Advice You - Business

One of the most common questions people ask me is: “Where should I spend my advertising dollars?” Their experience can typically be summed up as follows:

I recently opened my business as an interio

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

r designer. I was so excited. But now – two months later – I’m getting frustrated. I believe that my services are valuable, and I thought there would be a market for them, but I’m having the hardes

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

Examples of combination products may in

t time finding clients. I’ve spent a couple hundred dollars already on advertising, but I’ve gotten virtually no response from it. Can you tell me where I should put my advertising dollars to have 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.

he most impact?

My advice? Consider spending your hard-earned money on avenues other than advertising to reach your target market.

While it is true that advertising in the right publication (that 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

s, a publication that is read by your target market) may be beneficial, advertising is NOT the most effective way for a new small business owner to reach her target market.

These days, consumers are

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

Combination pro

savvy. They do not respond to an ad for a new product, service or company. Instead, consumers want to feel “comfortable” with a company before hiring them or buying from them. Consumers may get “co

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

mfortable” with a company in different ways. For example, a consumer may meet the owner or employee and begin a relationship with that person – establishing rapport and trust. Alternatively, a consu

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

mer may feel “comfortable” with a company after seeing an advertising at least 7 or 8 times. Why? Because, be it right or be it wrong, the consumer associates an investment in repetitive advertising

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

with a company that can be trusted (in other words, a company that will stand the test of time).

As you may have already learned, advertising is expensive! A display ad can easily be several hundre

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

d dollars. And a classified ad – while less expensive – is less likely to be seen by a reader than a display ad.

So what is the alternative to advertising? Getting out in your community and securin

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

g exposure for yourself and your business. You can do this by:

* submitting press releases to local newspapers and other publications, announcing your launch or other newsworthy event;
* networ

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

Following aspects would a

king with other business owners in your community;
* teaching a decorating- or design-related class at a local high school or college;
* sponsoring a decorating-related event – either alone

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

or with another business owner – in your community; and
* offering complimentary consultations.

One other suggestion: if you haven’t already decided on your niche, you need to do that now. Wh

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

at is a niche? A niche is your area of specialization (e.g., kitchen and bath design, one-of-a-kind window treatment design, etc.) Indeed, the 21st century is the age of specialization. Consumers t

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

oday are savvy and desire to hire true experts – not generalists.

Having a niche does not only mean that you’ve identified your area of specialization. It also means that you’ve identified – as spec

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

ifically as possible – who your target market is. That is, who is your ideal client? What is their income level? Age? Stage in life (e.g., baby boomers, newlyweds, retired individuals, etc.)? Occ

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

upation? Hobbies and interests? Once you’ve identified, with particularity, who you ideal client is, you will be able to draft your marketing message specifically to them, making your marketing mess

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

age compelling to your ideal client. Bottom line: your marketing will be more effective, which will result in more business!

To learn more about “Jump Starting” your business, register to receive o

.

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

ur 14-day Jump Start your Design Business E-course at www.ShowHouseMarketing.com/interior_design_resources.htm. The E-course is FREE, but the information it contains will be invaluable to you as you

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

work toward building your company into a super-successful business! In particular, several installments contain step-by-step “instructions” for effective and low-cost marketing activities. Good luck

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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What keeps companies focused is attention to the right things as modeled by its leaders and practiced by every employee, every single day. You cannot store attention.

Google acquired Dodgeball.com that brings social networking to mobile phones based in New York. However, there is no official response for the people at Google but the site dodgebell.com posted a message at their site about the acquisition on Wednesday.

Classified advertising is a form of advertising that is particularly common in newspapers and other periodicals.

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