Digg It - Business

How would you like to have the same marketing power that major cash-rich corporations have enjoyed for most of the past century?

How would you like to be able to appeal to people in your market for a fraction of the cost of “big league” radio, television and even newspaper advert

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

ising?

How would you like to see “David” level good ol’ “Goliath’s” marketing playing field so you can play on it too?

It’s called the democratizing of marketingTM, and it’s time has arrived.

The Internet and its advancing technology are significantly changing the way ma

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

Examples of combination products may in

rketers reach consumers. In most cases, the cost to use these newer tools and tactics is within range for most independent innovators and entrepreneurs. The hardest part may be choosing which method to use.

Your first step is to familiarize yourself with the possibilities.

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

Next, you will need to become more techno savvy or find a talented computer consultant. While the consultant can cost a fair amount, consider creative ways of working with such a person: Bartering or offering a percent of your profits for a limited amount of time are just

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

two options. You also may need to consider enlisting the help of other professionals or talented amateurs looking for opportunities. Photographers, writers and videographers are a few that come to mind. Again, before you protest the potential cost, look for low-budget optio

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

Combination pro

ns in your area. Local community colleges are full of eager, talented students who are trained in the latest technologies and looking for ways to add some experience to their otherwise limited resumes.

To get you started, here are the key techniques you need to understand:

BL

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

OGS: Since the first blog appeared on the internet in 1999, more than 4,000,000 are now on-line. The term blog is short for web log. A log, of course, is a ship captain’s “diary” or journal. Unlike the captain’s log, a blog is an interactive journal open for all to read.*

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

Currently, politicians and journalists dominate the “blogosphere”, but as the use of blogs increases, marketers are embracing the advantages of reaching niche markets using this tool. Establishing a blog before you get your product to market can have several advantages for the ind

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

ependent innovator. You can:

• establisoh a web presence at little to minimal cost;

• invite comments and suggestions from readers;

• develop a following of early adopters who will be the first in line to purchase your product; and

• create interest while you are

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

creating your product.

If you do decide to start a blog, be sure you have a clear offensive and defensive blog marketing strategy in place. One word of caution: protect your intellectual property by clearly copyrighting your blog. And, if you are an inventor, do not

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

eveal your product concept or drawings until you have a provisional or full patent.

VLOGS: Add video to your blog and you’ve created a vlog (video blog). Vlogs offer some distinct advantages. You can upload videos of yourself speaking directly to your audience or video

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

Following aspects would a

s which demonstrate how your product or service works. On the downside, vlogs can be more difficult to update regularly, may have a limited audience until more webcams find their way into homes, and if you’re the “star” of the video, you’ll need to do your hair and change from PJs

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

to street clothes.

AUTOCASTING: This is a speech-synthesized version of a regular text blog. With the right technology, autocasts can be turned into podcasts (see next item).

PODCASTING: Wikipedia (www.wikipedia.org) defines podcasting as “a method of publishin

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

g sound files to the internet, allowing users to subscribe to a feed and receive new audio files automatically.” The term “podcast” was first used in 2004 and combines two concepts: iPods and broadcasting. Originally, this technology was most often used to sync its content to lis

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

teners’ portable music players like iPods. And, since this type of audio feed has the characteristics of radio broadcasting, a new term borrowed from each to describe this venue. A key thing to know is that you don’t need an iPod to listen to a podcast. Your computer or any digita

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

l audio player that has the necessary software can be used. Among the advantages of podcasting, programs are “time shifted” similar to what TiVo technology does for television viewers. Your target market can choose when, where and how they hear your message. In addition, you can t

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ransmit your messages worldwide without the need for expensive equipment.

NARROWCASTING: Narrowcasting is to television what podcasting is to radio. For a very small fraction of the cost it takes to produce a traditional broadcast or cable TV program, the increasing avail

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

ability of high-speed internet connections is making it possible for the “little guy” to reach niche markets with free or fee-based programming. If an infomercial is part of your marketing strategy but not your current budget, narrowcasting may be the answer. You might also consid

.

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

er narrowcasting if your specialty program doesn’t interest the cable TV media.

To learn more about these options, log onto the net and do a Google search. Be sure to also visit on-line book sellers like Amazon (www.amazon.com) and Barnes and Nobel (www.barnesandnoble.com).

*

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

It is possible to restrict access to a blog to only a specific group of people or to no one else other than the author.

© 2005-2006. All rights reserved. Impact Coaching International™.

Copyright and bio paragraph must be included when reproducing this article.

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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