For instance, look at how this independent franchisee remembered me

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

and my favorite pizza. That ability to remember, attitude and posture is a "gift"...or one heckuva lot of hard work. This really impresses customers. There are a variety of things you might consider that are contained within this "label" that you might call "customer service".

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

These are the tactics you need to employ to out-service your competition. People are always attracted to differences, not similarities. They already know by heart that when they come to this specific pizza outlet, they will receive the standard, similarly-produced, pizza that t

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

ey would receive at every one of this brand's outlets.

Just like a Big Mac is a big mac is a Big Mac, all over the world. What you can provide is a wonderful, customized, personalized, HUMAN experience for the customer...one he seldom receives anywhere else. Most operators hav

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

e been doing their routine job so long, they have commoditized their product and themselves and staff too. You can offer an alternative to that sameness. Offer friendliness, genuine smiles (not those "have-a-nice-day-stupid-empty-grin-smiles" that everyone knows means

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

nothing that you get everywhere today). After each customer comes in, say: "Hey...thanks for stopping by today." Or you can try: "Hey...thanks for coming in today." They both work well. I know, I tested them with a major franchise client of mine more than a decade ago. Most imp

.

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

rtant though, is to get rid of that "have a nice day" sound-like-a-robot crap.

This is not a rule just for pizza businesses. It applies to all small businesses, franchised or not. You can't do anything about the darned coupons, or the constant discounting; you are locked into

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

a legal franchise agreement; but you can operate your business differently and this will help you compete more profitably. The other business variables seem to be fixed, but how you run your business on a day-to-day basis, depends on you.

© Copyright, Roy W. MacNaughton, 2006-

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

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.adviceyou.org.ua/article/19235/adviceyou-Your-Own-Franchisors-Marketing-is-Killing-You-What-Steps-Should-You-Take.html">Your Own Franchisor's Marketing is Killing You: What Steps Should You Take?</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.adviceyou.org.ua/article/19235/adviceyou-Your-Own-Franchisors-Marketing-is-Killing-You-What-Steps-Should-You-Take.html]Your Own Franchisor's Marketing is Killing You: What Steps Should You Take?[/url]

The recent increase in media interest in personal identity theft has provided a reminder that company identity theft at Companies House is still a major problem for UK limited companies. These companies are being encouraged to proactively take action to deal with company filing fraud at Companies House.

Some look back on the economy of 2000 thru 2002 and say what a disaster 3 million jobs lost? Well one could also argue that the 43 million Americans who moved into new homes far outweighs the 3 million citizens who were looking for work. There are more people who are still looking for work who have gone into what they considered substandard vocations for instance they may be working as a manager at a Home Depot store when they were formerly an aerospace engineer with a Ph.D.

Holly Mann is a 23 year old entrepreneur who has become successful making money online. She has written an ebook explaning how she makes money online, and I am about to reveal to you if her ebook is a scam or if it is legit.

Tags

Links

Advice You - Your Own Franchisor's Marketing is Killing You: What Steps Should You Take?

Related Articles: