Advice You - Business

Deciding on who you should market to is one of the most important business decisions you will ever make. Market segmentation is all about:

'Communicating with groups of peopl

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

e who have similar needs.'

The benefits of this approach include: getting more attention; being seen as an expert; relevant messages for defined groups; more effective marketi

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

Examples of combination products may in

ng.

Get more attention

In the 21st Century - we are all inundated by marketing messages. It is said that we are swamped by some 5,000 on an average day. So how do you en

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

sure that your 'marketing arrows' get through?

The answer is to create compelling, consistent and relevant messages for defined groups of people.

When you talk to a defined group

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

('market segment') about their concerns - it is much easier to get their attention. After all, you are talking about their challenges and their issues.

You are seen as an exp

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

Combination pro

ert

People like dealing with specialists. Imagine that you are the Senior Partner of a firm of accountants. You need a new website.

You find a couple of local web developme

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

nt companies. On the first homepage, it proclaims:

'We build websites. No job too small. Free quotations.'

The second homepage says:

'We build websites for professional servi

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

ces firms. We help you to keep your clients happy and to find more of them!'

Who are you going to call?

Being seen as an expert in your field helps to differentiate your enterpr

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

ise. If you are in a crowded marketplace, this has got to be good news.

More effective marketing

This benefit happens because your marketing efforts are now 'singing off

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

the same hymn sheet'. Everything is in tune. Your messages 'sound right' to each market segment you are talking to.

Prospective customers will come over and give you a big hug -

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

because you clearly understand them and their needs. And if the hugs aren't enough for you - they are pretty likely to give you their cash as well. Whoopee!

How do you decide

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

Following aspects would a

which segments to go for?

If you are an established business - begin by analysing your customer list (both past and present). Cluster together customers with the same profil

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

es.

Think about the types of customer you like dealing with. Consider which segments have the best financial prospects. Conduct some market research.

With regard to market res

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

earch - you could of course hire a market research company. However, if you can't afford this, here are some alternative ideas for you: Do some 'Desk Research' in your local libr

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

ary; Carry out some research yourself, using questionnaires; Find out as much as you can about your prospective customers.

Build an integrated marketing campaign

The nex

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

t step is to sort your marketing out - so that it delivers consistent messages to your target market segments.

Conclusion

If you adopt this approach - your marketing will

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

be much more focused. This means that your audience will be more prepared to listen to you. In addition, as your messages are not being scattered - they are more likely to be rep

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

eated to the right people.

This in turn helps with brand recognition. This is how 'famous name brands' and successful businesses are built.

So the rules in this game are very si

.

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

mple:
1) Find clusters of people / organisations with the same needs
2) Find out as much as you can about their situation
3) Create compelling propositions, which

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

address their needs
4) Differentiate yourself
5) Use the promotional mix to communicate your proposition
6) Keep communicating!

All the best with your marketing

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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