Digg It - Business

With the advent of spring, trade shows begin to blossom. Research suggests that tradeshows are where today’s businesses invest much of their marketing budgets. According to EXPO Magazine, in 2005 revenue expenditures from booth sales wi

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

ll increase 27%! As these shows and conferences continue to grow in space and numbers, the challenge for businesses becomes how to maximize these shows to secure the greatest return on investment both in dollars and time.

Define the Go

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

Examples of combination products may in

al - Successful trade show marketing begins by first defining the desired end results to be achieved from attendance at the show. This goal should be written using the S.M.A.R.T. criteria –Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realisticall

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

y Set High and Time Driven. Sometimes, several desired results are defined such as: identifying potential competitors; identifying potential customers; determining if this is a trade show where my company should exhibit next year; lear

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

n what the competition is saying about our product(s), etc. Through these written goals, then decisions can be made as to the number of people to send and what type of people should the company send e.g. engineers, sales, marketing, e

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

Combination pro

tc. Without identifying the initial goals, companies will receive costly unexpected and unanticipated outcomes.

Ready, Set, Stop! - Goals are set, but there is still more planning before you walk through the exhibit hall doors. Do you

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

know what you wish to learn from each exhibitor? The goal is maybe to identify the competition, but how you operationalize that goal is different for the company’s engineer vs. the company’s salesperson.

Communication: The Key - Give

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

n that tradeshows are the "Mecca" for communication both verbally and non-verbally, the key is to be able to deliver in less than 15 seconds what you or your company does. If your “tag line” is delivered in an engaging manner, your visi

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

tor will ask a second question allowing for a dialogue to begin.

Communication extends beyond your “tag line.” Calendars need to be blocked out to return all those promised telephone calls and send out any promised information. Follow-

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

up communication planning is critical to achieving your goals. Creating a post-event mailing piece such as a thank you note and having them available upon your return will enhance goal achievement.

The Engagement – The Spot Light Is O

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

- The doors open and all eyes are on you and your booth especially if you secured a high traffic booth. You are the consummate professional with the proper tools (business cards, pen, highlighter, Palm, exhibit hall map), professional

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

Following aspects would a

appearance and your warm, energetic and engaging smile. Now is the time for all that planning to pay.

During breaks, you may wish to use the time to walk the exhibit hall to make necessary, legible notes regarding booths, products, etc

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

. Look to those exhibits that seem to draw attendees to them. In case you see old friends, acknowledge them, but don’t linger as this keeps you from achieving your goals. At all times, keep your goal in mind so that you maximize your

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

personal resources of time and energy. Before the event closes, check with registration to secure any available statistics such as a count of the number of attendees as well as information on next year’s event.

What's Next - When the

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

doors close and the tradeshow is over, what’s next? The answer is simple – FOLLOW-UP! Executing follow-up is probably where many businesses fail to leverage their limited resources and secure a positive return on investment.

After the

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

event, you begin to build your nurture marketing for each prospect to create “Top of Mind Awareness (TOMA© www.toma.com). In today’s hectic business world, research suggests that you need to touch your prospect 13 times. Your follow-u

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

p efforts from phone calls to mailing literature are the second “touch.” Each 21 to 30 days, you again need to touch your prospect with a postcard, fax, email, newsletter or article. Your consistency during this process is what wins th

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

e race and turns those high cost trade show dollars into real sales and increased profits.

Keeping track of all sales from each trade show allows you to better determine what to budget for next year. Sometimes this data takes over a 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

ear to generate especially if your sales cycle is 6 months or longer. Reserving your space for the same conference for a second time may be based on an overall impression from the first event, but by the third time, you should know if t

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

he conference or tradeshow is a worthwhile investment.

Tradeshows can be enhance your profitability or turn into another drain on your marekting budget. However, through proper planning and follow-up, you, too, can go beyond the booth

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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Is it really possible to switch to a new career midstream in your working life? The answer is a resounding yes! But you have to know how to go about it. It takes a bit of planning, thorough self-assessment, and perhaps additional training.

Technological advancements have brought many benefits not only to people from all walks of life but also to different businesses and organizations, whether big or small. In the past, companies and other business firms rely on job interviews and written examinations when pre-screening applicants. But nowadays, these tools are not enough to determine the accuracy of the information provided by job applicants such as educational background and work experiences. Good thing, companies and private investigation agencies now conduct thorough background checks by using employment screening technology.

Why on earth would you want to buy used portable tradeshow booths? There are a million reasons why!

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