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What a conversation! A British gentleman working in global logistics, his American entertainer wife who recently became a mother, an Australian event coordinator and me. Four different cultures – and different points of view.

We talked about the serv

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

ice we received at retail stores, banks, restaurants, hotels and airlines around the world. We each had very different opinions about what constitutes ‘good service’.

The logistics guy likes fast and efficient; pleasantries are incidental. The entert

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

Examples of combination products may in

iner wants time to browse before she is approached, and feels ‘hurried’ if someone comes too close, too soon. The Australian feels just the opposite. She wants attention right away or she walks right out the door. And me? I like the ‘human touch’: a s

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

ile, friendly tone of voice, a twinkle in the eye.

Our differences are not surprising given our backgrounds. But what a challenge for committed service providers!

Should your service be reserved and polite, or outgoing and friendly? Should you be fa

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 and efficient, or personal and attentive? Should you initiate contact and offer immediate help, or wait discreetly until you are asked?

What pleases one customer may easily disturb another. But you’ve got to do something. So what should you do?

Be

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

Combination pro

neath the preferences of one person and another, I found ‘Three Steps to Welcome’ that always apply:

1. Acknowledge the person

2. Make a positive gesture

3. Extend an offer to help

Acknowledge the person means letting them know that you know they

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

re there. This can be done with simple eye contact, a tip of your head or a momentary opening of your hand.

Have you ever been in a store with sales staff who completely ignored you? Did you feel awkward as they talked on the phone, or invisible as t

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

ey chatted with each other?

Have you ever been happy to wait several minutes while a clerk helped someone else, because she acknowledged you first with a tiny gesture, raised eyebrows or a smile?

It doesn’t take much to acknowledge another person. B

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

t it does require something. One small gesture makes the difference.

Make a positive gesture doesn’t mean waving your hands and shouting ‘C’mon in!’ That might be good for a carnival or a bustling street on a busy night. But theatrics can be out of p

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

lace at government offices, hospitals or jewelry stores where couples search slowly for rings.

At the government service counter, a positive gesture could be simply, ‘Next, please’. In a museum or fine restaurant, a slight tilt from the waist is enou

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

h. In a retail store, the wide sweep of your hand invites shoppers to browse freely.

Extend an offer to help is easy when spoken: ‘How may I help you?’ ‘Your passport, please’, ‘Good morning. My name is Ron’. In silence, two open hands mean ‘I am her

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

Following aspects would a

to help you’. One guiding palm says ‘Come this way’, or ‘Have a seat’.

Your ‘Three Steps to Welcome’ will depend on where you work, whom you serve and what reputation you wish to create. This may take fine-tuning before you get it right.

When Giord

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

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

no clothing stores first opened, the staff were too excited, cheering new customers and scaring timid ones right out of the store! Today, Giordano’s has refined the welcoming process to an elegant dance of body language, gestures, facial expressions a

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

nd spoken words. They watch customers carefully and observe how they react. Staff know when to go slow and let new shoppers browse, and when to step forward with personal attention.

American Express went too far with their initial Platinum Card telep

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

one service. Caller ID allowed Amex to know who was calling and answer the phone using the customer’s name. But customers were shocked to be addressed by name before they had introduced themselves. (Now Amex only uses your name after you’ve said it on

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 yourself.)

Raffles Hotel understands that too much service can become unpleasant service. A personal welcome by the chef, the manager, the hostess, every waiter and busboy will scuttle the best hospitality intentions at dinner. Raffles’ Chief Execu

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

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

ive Officer likens their style of service to ‘a gentle breeze’, soothing you when you want it, but never blowing too hard in your face.

Key Learning Point
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eve

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

ryone entering your place of work should receive acknowledgment, positive gestures and an appropriate offer of assistance.

Action Steps
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Survey customers of al

.

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

types: old and young, male and female, hurried and relaxed, on a budget or on a spree. Ask them how they like to be greeted. What would be ‘too much’, what would be ‘too little’?

Discuss the results with your colleagues and ask their opinions, too.

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

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

Decide which ‘Three Steps to Welcome’ match your company’s image and your customer base. Then set standards, practice with role-plays, train and supervise new staff. Use these three steps to make your customers feel recognized, appreciated and welcome

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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