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Useful Advices - 7 Proven Ways to Keep Your Customers
Having successfully gained some customers – how do we keep them?
This is a crucial question - companies lose half their customers in 5 years (according to the Harvard Business Review) and it costs 7-10x as much to get a new customer as to keep an old one.
The Cranfield Benchmarking study tells us that the average UK company just kee
This is a crucial question - companies lose half their customers in 5 years (according to the Harvard Business Review) and it costs 7-10x as much to get a new customer as to keep an old one.
The Cranfield Benchmarking study tells us that the average UK company just kee
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
ps pace with the fall-off. So we really need to pay attention to retaining those valuable customers.
So apart from giving them that really good service that will build your reputation, deliver you referrals and make a friend for life – what else should you be doing?
Well the fancy name for it is customer relationship management (CRM) but f
Well the fancy name for it is customer relationship management (CRM) but f
; 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
or most of us this is going to mean having a customer database and a communication strategy that is going to keep reminding them of who we are and what we do. The first thing you must do is to have permission to contact them but that’s easily achieved.
Then you must recognise the stages that companies go through in their relationship with us
Then you must recognise the stages that companies go through in their relationship with us
lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.
Basically there are 3 phases.
Acquisition of customer - This is essentially sales activity that moves the customer into forming a business relationship with us. This is likely to use various marketing channels as suggested in the related article ‘7 ways to find new customers’.
Consolidation of Customer – Here we make sure tha
Acquisition of customer - This is essentially sales activity that moves the customer into forming a business relationship with us. This is likely to use various marketing channels as suggested in the related article ‘7 ways to find new customers’.
Consolidation of Customer – Here we make sure tha
here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe
t the initial delivery or implementation goes smoothly and that the customers appreciate the excellent performance of the organisation. We may need to identify some key after sales points and make sure that we draw the customer’s attention to these. This is generally part of the transaction but additional selling opportunities can be built in
d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.
Combination pro
Combination pro
o the interactions.
Developing the relationship - This means systematically developing a process to give the customer more buying opportunities. These could be additional services, loyalty programs or chances to cross sell and up sell. If yours is a product that involves an ongoing maintenance programme, then try and ensure that the i
Developing the relationship - This means systematically developing a process to give the customer more buying opportunities. These could be additional services, loyalty programs or chances to cross sell and up sell. If yours is a product that involves an ongoing maintenance programme, then try and ensure that the i
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
nformation in your sales and service systems inter-relate. This can help you
a) Allow your service people to act as sales people and feed back to the company about expected sales
b) Feed back to the sales force if there are problems that need attending
c) Get the sales force to look good by calling out the cavalry
Man
a) Allow your service people to act as sales people and feed back to the company about expected sales
b) Feed back to the sales force if there are problems that need attending
c) Get the sales force to look good by calling out the cavalry
Man
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
of us miss a trick here because we are too busy looking for new business and delivering the business that we’ve got to plan our on going communication. We also don’t look at our customer base in the way that more sophisticated database orientated marketers do.
So let me share a few of their secrets with you.
1. They will know who their
So let me share a few of their secrets with you.
1. They will know who their
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
top customers are. This could be the top 50 if it’s a specialised business to business company or it could be tens of thousands if they are a retailer. More than that they will know what business or consumer segments they represent. Small businesses often don’t organise their accounts to follow the profit profiles of their product or cus
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
omer types – but it’s an exercise that we should all undertake. The more sophisticated will identify the key characteristics of their top customers and actively go looking for more of them.
2. They will work out what the lifetime value of a customer is. This means multiplying what their top customers spend by a number of years (usuall
2. They will work out what the lifetime value of a customer is. This means multiplying what their top customers spend by a number of years (usuall
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
y between 2 and 5) that depends on the type of business.
3. Then they might rank their customers by multiplying together size of spend, recency of purchase and frequency of purpose. This will identify different categories of customers who will need to be communicated with in different ways and maybe with different stories. For instanc
3. Then they might rank their customers by multiplying together size of spend, recency of purchase and frequency of purpose. This will identify different categories of customers who will need to be communicated with in different ways and maybe with different stories. For instanc
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
e a company selling marketing services would emphasize different issues to a business services start-up than to a 50 employee food manufacturer.
So having analysed their customer base they will come up with a different set of relevant pieces of information, offers and education experiences that can be communicated to their customers to tie t
So having analysed their customer base they will come up with a different set of relevant pieces of information, offers and education experiences that can be communicated to their customers to tie t
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
em in and get them to come back.
So here are 7 things that a small business can practically do.
1. Offer an e-zine that can be emailed every couple of months or so. It doesn’t have to be long – 500 words are enough but it should contain information that will be useful to your customers. No-one objects to you making concrete business
So here are 7 things that a small business can practically do.
1. Offer an e-zine that can be emailed every couple of months or so. It doesn’t have to be long – 500 words are enough but it should contain information that will be useful to your customers. No-one objects to you making concrete business
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
offers but they need to be relevant to the target group and embedded in some content that genuinely adds value.
2. If you can build some kind of maintenance or support contract that is paid for monthly or quarterly with an automatic renewal on direct debit – this is the best way of ensuring an ongoing relationship with the customer.
2. If you can build some kind of maintenance or support contract that is paid for monthly or quarterly with an automatic renewal on direct debit – this is the best way of ensuring an ongoing relationship with the customer.
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
b>3. For key accounts make sure they are telephoned regularly. And don’t always leave it to the salesperson – do it yourself – just say that you are keen to make sure they get the best service possible and that as the owner you are doing a bit of informal market research. As long as you mean it – it will work wonders.
4. Run workshops
4. Run workshops
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
and seminars on relevant topics. If you can add enough value you can charge for them. You might be bringing them up to date, providing a guest speaker or just helping them to work through some issues.
5. Don’t forget to use your website as a key resource for keeping customers up to date – if you can regularly refresh the content
5. Don’t forget to use your website as a key resource for keeping customers up to date – if you can regularly refresh the content
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
ith fact sheets, Frequently Asked Question Sheets or other valuable content, it will give them a reason to get back in contact with you.
6. Involve your customers in surveys from time to time. Email surveys are very easy and inexpensive to organise using services like Zoomerang.com which allows you to invite your customers to feedback
6. Involve your customers in surveys from time to time. Email surveys are very easy and inexpensive to organise using services like Zoomerang.com which allows you to invite your customers to feedback
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
to you. Again it should be part of a structured communication strategy and not used too frequently - but used intelligently it can be a powerful tool
7. Source other complementary products that can be sold via your website or by telephone that enhance the value of your whole product. Most companies don’t do this. A recent survey fro
7. Source other complementary products that can be sold via your website or by telephone that enhance the value of your whole product. Most companies don’t do this. A recent survey fro
.
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
Pannell Kerr Foster showed that 3 times as many companies try to find new customers for their existing products as new products for their existing customer. Even though the costs of getting new customers are so much higher. So look around for other things that are useful and offer them. The customer will appreciate it and keep coming back.
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
Responsiveness to clients is one of today’s key differentiators but most companies are not very good at it. The opportunities for companies who can come up with simple robust solutions that are useful to their customers are very good. Just make sure that you use the database to keep track of what you’ve done. And don’t over do it.
Good luck
Good luck
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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