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Let’s start out by defining exactly what ‘casual marketing’ is. In a nutshell, it’s trying a marketing tactic once, maybe twice, and when you don’t see immediate or expected results, you drop that marketing tacti

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

c and either try something else or worse yet don’t do any marketing for a while – hoping clients will just magically appear. This is the old “build it and they will come” disorder. I don’t know if you’re one of

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

Examples of combination products may in

the charmed ones or not, but sitting and waiting for clients to show up has never worked for me or anyone I know of.

Now when analyzing reports provided by the U.S. Small Business Association, I noticed a shockin

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

trend. Basically, for every small business that opens its doors each year, another one closes theirs. That’s a pretty scary statistic! And it’s my belief that ‘casual marketing’ is one of the main causes of th

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

at statistic being as bad as it is.

So how do you ensure that you don’t wind up on the bad side of that statistic? Well from a marketing standpoint, here are 3 steps to avoid the ‘casual marketing’ curse:

1. V

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

Combination pro

ry Your Marketing Approach to Ensure the Most Comprehensive Reach

Approach your target audience from different angles using a variety of different mediums. First off, I believe it’s important to note that differ

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

ent people like to be communicated to in different ways. Visual people may give more credence to messages that appeal to their eyes – eye candy so to speak. For example flashy display ads, photographs, and video

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

would most likely be their preference. Auditory people most likely would enjoy hearing your messages. Therefore, marketing campaigns that used tactics such as such as radio, teleseminars, and audio postcards wo

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

ld probably yield the most success. And lastly kinesthetic people who typically prefer something they can put their hands on. For example, test driving your product or service and physical samples would most lik

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

ely appeal to them the most.

So being that it’s close to impossible to know the communication style preference of every one in your target audience, which approach do you choose? How about a combination of the t

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

ree? For example, if you are a car dealership, why not offer a combination of flashy display ads, audio postcards, and test drives? This way you appeal to your entire target audience in one way shape or form.

A

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

Following aspects would a

dditionally, you may want to approach your target audience using different mediums. Don’t be afraid to mix it up here because once again different people tend to be more comfortable with different mediums. Some

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

like print media like newspapers and magazines, others prefer Internet-based mediums such as web sites and email, while still others prefer mediums such as television – and the list can go on and on here.

2. Mar

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

eting Consistency Is Key to Building Relationships

While you may want to vary your marketing approach, it is critical however to communicate a consistent message and image of who you are and how you can solve you

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

r target audience’s problem. And for small businesses, the byproduct of this effort should lead to branding.

3. ‘All-the-time Marketing’ Is Vital to Your Survival

Marketing should not be a some-of-the-time thi

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

g; it needs to be an all-of-the-time thing. And in the absence of your leadership, your target audience will tend to listen to whoever is doing the talking. And with the vast array of competition out there screa

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ming in your target audience’s ear, your allegiance to ‘all-the-time marketing’ is more critical than ever. Now how you stand out from the pack is a whole other story for another day. Just know that you have to

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

at least be in the game. So always don the marketing hat and learn how to sense and make the most of marketing opportunities.

So let’s be honest now, have you been guilty of ‘casual marketing’? Whether you have

.

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

or you haven’t, know that that’s not what’s important here, it’s what you do from now on that counts. So decide right now to employ ‘all-the-time marketing’ in your business. I urge you to try this persona on fo

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

r a while and see how it fits. I’m sure that you’ll notice that it gets much easier over time – it becomes second nature. And better yet, it brings results.

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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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Lego, the Danish toy company, found instant success with their interlocking blocks in the German market, while sales foundered in the U.S. Why?

So you’ve invented the next big thing (or at least something that may solve a problem for a select group of people)? Now what?

Going from the unemployment line to a good living is possible. And can be done at home on the internet. Read how I went from twenty years of faithful service to being handed my hat because of company politics And how I was able to put it all back together with internet commerce. Yes most of the time it is to good to be true but I am here to say it can be done and it should be done by those who want more.

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