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In discussions with clients and business associates, and during my work as a tutor with university students, I am often surprised at the lack of understanding of how ubiquitous the marketi

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

ng function is within an organisation.

Marketing is pervasive - the often silent influencer of opinions, preferences and buying habits.

Not that I should be surprised. After all, most pe

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

Examples of combination products may in

ple don't think about marketing every day of the week like I do! But I have noticed that the marketing function is often mistaken for its component pieces - press advertising, personal sel

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

ing, sponsorship, public relations, direct mail, Internet banner ad's etc.

These cases of mistaken identity run the risk of missing the value of marketing. The real power of marketing com

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 from the successful use of a combination of relevant marketing tools, tactics and procedures to provide an environment and opportunity in which to create a satisfied customer. To single

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

Combination pro

ut one aspect of marketing downplays the dynamics of the true marketing environment.

It's not really fair - or useful - to say marketing is just advertising, or just selling, or just… Tha

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

's like saying a cake is just flour.

The value is in the cake, not just the flour. In fact if you lined up all the ingredients for the cake in front of you on the kitchen bench, odds are

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

that you wouldn't want to eat many of them straight up (except maybe for the chocolate chips!). Marketing is often the same.

Many people have trouble getting the most from their marketing

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

efforts because all they see are the ingredients of their marketing 'cake'. And in many cases the individual ingredients don't seem very palatable.

But take a different approach. Stop loo

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

ing for the single "secret ingredient" to make your business rise, and look at how you are managing the kitchen.

Follow this tried and true recipe to get better value from your marketing!

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

Align marketing with business priorities - make sure that marketing activities are helping you to achieve what you want.

Use marketing tactics that make sense for your business - don't s

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

Following aspects would a

end money (and precious time) on low yield marketing tactics.

Follow financial disciplines - know your budget, have a forecast, plan for 12 months, track expenditure regularly.

Include a

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

l parts of your business (e.g. purchasing, sales staff, finance) - other departments do have an influence on marketing. Stock must be purchased in time for promotions, advertising material

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

must be coordinated with in-store selling, and financial impacts of marketing must be accounted for.

Make sure your people understand why - explain to the non-marketers in your business w

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

hy marketing is necessary and how it benefits them. Tell them in advance of new promotional events. Let them know what you are doing for customers.

Give feedback - communicate progress of

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

marketing activities, advertising campaigns etc. Let your colleagues know that marketing 'lives' in the organisation everyday, not just when something important happens.

Get your timing r

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ght - understand the market, understand your business. Make sure things happen when they should. Make sure stock is in-store before the new ad campaign starts, plan promotions for peak tim

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

s, supply timely expense data to the finance gurus for future planning.

Deliver as promised - meet your commitments to customers, colleagues and service providers. Gain credibility.

If y

.

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

u don't think you have the culinary skills (or the time) to make your marketing 'cake', then get someone to help. Delegate within your organisation or call in a professional to help you ou

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

.

There's more to successful sales and marketing activities than meets the untrained eye. Make sure you have your marketing 'kitchen' in order so you can get the value you are looking for

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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Business needs customers - and the more often they buy, the better the business. Keep your customers coming back - and buying - time after time.

The wind had gone out of my sails. I had a sinking feeling, like I was going down for the third time . . . and I couldn’t even recall the first two. Yet, each time someone asked me, “How’s business,” I would reply, “Good.” It’s kind of a natural reply to a rhetorical question. No one really expects an answer. No one wants to hear bad news, or so you would think.

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Digg It - Is Your Marketing Kitchen Really Cookin'?

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