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I was working on a new E-Course the other day when I got to the lesson that addresses the importance of having a marketing plan and I immediately thought, "no one's going to want to read this one."

My 16-year-old daughter happened to be i

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

n my office at the time, and I explained to her that while most business owners want to be good marketers and be successful, for whatever reason, the idea of having to create a marketing plan turns them off.

Or, they're just not intereste

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

Examples of combination products may in

d in creating a plan, don't know how to create one, or they simply don't think they need one.

So I started thinking maybe I should rename them. What if we called them "Success Plans." Would you dare start the year without one? Especial

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

ly if you knew that was THE way to achieve success?

Anyway, to help get my point across - that marketing plans are important - my daughter and I started brainstorming analogies we thought people might be able to relate to.

I explained to

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

her that in the introduction to my 10stepmarketing System, I compare a marketing plan to a road map. I asked her, "What do you think would happen if you decided to go on a road trip but didn't have a clear destination or a map?" (she's a

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

Combination pro

new driver plus we travel every weekend to her travel softball tournaments).

"You'd probably get lost," she replied, knowing we HAVE gotten lost when we've taken off on weekends without directions! Then she continued, "You'd end up somew

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

here, but probably not where you want to be."

"Exactly!" I replied.

I explained to her that a marketing plan is just like a road map. It's the best way to ensure a business will end up where the business owner wants it to be. Whether tha

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

t's in terms of the type of business it becomes, its size, how many products or services it provides, or how much money it makes.

Then I told her that when I teach, I often use the analogy of going grocery shopping without a list. Now, if

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

you've ever done this you know what happens (especially if you ALSO shop while you're hungry!). You spend twice as much money AND you come home with all kinds of stuff you really don't need.

Operating your business without a marketing pl

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

an is sort of like that, too. You very often spend twice as much money and get fewer results, or you end up spending money on marketing activities you don't really need or that don't contribute to achieving the goals you want to achieve.

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

hy is that? Because you don't have anything to guide you in your decision-making about what marketing to do and what to pass on.

Think about all the things in our lives we DO plan. Birthday parties. Vacations. Weddings. Having children. B

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

Following aspects would a

uying a home. And yes, even the little things like planning to go grocery shopping by taking the time to create a list of what we need to make spaghetti for dinner on Thursday night.

Many of those things we would never think of doing with

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

out first planning them out.

Take going on vacation, for example.

We research the destination. Where do we want to go?

We research transportation options. How do we want to get there? How much money do we want to spend? We then book air

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

line tickets and rental cars or we decide to drive our own car.

We research accommodations. Where do we want to stay? Do we want to camp out or stay in a 4-star hotel? How much do we want to spend? And we make our reservations based on t

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

he answers to these questions.

What do we want to do while we're on vacation? What places do we want to visit? Then we make plans or buy tickets so we can do those things while we're there.

We get an itinerary and we follow it. That's ho

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

w we know we'll make our plane and we know we'll have a place to sleep while on our trip.

All this for a week or two of fun and pleasure! In fact, many people put a lot more effort and planning into a one-week vacation than they do into c

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

reating a plan for their business.

While vacations are important (I'm all for playing, especially when you work hard!) your business is your livelihood.

So I've come full circle, back to the question, why don't more small business owners

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

create a marketing plan for their business?

My guess is they may not know how, they may not want to take the time and I'll bet many of them just don't realize what operating without a plan is costing them.

Let me leave you with one fina

.

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

l thought ... this is one my daughter and I came up with during our brainstorming (she's 16 years old with a new drivers license and a car so that may explain the focus on cars and driving!):

Would you get into a car without a steering wh

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

eel and expect to be able to easily get where you want to go? Probably not.

But that's exactly what you're doing if you're "driving" your business without a marketing plan.

Just something to think about.

(C) Copyright 2005 Debbie LaChus

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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