Main Subject - Business

No matter the size of the company, marketing is one of the key skills that has to be mastered. It continues to intrigue me that people hire accountants and attorneys (as they should) to help them set up and maint

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

ain their business, yet seldom budget for help (as they should) in the marketing arena. They may have built a better mousetrap, yet they don’t know how to let the world know they have built it … and continue to b

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

Examples of combination products may in

uild it. Could that be why countless companies never celebrate their first anniversary?

Most of us know the standard 4 Ps of marketing: product, price, place (distribution) and promotion. I’d like to introduce

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

you to the 3 Ps of marketing that have helped me build two successful businesses: Positioning, Packaging and Promoting. Let’s look at each of them more closely.

Positioning

It is essential that you establish

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

yourself as an expert in your field so that when people think of (you fill in the blank), they think of (fill in your name). The first blank is all-important. It needs to be a business/job function/service or

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

Combination pro

product that is commonly known. It needs to be stated in lay terms rather than industry jargon, i.e. you want as many people as possible to instantaneously think of you and, therefore, they have to understand wh

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

at you do. Stay away from terms like good customer service, quality, commitment or reliability. I’ve met few people who don’t think they excel in those areas. Actually, these words are a useless promotional to

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

ol if people don’t know what business you are in.

Start with “what” you do to zero in on your top-of-the mind positioning. For instance, if you are in real estate, are you in real estate investment, real estate

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

relocation, residential real estate, commercial real estate or 1031 exchanges? Apply this same example to your business.

Think of your top-of-the mind positioning statement as the center of your business unive

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

rse and all your marketing efforts as spokes emanating from that wheel. Those spokes, in turn, are what help establish you as the subject matter expert. The same principle applies if you’re employed corporately.

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

Your positioning statement helps you plan your personal marketing within the company, which is vital for lateral moves, promotions and for establishing your reputation in your industry.

Packaging

This “P” invo

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

Following aspects would a

lves you personally (and your printed image if you own the company.) People decide 10 things about you within 10 seconds of seeing you based on your image, a combination of your appearance and behavior. Every c

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

olor you wear elicits a conscious and unconscious response from others. Know what colors say responsibility, authority, power, success as well as which one say stability and dependability, but not power. And, w

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

hich ones cause people’s blood pressure and pulse rate to increase or feel nurtured and soothed and which one can cause people to feel anxious and uncomfortable.

On the behavior side, learn how to make your post

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

ure “say” confidence, give a professional handshake, have good eye contact and use positive gestures that coordinate with your words.

I call this concept Impression Management. Know what impression you want to

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

make and then how to make it to market yourself successfully since your personal brand and image are inextricably linked with your company and your job.

Promoting

This involves your publicity strategies, vehicl

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

es and messages. First of all, decide on three or four major marketing messages. By the way, this is essential if you are in transition. You can separate yourself immediately from others who are interviewing b

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

y succinctly articulating your strengths, benefits and selling points.

Your vehicles can include networking, media releases or articles online or in print, a website, e-mail signature, ezine or newsletter, adver

.

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

tisements, promotions, sponsorships or direct mail. Once you have established yourself as a subject matter expert, the media will seek you out for interviews.

Many of these tools are free and involve only your t

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ime and expertise. Some of them cost money if you do them yourself or hire someone to assist you. Be sure to budget for them based on the order of importance in letting the world know about your better mousetrap

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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How to start a home based business the right way. There are systems and strategies that will empower you to become the successful business entrepreneur that you desire, if you follow certain principles in pursuing that home based business career.

Whenever I talk about buying businesses I tend to get a lot of questions about distance. How far away should a business you buy be? Should it be in your backyard? Should it be in another city? Another state? Another country? In other words, they want to know if distance plays a factor in the success of a business they buy, and what do I think about it?

To be successful against competitors and to gain a sustainable competitive advantage, you must understand the competitors in your industry. You must also understand where your business fits into the industry and how it stacks up against its competitors. Never make the mistake of saying, “I have no competitors.”

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