Main Subject - Business

A very common mistake made by start-up companies, and indeed smaller businesses in general, is to not take customer service seriously. Too often, managers think all it entails is answering the phone promptly and being polite to customers – and

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

how often do companies fail to do even that!

In fact, customer service can soon become more important to a start-up than sales and marketing, helping it retain customers (selling to existing customers is much cheaper than finding fresh ones)

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

Examples of combination products may in

and maximise its income from them. Good customer service can also help gain new customers, as word spreads about how great a particular company is to do business with. Managers should, therefore, have a strategy for customer service which goes

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

well beyond simply being polite on the telephone.

So if you are starting a new company, how do you go about delivering good customer service? Begin by thinking what customers might reasonably expect as a basic level of service. For a shop, th

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

t could be having friendly, knowledgeable sales staff to help them and a good range of products in stock. That, in turn, means being careful to hire the right kind of people, giving them adequate product training and having effective stock con

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

Combination pro

rol procedures in place.

But achieving a basic level of service isn’t enough if you want your start-up to be really successful. You must find ways to exceed the expectations of your customers – remember, the objective is to have them

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

tell their friends and colleagues that your company is “great”, rather than just “not bad” or “OK”.

One low cost way to do this is to consciously control the expectations of your customers, by always making promises to them that you know you

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

can exceed. For example, if it will take a week for your shop to supply a spare part you should tell the customer it will take ten days. Then when the part arrives ‘early’ he or she will think you have done a great job getting it to them so so

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

n.

Using technology

One reason why owner/managers often overlook including customer service in their plans for their new business is because they assume they will be directly responsible for taking care of all customers. The

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

know how to look after their customers, and that’s all there is to it. But when their businesses grow and they need to take on staff, suddenly personally maintaining a high level of customer service is no longer feasible. Without any strategy

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

or systems in place these start-ups can soon fall into the trap of many a growing business: providing customers with a poorer service despite becoming more successful.

Of course, the big corporations are only too aware of the importance of cu

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

Following aspects would a

stomer service, and spend a lot of time and money making sure it stays at a high standard no matter how many employees they have. The good news is that nowadays even the smallest company can adopt a lot of the same methods as the big boys, but

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

at a fraction of the cost.

These include providing staff with written procedures (accessible over the office network) for handling customers, whether they are making a complaint or simply asking for a price. Managers should also consider inst

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

lling CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. This gives employees easy access to all relevant information about a customer, so that they can always deal with enquiries efficiently and effectively. CRM systems used to cost a fortune;

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

ow you can pick them up as ‘freeware’ on the Internet.

Customer service: like it or not, there’s now a lot more to it than simply saying “have a nice day” when you hand back the change!

Case Study

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

shox.com" target="_blank">TF Tuned Shox tunes, services and sells suspensions for top-of-the-line mountain bikes. It isn’t the only company doing this, but unlike its rivals it has managed an impressive 20 per cent annual growth over the p

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ast four-and-a-half years, with the workforce expanding from just its husband-and-wife founders to seven employees. Along the way it has cultivated an excellent reputation, with suspension units being shipped to its Somerset, England workshop

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

rom as far as Canada and Australia.

Critical to TF’s success has been a dedication not only to quality but also to customer service, with most units ready to be returned within 24 hours of receipt, much to their owners’ appreciation. To do th

.

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

s, the company has had to invest in an extensive stock of spares – something which TF’s competitors do not do, forcing them to wait for parts to arrive from manufacturers before they can work on a suspension.

Providing a first-class service w

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ich both wins and retains customers can entail far more than politeness. For TF it went to the core of how the business was organised, with money being spent in an area – inventory – that may not be immediately associated with customer service

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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Client testimonials are one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use. Learn how they can help you attract new clients, increase customer confidence and generate a positive “buzz” about you and your business.

Deciding on the right career is one of the toughest challenges faced by a high school graduate. Often, young graduates are not able to decide whether to continue with their studies or to settle down with a job. In the post World War II period, taking up a job was the obvious choice because of opportunities in several flourishing industries and their requirement for young graduates. However, due to technological advances and high paced work styles, the current job market has altered considerably. Excessive competition, high salary expectations and geographical constraints are some of the factors that have contributed to the difficulty in finding jobs, especially those that would suit a high school graduate. New age employers and industries look for candidates for specialized jobs, which makes it almost compulsory for all graduates to have a professional degree or a specialized diploma.

Tired of poor customer service? Then, read this article! You may find the suggestions helpful.....

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