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What's better than making a dollar in revenue today? How about making a dollar today, and then another dollar next month, another dollar the following month and so on? Smart businesses focus not on one-time sales-the transactional approach-but on building long-term customer r

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

elationships-the relationship approach. You might call this "annuitizing" your business. An annuity is "a sum of money, payable yearly, to continue for a given number of years, for life, or forever; an annual allowance." In other words, an annuity is a sum of money that you a

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

Examples of combination products may in

re paid on a regular and consistent basis.

Here's an example. A couple of weeks ago my husband was in Dallas for a business trip. At the end of his trip he had to stop by a gas station to fill up his "midsize" rental car-a Ford Excursion believe it or not (I would hate to se

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

e the "fullsize" car)-before he dropped the car off at the airport on his way out of town. His gas bill was about $50 but chances are he will never be back to that gas station again. So his "Lifetime Customer Value" to that business is exactly that--$50.

In comparison, there

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

is an AM/PM station within about 5 minutes of our home that we frequent. Though we often buy gas other places, this store gets the majority of our business. When you figure that we spend perhaps $100+ there any given month, our Lifetime Customer Value to that gas station get

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

Combination pro

s pretty big. For example, over just 5 years we will likely spend $6,000 there ($100/month x 60 months). As you can see, this is significantly more than the fifty dollars that my husband spent at the gas station mentioned earlier.

In many ways your business is just the same.

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

As wonderful as it is to get business from that customer the first time, it will be better yet if that customer comes back to you on a regular, consistent basis and spends an equivalent amount of money monthly or at least several times a year. In other words, you are "annuit

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

zing" your business and each customer is adding significantly to the value of your business. For example, let's say that the focus of your scrapbooking business is home-based retailing. When someone comes to one of your workshops or seminars and buys some scrapbooking product

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

s, do you simply say "Thank you very much" and then never contact them again? Or do you treat this as simply the first of many visits to your "store" and then go about devising ways to develop a relationship with that customer and give them reasons to come back to your "store

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

" to spend more money? This latter approach acknowledges the long-term potential purchasing power of this single customer. And with a little more incremental effort you might yield a 10X, 40X or 100X increase in revenue from that customer over the years.

This same thing appl

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

ies regardless as to the focus of your business: home-based retailer or consultant, an internet-based retailer, a developer of scrapbooking or stamping products, a company that focuses on expos or crops, and so on.

So how do you go about "annuitizing" your customer base? Ama

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

Following aspects would a

zingly, you likely know the answer to the question already. Simply think for a moment about businesses that you frequent, places where you consistently spend money on a consistent basis. Examples might include your favorite gas station, a grocery store, a favorite restaurant,

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

your local Costco or Wal-Mart, a styling salon, or a car dealership. Now think about why you return to these businesses and keep giving them your money. As you might imagine, it's likely for one or more of the following reasons:

Convenience or location

Product selection

P

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

ricing

Relationship

Specials

In the type of business that you run the most important single factor is your relationship. You likely spend your money at places where you're comfortable, "where everybody knows your name" (Like Norm on Cheers), and the same thing applies to y

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

ur business. If you simply do the following 4 things you will see your business grow from increased business from your customers, less customer turnover and more referrals:

Know their name. Write it down. Put it in a simple database. As they come back get to know mor

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

e about them. Write that down, put that in your database. (A "database" doesn't even have to be on a computer. It could simply be notes on a piece of paper. However, I do advocate keeping it on a computer.)

Communicate with them on a regular basis. Call them. Send the

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

m a note. Email them. Particularly, in today's electronic world, there is no reason not to email people on an ongoing basis. And it's infinitely cheaper than sending out mailers, catalogs or brochures.

Give them a reason to do more business with you. Tell them about n

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

ew products or services that might interest them. Invite them to a seminar, an expo, or to your new website. Offer them a coupon with an expiration date.

Treat them the way that you would likely to be treated. Yes, the Golden Rule is still in force.

I admi

.

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 that there is nothing new or really that unique about these ideas. But as I said, most people really know how to build customer relationships because we all know why we frequent our favorite businesses and vendors. Working to "annuitize" your business takes a little more ef

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

fort, but the result over time will be that you won't have to struggle and fight for each dollar of revenue. Instead you will have a base of business that you can somewhat "count on". This gives you more flexibility to find new and creative ways to build your business further

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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Many people are their own worst enemy when it comes to their career. Below are three examples of how we restrict our career development.

Many people insist that there are jobs Americans will not do. Indeed, this is factual and yet if they paid me $200.00 to pick apples per hour, I bet I might get some exercise and go lose some weight. The issues will illegal immigration and outsourcing are indeed economic in nature.

Emailing your resume and cover letter is one of the easiest ways to contact a recruiter, but there are rules and regulations that you need to follow.

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