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Digg It - Patience is a Virtue: Be Patient with Postcard Mailings
If I've heard it once, I've heard it a hundred times: less than ten days after their first postcard is mailed, the client calls me and says, "Rachel, it should have arrived a few days ago, but my phone hasn't rung yet. Are you SURE
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
the postcard was mailed out?" First I reassure them that we mailed it. Then I remind them again that it usually takes several mailings before the phone starts ringing off the hook.
Sometimes my clients believe me... and a few month
Sometimes my clients believe me... and a few month
; 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
later, they start seeing great results from their postcards. Sometimes my clients don't believe me... and they give up on postcards before ever really giving them a chance.
You remember when Grandma told you that patience is a vir
You remember when Grandma told you that patience is a vir
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
tue? You might not have realized it then, but she was talking about your postcard marketing campaign, too.
The truth is, anyone who doesn't live under a rock already knows that successful advertising campaigns are based in repetiti
The truth is, anyone who doesn't live under a rock already knows that successful advertising campaigns are based in repetiti
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, repetition, repetition - and consistency. Let's take a few examples. What comes to mind if I say...
"Tastes Great, Less Filling"
"Where's the Beef?"
"I just saved a lot of money on my car insurance!"
Getting the idea?
We rem
"Tastes Great, Less Filling"
"Where's the Beef?"
"I just saved a lot of money on my car insurance!"
Getting the idea?
We rem
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
ember successful advertising campaigns for many different reasons - they are clever and well-written (I'll address this in subsequent articles), but more than that, we remember them because we hear or see them over and over again.
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
et when it comes to postcard marketing, many of my clients seem to think that one huge run of postcards is sufficient for their advertising needs for the whole quarter or the whole year.
Use common sense by thinking about your own
Use common sense by thinking about your own
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
buying habits:
Do you buy a product the first time you see it advertised?
Do you buy a product the second time you see it advertised?
Aren't you much more likely to buy a product after you have seen it advertised several times?
Do you buy a product the first time you see it advertised?
Do you buy a product the second time you see it advertised?
Aren't you much more likely to buy a product after you have seen it advertised several times?
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
ere are some tips to help you get the most out of your postcard marketing budget.
1. When you create your postcard marketing budget, plan for a minimum of eight mailings.
As I always tell my clients, your money will be put to
1. When you create your postcard marketing budget, plan for a minimum of eight mailings.
As I always tell my clients, your money will be put to
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
better use by mailing 1,000 people eight times than 8,000. Even if you can only afford to mail a small number of people on a monthly basis, this is a better strategy than mailing a large number only once or twice.
Don't give up aft
Don't give up aft
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
r just a few mailings. Our company once had a real estate agent client who mailed NINE months in a row without a single phone call. He had decided that if he didn't get any results on the tenth mailing, he was calling it quits. On t
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
hat tenth mailing, his postcards yielded three high-quality listings. Just one of those listings was more than enough for the ten months of postcards.
2. Be as consistent and frequent as you can afford.
We are a culture of ver
2. Be as consistent and frequent as you can afford.
We are a culture of ver
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
busy people. Very busy people share something in common - very short attention spans. If you want people to remember your company, your name, your product, mail them at regular intervals - weekly if you can afford it, but at least
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
monthly. Mailing once per quarter can work for certain clients - for example, retail clients who have a big quarterly sale that their current clients already know about might benefit from a quarterly postcard, especially if they are
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
also utilizing monthly postcards. But once per year? What advertising do YOU remember from one year ago? If you can't remember, how do you expect your prospects to remember YOUR advertising if you're only doing one mailing per year?
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
3. Use your budget, your consistency, and your frequency on ONE group of people. Just recently, a client mailed a list of 2,500 people. For his second mailing, he chose a new list of 2,500 people, and he hasn't gotten a single ph
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
ne call. Groaning, he called us and said, "Why didn't I listen to you??" Even though he's now done two consistent monthly mailings, he may as well only have done one mailing for those two groups of 2,500. Each group will have only h
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
eard of him once, not twice. It can be tempting - especially when our budget is small - to reach out to more and more people by mailing to a different group every time. However, this is another strategy that flushes your advertising
.
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
dollars down the toilet because it breaks the rules of consistency and repetition.
4. Above all, be patient! There are plenty of people out there who will try to tell you that they can get you rich quick with little marketing, no
4. Above all, be patient! There are plenty of people out there who will try to tell you that they can get you rich quick with little marketing, no
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
marketing, or cheap marketing. The people selling get rich quick schemes are preying upon our unwillingness to be consistent and patient. Don't fall for it. As one famous advertising slogan goes, "Good things come to those who wait.
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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