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Wouldn’t it be great to have a year where your marketing efforts were streamlined and got the results you were after? None of us want to struggle with marketing, and yet this is the one topic that continues to be highest in the minds of s

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

mall business professionals.

Let’s really consider some of the reasons that can sabotage our marketing efforts, and how we can turn that around.

Lack of a marketing mindset

We don’t see ourselves as in the marketing game. The tr

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

Examples of combination products may in

th is, if you are out there running a business, thinking like a marketer has to become your priority. It’s no use having a great service if nobody knows about it, or you.

Lack of knowledge is your enemy. Start by reading whatever you can

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

Speak to successful people in your field and ask them what strategies they use. The information you need is out there for you to take.

Lack of investment

For many small business owners, the focus on cost control prohibits them f

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

rom ever investing enough money into marketing and promotion. These activities are seen as costs rather than as an investment. So this year I encourage you to reframe your attitude towards marketing. Once you know what marketing activity

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

Combination pro

o do, and have confidence that it will bring results, spend the money enthusiastically.

Lack of focus

Perhaps you do spend time and money on marketing, but you aren’t happy with the results. Or your efforts are ad-hoc rather than

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

carefully planned. Whatever it is, 2005 is the year to take charge. If what you are doing isn’t working – stop doing it! Ask a professional for help (not your friends or associates!). Or put yourself in your customers shoes and work out w

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

hat’s going to attract them to your business. If an ad-hoc approach is the problem, take the time to complete the marketing plan in the ‘How to…’ section and become ruthlessly systematic this year.

Lack of over-riding marketing strate

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

y

Marketing activity and tactics are all well and good but it is like driving a rudderless ship if there is no grander plan. Part of creating a marketing strategy is to clearly understand exactly where you are right now, and where yo

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

want to be. Your goal may be to have sales of $1,$5 or $50 million. Or you may want to revolutionise your industry. Or you may want your company to be acquired within 5 years. What matters most is that you have a clear, precise vision of

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

where you are, where you want to be in 1year, and where you want to be in 5 years.

Not surrounding ourselves with the right people

All of the great books on success advocate spending time with people who are already successful at

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

Following aspects would a

what you want to do. Why? By surrounding yourself with people several steps ahead of you, you can absorb the attitudes and values that made them successful, as well as picking up new strategies and ideas. So If you are hanging out with

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

eople who also lack a marketing mindset then it’s time to think about expanding your professional network to include those who are already down the track to success.

Marketing is more of an art than a science. Often times you learn by sy

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

tematically trying different activities and approaches. The experts don't always have all the answers . . . and this is exactly why you need to give plenty of personal attention to make sure your marketing is working as hard as it possibl

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

y can. If you want to get serious about success in business, then understanding marketing is an ongoing priority.

Here’s a quick list of 10 ideas to get you into the marketing groove:

1. Commit to reading one new marketing book per mon

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

h

2. Start learning about how to market online

3. Make a list of people whose businesses inspire you, and carefully study their marketing techniques. How many of these are you using?

4. Make a list of successful people in your industry

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

and check out their marketing strategy. Why not offer to take one of them out for coffee to learn more about how they got where they are (what’s the worst that could happen?)

5. Revise your marketing budget. Look at your previous investm

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

ent in marketing, and ask yourself if this is the amount a truly successful business would be spending

6. Review all of last year’s marketing activities. Work out which ones brought new business in the door, or were successful in some ot

.

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 way (building credibility for example). If you can’t quantify how successful the outcome was, stop spending the money!

7. Implement an ongoing ‘keep in touch’ program with existing customers

8. Ask 10 or more of your most loyal custo

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

ers for a referral

9. Stop doing those marketing activities that you know don’t work, but you do them anyway

10. Market research - ask 20 of your customers what value you provide to them. Use what they say in your own marketing material

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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Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a national business group with a focus on health, recently took a survey among 275 employers to find out the key issues affecting employee productivity. Their findings show the stress was identified by 72% of the employers as a key issue relative to productivity.

You've got your business set up and running and your first enquiries start coming in. Now is not the time to sit back and relax – you need to stay ahead of the competition and constantly research your market, honing and tuning your marketing. Here are some things that you should absolutely definitely not do.

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