Advice You - Business

In virtually every area of business, there will be pitfalls along the way. Marketing is no exception. Time and time again, businesses of all sizes make the same costly mistakes.

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

But knowing how to avoid these mistakes can save you energy, disappointment – and money.

Mistake #1: Eliminating marketing efforts when times get tight.

When cash flow slows, ad

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

Examples of combination products may in

vertising, direct mail and other forms of marketing are the easiest expenses to reduce, right? But cut these, and you eliminate the very activities that will bring in new customer

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

to turn your business around.

This is the time when you may be spending more time analyzing the results of your marketing efforts. But by stopping marketing efforts, you will be

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

setting yourself up for additional loss of business.

Mistake #2: Not measuring results.

Don’t wait until times get tight to start measuring the results of your marketing efforts

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

Combination pro

By analyzing regularly, you will be able to reinvest in what is working, and drop what is not working. Ask customers how they found your business, and then track the results.

U

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

se coupons or advertising codes to track your customers. Or host a focus group of a variety of customers to discover what attracts them to your business.

Mistake #3: Putting all

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

our marketing dollars in one area.

If your entire marketing budget is used on just one method of promoting your business, you won’t realize the highest return on your investment.

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

Diversifying your efforts will increase the frequency and reach of your messages and stretch your marketing dollars.

Businesses can get hooked into one large advertising program

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

ith a local newspaper, magazine or radio station, and put the majority of their marketing dollars there. They feel as if they have to advertise with the same media source, just be

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

cause they always have or because fear they will lose ground since their competitors are advertising there as well.

Some actually stay with a company for fear of upsetting their s

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

Following aspects would a

ales associate or because they simply don't want to say no to them.

Remember, it’s your money and your investment. Don’t ever let anyone talk you into an advertising program that

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

is not producing the best results for your business. And measure the results of your advertising dollars spent vs. the income received from your advertising on a consist basis.

Wh

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

en you diversify, don’t forget about direct marketing. Many business owners only do a few direct-mail programs a year, targeted to their existing customer base. They need to do mo

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

e.

Your customer base and mailing list is gold, make sure you have budgeted a large part of your marketing dollars to advertise to your existing customers. They already love you,

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

so keep them coming in by sending a direct mail piece to them at least six times a year.

Mistake #4: Allowing your ego to get in the way of common sense.

Ego can tempt a very br

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ght person to do dumb things. Your marketing decisions should be based on factors that will positively impact some area of your business – usually the bottom line.

For example: B

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

uying full-page ads or covers featuring yourself and not focusing on your business’ unique offerings may result in money going out the window.

Mistake #5: Not getting help when yo

.

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

need it.

If you find you’re too busy to handle your marketing efforts or that your materials aren’t looking as professional as they should, it is time to call in the reinforcemen

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ts.

Hire a full-or part-time employee to allow you more free time to work on the “business end” or hire an independent business consultant to bring in new concepts and fresh ideas

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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