Advice You - Business

Small businesses have always known the importance of word of mouth. Many successful businesses have been built on word of mouth referrals, and many have been killed by bad word of mouth.

But now the l

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

andscape is changing, making word of mouth more important than ever - only now, that word of mouth is being communicated on the Internet.

People - your customers - are turning to the Internet as their pr

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

Examples of combination products may in

mary source of information on products and services. Instead of opening the yellow pages of their phone book, they turn to Yahoo or Google. And in addition to websites and listings for local busines

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

ses, they are finding ratings and reviews!

Sites like Amazon.com and ePinions pioneered product rating systems. In some categories, these ratings have become essential to a product's success: more than

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

60% of consumer electronics purchasers report that they consult online ratings before making a purchase decision!

Ratings have also become common is a few other business categories, such as restaurant

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

Combination pro

s and hotels.

But the online ratings explosion is just starting; Internet entrepreneurs are demonstrating that virtually anything can be rated online.

RateMyProfessors.com, launched in 1999, allows coll

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

ge students to rate - well, professors. The site has accumulated over 3 million ratings, and has spun off another site, RateMyTeachers.com, aimed at high school and elementary students.

ApartmentRatin

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

gs.com has the most comprehensive database of apartment ratings, with almost 250,000 reviews. RateMDs.com was formed to allow patients to rate their doctors. A new site, ClubRatingz.com, allows patron

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

to rate nightclubs and bars (perhaps while recovering from hangovers?)

Rating sites are even risking the wrath of the legal profession: LawyerRatingz.com provides attorney ratings and reviews.

All o

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

f these sites feature a fair share of rants and raves. Many of the comments are semi-coherent ramblings, often typed with Caps Lock down. But surprisingly, over time and with enough ratings, a fairly

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

ccurate picture emerges. Some reviewers provide well-thought reviews and useful information. And the sites are being visited and read!

The ratings phenomena may not have reached your industry or your

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

Following aspects would a

community, but it probably will. So what can you do about it?

First, be aware of ratings sites. Use a search engine to look for rating sites in your area and business. (Search for things like landsc

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

aper ratings in Pittsburgh or hair salon reviews in Sacramento.) You may find that your business is already listed on a rating site. If it is, make sure that the basic listing information (business n

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

me, location, website) is correct, and if not, contact the site operator. If your business is not listed, see if there is a way to add your listing. Do not pay for this service! Legitimate rating s

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

ites are not supported by the businesses being rated! (However, a few sites offer enhanced "listings" for a small fee. Consider paying for this is the site seems to be well run and have a lot of traff

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

c.)

Check the rating sites regularly. You might actually get some good information on how customers see your business, and where you need to make improvements.

Encourage your patrons to rate your busin

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ess. Satisfied customers will give you good ratings. (Don't try to "flood" a rating site with bogus reviews; many of these sites use algorithms to detect the source of ratings, and may even remove b

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

sinesses that try to cheat.)

If you get a bad review, there's probably not much you can do about it. The rating and review sites are on pretty solid legal ground, and most will not remove bad reviews.

.

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

However, some sites have a mechanism for responding to a review, so be sure to ask about this. If nothing else, you can submit your own review and calmly refute the complaints of other reviewers. Be

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

careful to stay calm and professional, and not get into online debates that can damage your credibility.

In the end, business success is still based on word of mouth - but now more people are listening

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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Managing your time is very much about setting priorities. Pareto's Law, better known as The 80:20 Rule, is one of the most powerful tools we can use in our quest for success.

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