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Recently, I discussed a loyalty card system with a vendor who was selling quite a number of his systems to restaurants. I was shocked to discover the lack of detailed information that this vendor catered for, and the oppo

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

rtunities the system he provided squandered.

The way their scheme works is that whenever a restaurant customer is presented with a bill, they provide their loyalty card to the waiter, who swipes it at the till. If the cu

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

Examples of combination products may in

tomer has accumulated sufficient points from previously purchased meals, he/she is awarded a rebate on the price of the meal.

This is simple price discounting based on repeat purchases. No other marketing activities are

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

arried out - either by the loyalty card company, or by the restaurant - to proactively influence the number of times the card holder frequents the restaurant - they rely solely on the meal discount to attract customers ba

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

k for more meals.

This is a system that is woefully underexploited.

I asked about the level of detail that was transmitted to the card site - and was once again disappointed - only the total meal cost was transmitted. T

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

Combination pro

e customer profile that was being created was extremely superficial. My view was further confirmed when I asked whether the 'significant other', or other family members' details were collected. Once again, no.

The key th

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

ngs wrong with this service offering:

Lack of transaction details. These days, with broadband communication and high volume data disks, there is really no excuse not to collect data at transaction level.

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

The simple act of recording the bill at individual meal item level opens up a wealth of information:

Number of main meals - if there are children in the family unit (provided during signup), analysis of th

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

bill will provide a clear indication of whether the whole family always eats out, or if on occaision the parents treat themselves to a quiet night on their own - possibly anniversaries, or birthdays, or just a regula

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

night away from the kids.

Types of meals - red meat, fish, vegetarian - which could be used for special promotions

Beer, cheap wine, or expensive wine drinker

If you had the above inform

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

tion at your finger tips, who would you rather focus your marketing efforts on to get to come back to your restaurant - the family of six that buys budget meals, and drinks beer and soda, or 3 couples ordering starters, h

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

Following aspects would a

gh-priced meals, drinking quality wine, and finishing off with expensive liqueurs?

Even recording the value of the tip could be useful. A usually-generous tipper who awards a low tip (possibly to a new waiter

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

is giving a clear indication of a bad experience. This information could be used by the restaurant owner to contact the customer within a few days to establish what was wrong with the meal or service, and to invite the c

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

stomer back with an offer of a generous discount for the next meal.

Not getting the details of the 'significant other' and details of any children prevents marketing to special days. Its pretty pointless merely

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

getting the birthday of the cardholder - it's not that compelling to get an SMS or postcard suggesting that you treat yourself to a special night out. It's far more effective to receive a prompt to take your significant o

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

her out for that special meal. Children's birthdays are another opportunity to encourage the family to come out to the restaurant for a slap-up meal -but this is only possible if you take the trouble to collect the data..

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

Hopefully the above points have provided some ideas as to how basic transaction data can be used effectively by an information analyst or direct marketer.

If you are approached by a vendor to implement a lo

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

alty scheme, or you are thinking about calling for proposals from scheme suppliers, make sure that you investigate the level of data detail that each supplier collects.

If data is recorded at line item level - i.e. produ

.

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

t ID, quantity, and price - then you will have a wealth of sales data that you can start using for a variety of campaigns. If they only provide you with a bill total per meal, then I suggest you look elsewhere for a more

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ffective loyalty card scheme.

© 2005 Intellinova (Pty) Ltd. - All Rights Reserved This article may be reprinted, provided it is published in its entirety, includes the author bio information, and all links remain active

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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The operators of the present-day CNC cutting machine demonstrate many of the same skills as those possessed by various traditional craftsmen. The operators of the CNC cutting machine include the men and women who design and make cabinets, woodwork, signs, and a whole range of metal, solid surface and plastic objects. The manufacturers who employ these operators know how important it is to have a good quality CNC cutting machine.

Loyalty is having a client that sticks with you, even when your competitors come knocking, because your relationship is so strong.

Rumours have been abounding all week that another major competitor has just bitten the dust spectacularly but, until it's confirmed – and maybe even afterwards – I think it's best to leave that alone.

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