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Digg It - Why Surveying Matters
What is the single most important thing you can do as a business owner? That is a question that this week I think I have found an answer to. The answer? Keep your ear to the marketplace by listening to your customers.
Ford’s Mistake
In the early 1920’s Henry Ford launched his assembly-line produced Model T. The car was relatively inexpensive, yet of good quality for the time. In
Ford’s Mistake
In the early 1920’s Henry Ford launched his assembly-line produced Model T. The car was relatively inexpensive, yet of good quality for the time. In
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
order to reach production goals, the company decided to offer only one color of the car—black. “You could have any color you wanted, as long as it was black”, the saying went. With this strategy, Ford quickly dominated the market, capturing up to 57% of the car market at its height. It was a brilliant initial strategy, but Ford eventually faltered. He simply forgot to listen to his cust
; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.
Examples of combination products may in
Examples of combination products may in
omers that were asking for additional color options. General Motors saw this trend, and capitalized on it, producing cars in a multitude of color options and quickly taking back much of the Ford market share gains. With all the innovative ideas, industry-changing processes, and brilliant strategies Ford came up with, he forgot the most basic principle—the business owner rarely knows bett
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
er than his or her customers.
Surveying Your Clients
There are a few ways to listen to your clients. Most business owners, at least in the early stages, maintain contact with and speak with at least a few clients each week. This is a good start, but I have found that it is not enough to speak with only our large clients—as these clients often have very different requirements tha
Surveying Your Clients
There are a few ways to listen to your clients. Most business owners, at least in the early stages, maintain contact with and speak with at least a few clients each week. This is a good start, but I have found that it is not enough to speak with only our large clients—as these clients often have very different requirements tha
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 an average user.
The best way that I have found to be able to get feedback from our full client base is by sending a survey. Surveys can be sent either by mail or via the web. I would recommend sending web-based surveys over printed surveys as it is much less expensive and provides a higher response rate and a quicker return of information. Within IntelliContact Pro, the email marketi
The best way that I have found to be able to get feedback from our full client base is by sending a survey. Surveys can be sent either by mail or via the web. I would recommend sending web-based surveys over printed surveys as it is much less expensive and provides a higher response rate and a quicker return of information. Within IntelliContact Pro, the email marketi
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
ng software my company Broadwick has developed, there is an included web-based surveying tool called IntelliSurvey that allows anyone to easily create, send, and receive results from web-based surveys.
In sending a survey, there are a few questions that can be especially helpful to ask. These questions include:
In sending a survey, there are a few questions that can be especially helpful to ask. These questions include:
- What do you like about our product or service?
- How do you us
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
e our product or service?
How can we improve our product or service?
Is there anything we can do to improve your satisfaction with our product or service?
Are there any other services or products we could offer that you might be interested in?
Generally I would recommend leaving these types questions open ended. You can also ask non open ended questions such
Generally I would recommend leaving these types questions open ended. You can also ask non open ended questions such
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
as “On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with our customer service?” or “Which of these five features add-ons would benefit you most?”
Once you have deployed your survey, the next step is to wait for the responses to come in. While this may vary by industry, I’ve found about 90% of the total responses will come in during the first 72 hours after deployment of a web-based survey. Wi
Once you have deployed your survey, the next step is to wait for the responses to come in. While this may vary by industry, I’ve found about 90% of the total responses will come in during the first 72 hours after deployment of a web-based survey. Wi
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
th IntelliContact Pro, you can always review and export the results to Excel at any time whether you want to review the initial responses after an hour or download the final results after a week. I’ve seen response rates for web-based surveys range from 5% to 50% depending on the number of questions, the type of list, and how well your customers know you. When we survey our IntelliContac
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
t client-base we generally receive about a 10-15% response rate. Our last survey, sent out on July 22, 2005 had five questions and received 295 responses out of a total 2350 clients who received the survey.
Reviewing the Results
Once you have the results, the next and very important step is to review them. If you have more than a few dozen responses, I would recommend creating a
Reviewing the Results
Once you have the results, the next and very important step is to review them. If you have more than a few dozen responses, I would recommend creating a
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
Feedback Summary Document that categorizes each reported method for improvement and tabulates the number of times a similar request comes up. At the end of this process, you’ll be able to get a very good idea of why your clients like your product or service and what they feel can be done to improve it, probably the two most important pieces of information you can have as a business owne
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.
Following aspects would a
Following aspects would a
r. With this information you can create an improved roadmap for your product that will allow you to stay competitive and provide the product that your customers want.
In addition to being able to create this improved roadmap, you’ll also likely have a number of very good testimonials or case study material that you can use from the answers to the “what do you like” and “how do you use i
In addition to being able to create this improved roadmap, you’ll also likely have a number of very good testimonials or case study material that you can use from the answers to the “what do you like” and “how do you use i
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
t” questions. As an example, my company Broadwick has collected and published a number of case studies and customer testimonials that have come from past client surveys at http://www.intellicontact.com/casestudies/
Implementing the Changes
Once you have a good idea of what the most requested improvements are, you can consider how and when to implement these changes. Depending on
Implementing the Changes
Once you have a good idea of what the most requested improvements are, you can consider how and when to implement these changes. Depending on
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
your production or development cycle, it may take days or months to make some of the requested changes. Know that not all clients will want the same things. Some may even want changes or new features that conflict—causing you to have to consider offering multiple product lines or completing custom work.
When you have made some or all of the requested improvements be sure to get additio
When you have made some or all of the requested improvements be sure to get additio
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
nal feedback from your clients prior to launching your new version or improved offering. One of the larger mistakes that I’ve made to date in my still young business career is not getting sufficient client feedback prior to launching a new version of my email marketing product to the full user base a few months ago. If we had allowed access to a few clients to review the new version prio
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
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
r to launch—we likely could have averted a number of the bugs and headaches that occurred after the launch. We since have changed our development process so that this type of beta client review is possible. In your organization, depending on what type of product you are selling certainly consider showing an early version of your new offering to some clients or holding a focus group sessi
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
on to get the very valuable post-change feedback prior to launch. Giving your client, and prospects for that matter, a role in the development of your product will help them feel valued and also be more likely to want to purchase your new product after launch.
Here is a review of the seven step feedback process I’ve discussed:
Here is a review of the seven step feedback process I’ve discussed:
- Ask the questions in a web-based survey
- Crea
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
te a feedback summary document from the results
Implement the changes
Get client feedback on the changes
Make final modifications
Go live with the changed product or service
Wait a few months and then restart the process
Listen to your customers and you’ll get the feedback you need to make customer-centric business decisions that will allow you to i
.
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
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
ncrease your client satisfaction, lifetime value, and retention rate.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a few best practice guidelines for sending out a web-based survey to your client base.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a few best practice guidelines for sending out a web-based survey to your client base.
- Survey your clients at least every year, preferably every 6 months
- If your organization offers multiple products or services, create separate surveys for the customers of each major type
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
Companies that provide selfless information through particip
of product or service you offer.
Be sure to include questions asking both what your clients like about your product or service as well as any suggestions they have for improving it.
Use a web-based survey tool such as IntelliSurvey (included in all IntelliContact Pro accounts) to increase response rates, make collecting and reviewing data easy, and save on postage.
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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