Useful Advices - Business

For years I have heard the comment that ‘the customer is always right’. Baloney! There have been many times that I as a customer h

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

ave operated under false assumptions, bad advice, unrealistic expectations, rumors and hearsay. I’ll bet if you think about it, th

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

Examples of combination products may in

t you too have not always been right as a customer.

I am not suggesting you get into a tug of war with a customer about who is righ

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

or who is wrong. If you treat a customer as if they are wrong regardless of whether they are or not, you may win the argument but

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

ou can kiss any more business with them goodbye.

So what is a salesperson to do when the customer is operating out of a set of beli

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

Combination pro

fs, values or expectations that they feel they are right when in truth they are really wrong? (I don’t want to get into a discussio

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

about what is right or wrong. I have covered this concept several times during the past few years in my tips and many of my books.)

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

What I want to make clear is that regardless of whether the customer is right or wrong you have some options.

1. You can argue wit

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

them and no matter who wins you will lose their business.
2. You can get your ego in the way and end up being right, but what’

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

the point?
3. You can point out where the customer is mis-informed but still treat them with respect and professionalism.

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

4. You can cave in and let them be right even when they are not. (Over the long term this is not a wise approach.)
5. You c

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

Following aspects would a

n turn the problem over to someone else to take the heat.
6. You can get a manager or supervisor involved (what we call higher

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

uthority in negotiation) and let them handle the issue.

It is vital to remember that life is perceptual. That everyone sees thin

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

s differently. You and the customer can be looking at the same color and they see light blue and you see dark blue. How can this b

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

true? It just is. There are hundreds of shades of blue. Do you want to lose business because you insist that the customer agree

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

ith you and your interpretation of a color? We are only talking here about color, imagine if it were something more complicated.

C

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

stomers all bring a great deal to the buying table. They bring their; experience, expectations, likes, dislikes, memories, knowledg

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

, desires and on and on. When there is disagreement or conflict it is usually due to the salesperson and the customer looking at th

.

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

same issue, feature, situation etc. through a different set of eyes.

It’s your turn.

- What do you typically do when a customer i

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

wrong?
- What is your strategy or your technique(s) for disarming any potential conflict?
- Is what you are doing working

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.usefuladvices.org.ua/article/36691/usefuladvices-The-Customer-Is-Always-Right--Phooey.html">The Customer Is Always Right - Phooey</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.usefuladvices.org.ua/article/36691/usefuladvices-The-Customer-Is-Always-Right--Phooey.html]The Customer Is Always Right - Phooey[/url]

Personalized candy is a new and creative way to get your message across. Whether business or personal you can now put your message on candy.

Most of aren't born with manual which tells us which career we should follow. And jobs aren't designed to fit people - people have to fit job. Consequently, many of us aren't happy at work. If you are one of them, here is a way you could change your situation for the better.

This article looks at if having competition in your coaching niche is a good thing. Do you think it is beneficial to have competition for your coaching practice?

Tags

Links

Useful Advices - The Customer Is Always Right - Phooey

Related Articles: