Faq - goBalto

Frequently Asked Questions

General

What is goBalto?

goBalto is the web-based collaboration tool for the drug development and discovery industry to efficiently find and engage Partners from all over the world. goBalto links your contacts, Partners, and resources in an intuitive way, letting you respond however you want. Our users can search over 8,500 businesses including Clinical Research Organizations, Contract Manufacturers, Investigator Sites, Consultants and more! Interact with the goBalto community to take advantage of our members’ deep industry knowledge by posting questions or contribute to our wealth of insight by providing answers.

Is goBalto free?

Yes! Other than certain company promotional features on the site, you can use the site for free.

Why use goBalto?

Why not just email colleagues or ask them in person? goBalto stands out from traditional word of mouth:

By creating an easy way for professionals to find and share opinions on companies they have worked with
By fostering a global community who feel connected on goBalto
And by connecting knowledgeable and insightful reviews to the professionals who wrote them

Who uses goBalto?

goBalto’s main users include:

Individuals in the know about drug development and manufacturing industry trends and who enjoy sharing this knowledge
Individuals looking for a service and who want to quickly get an insider’s perspective on a particular company
Professionals who have worked with a company – and want to share their real-life experiences and opinions with colleagues and others
Anyone who wants to find current and reliable reviews about an aspect of a given region or specialty

How do I submit feedback and suggestions to goBalto?

To make goBalto as good as it can be, we’re open to all feedback. To submit your feedback you can click on the “Feedback” link located at the top of any page or simply click here.

What is the meaning behind the name “goBalto”?

Balto was the intrepid Siberian Husky sled dog who led his team on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska to Nenana, Alaska by train and then to Nome, Alaska by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease. The run is commemorated by the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which spans 1,100 miles and takes up to 15 days to complete. We, at goBalto strive to bring similar passion in bringing folks together and ultimately getting therapies to patients in a more efficient and cost effective manner.

Search

What companies are in the goBalto database?

Our database has over 8,500 companies from all over the world, with more being added every day. The companies are organized by the following service categories:

Clinical
Consultants
Investigator Sites
Manufacturing
Packaging & Distribution
Preclinical
Professional Services

How do I refine my search to come up with a more accurate list of companies?

From the home page, use the drop-down menu – located next to the search bar – to select the relevant service category you are searching for. In the search results page, you can further refine your list of companies by filtering on a specific service or selection criteria.

What is “Filter by selection criteria”?

Selection criteria are popular services users look for when screening companies and can vary by service category.

How is relevancy determined in search results?

The order of search results is determined by a combination of recency, description, primary services selected and ratings.

Member Profile

How do I view my Member Profile?

Hover over and select My Profile.

How do I verify my account?

Look for an email after you register on the site. Open it and click on the designated link, or copy and paste the link to your browser. Your account will then be verified. If that doesn’t work, please email us at support@gobalto.com.

How do I change my account information?

You can edit your basic information, bio, picture and password from your Settings. Click on the “Settings” link at the top of any page. You can edit your information from there.

How do I change my password?

Click on the “Settings” link at the top of any page. Under “My Profile” select “Change Password”. You can edit your information from there.

What is Activity Feed?

The Activity Feed can be viewable from your Profile. The Activity Feed allows you to stay connected and on top of your networks and projects. Through this feature you can stay current on your Contact’s activities, as well as monitor new resources, answers and Partner ratings.

How do I send messages to people on goBalto?

Go to your inbox and select compose message. Type in the name of your Contact and select “Send”. Remember, you can only send messages to your Contacts. Once you receive a reply from the recipient, a Discussion Thread will open, enabling you to invite other Contacts to the thread and share documents.

How much of my name can people see?

By default, goBalto displays your full name on the site. You have the option to show only your first name and first initial of your last name from your profile. Click on the “My Stuff” link at the top of any page. You can edit your information from there. To learn more, read our Privacy Policy.

How can I get multiple accounts?

Unfortunately, you can only have one account. We will delete any duplicate accounts we find on the site.

What does “Add to collection” mean?

Collections are your groupings of pertinent resources that you find on the site. They are customizable and are private, unless you decide to share them. Clicking on “Add to my collection” will gather whatever companies you like into your collection. You can make and name multiple, customized collections, ranging from your favorite companies to vendors needed for a specific project.

What does “Share a collection” mean?

Clicking on “Share a collection” will allow you to email your collection(s) to colleagues. Recipients can view your collection and respond with their opinions and experiences on companies included in the collection you sent. Recipients who aren’t registered members will have to sign up before they can view your collection.

How do I request more information from a partner?

Click on the “Contact Partner” to send a partner representative a message. Partners who aren’t registered members will have to sign up before they can read any emails requesting additional information. goBalto will email both sender and recipient three times to let them know the status of their email.

Rating Partners

What are ratings?

Ratings are reviews posted by members of the goBalto community on Partners whom they have worked with in the past. To learn more about how ratings are calculated and written, continue to read on.

How do I rate a Partner?

Simply search for a Partner and click through the search results to view the Partner’s profile. When viewing the Partner profile, you can either click on the icon “Rate” at the top of the profile or alternatively, click on the link “Add your own rating and comment” located at the bottom of the profile. After you click through, a modal will open asking if you are a Partner employee or representative. We allow employees or representatives to make comments on their company. However, we discourage employees and representatives from rating their own organization. Any ratings discovered to have been posted by an employee or representative will be flagged and removed.

How are ratings calculated?

Only registered members can submit ratings. Partners are rated on a scale of 0 to 100 (with 100 being excellent!) on:

Project Management
Work-style
Technical Expertise
Quality and Compliance
Commercial Terms

To submit a rating, the member is required to agree to:

Providing objective and honest feedback
Not disclose any confidential information related to the business
Not being affiliated with the business as an investor, employee or stakeholder

What should I be reviewing on goBalto?

goBalto is meant for just about any sort of service related to drug development and manufacturing. Our biggest categories today are Clinical, Investigator Sites, Manufacturing, Preclinical and Packaging & Distribution and Consultants.

What makes for a great review?

goBalto reviews are useful because people like you take the time to share thoughtful insights on businesses and services.

The best reviews are objective, based on personal experience, and tend to offer helpful suggestions, perhaps even an insider tip or two. The most useful reviews sometimes make mention of unique qualities that make the business special or the type of organizations who might also like this business.

Will goBalto remove bad reviews if a Partner pays for advertising?

Absolutely not. Reviews of all goBalto Partners are treated identically, and any complaints are handled by the same user support team, operating under the same Review Guidelines and Terms of Service.

Only a member of the user support team can remove a review and this team is not part of the sales organization. Please note that members of our user support team do not receive compensation tied to sales performance. It’s our version of checks and balances.

As you probably realize, negative reviews are a normal part of doing business (what company has never had an upset customer?), so you shouldn’t be surprised if you find the occasional negative review on your own page. While it’s important to look for patterns in your reviews you should take any individual perspective with a grain of salt.

Does goBalto allow Partners to move bad reviews to the bottom of their page?

Absolutely not. Review order is determined by recency.

Does goBalto allow Partners to provide comments on reviews?

Yes. Company representatives may respond to comments posted on their profile page. However, they are not permitted to rate their own company. Any ratings posted, originating from company representatives will be removed.

Can I post ratings anonymously?

No. If you believe you are providing objective and helpful feedback, let the community know who you are, so that they may recognize you as an experienced professional with valuable insight.

How do I know if ratings are from real people who know what they’re talking about?

We take the integrity of the rating system very seriously and use every precaution to ensure that members are rating companies in a fair and objective manner.

A few things to keep in mind when reviewing ratings and comments:

Do not solely focus on any single comment. Try to look for patterns over a series of comments. After reading a handful comments, you should begin to see a pattern emerge on the company’s capabilities
Give more weighting to “signed” comments from members who have agreed to disclose their identities
Flag any comments you feel are overly biased (both positively and negatively) and inappropriate, and our team will be sure to follow up

At the end of the day, we are relying on you – the community – to help build the rating system into a tool to bring greater transparency to whom we partner with.

Does goBalto allow members to delete or edit ratings that they have submitted?

Yes. Members are allowed to revise their rating for up to 15 minutes following the initial posting. After that, the rating cannot be edited or removed.

Can Partners message me after I review their business?

Business owners are real people too and sometimes they’d like to reach out to the people who have reviewed their business. We’ve created a feature that allows business owners to privately message those who have reviewed their business.

Does goBalto ever remove reviews?

Rarely. But in some cases a member of the goBalto team will remove a review (and will typically email the writer to let them know) if it doesn’t follow these guidelines:

Conflicts of interest. Your reviews should be unbiased and objective. If there’s any hint of a conflict, please don’t post the review. For example, owners shouldn’t sing the praises of their own businesses or bash their competitors, and users shouldn’t comment on their current or former employers.
Second-hand experiences and hearsay. For example, you can’t give a contract manufacturer a bad review because your co-worker complained about their timelines. Your reviews must be about your personal experiences, not someone else’s.
Personal attacks. We can handle strong language, but there’s no need for lewdness, hate speech and other displays of bigotry. Your friends probably know when you’re being funny, but the thousands of professionals who read reviews on goBalto may not.
Relevance. Reviews aren’t the place for rants about a business’s employment practices, political ideologies, or other matters that don’t address the core of the normal customer experience.
Plagiarism. Use your own words to tell us about your experience with a local business, but don’t lift something from another website.

Additionally, a very small number of reviews may be suppressed by our automated software system that determines which reviews are shown on a business page. This system is designed to protect consumers and businesses alike from fake reviews (ie, a malicious review from a competitor or a planted review from an employee).

What if I had a bad experience? Can I say something negative?

Sure. We want to hear about your good experiences and your bad ones. Be sure to include all the relevant facts and details.

But whether it’s a positive review or a negative one, please keep in mind that your opinions are generally protected but posting false information can have legal ramifications.

My business has been reviewed on goBalto. Now what should I do?

Congratulations! Now that you are in the game. We’ve come up with this simple list of DOs and DON’Ts for business owners, and we hope you’ll keep us posted on what works best.

First the DON’Ts:

1. DON’T rate your own business or solicit ratings from your employees or friends.
2. DON’T spam reviewers with promotional messages about your business.
3. DON’T overestimate the impact of a single negative review. It happens to even the best businesses. That said, if you see a trend of negative reviews, you may want to take this feedback and determine if there is a way to improve your business.
4. DON’T lash out at the members who have written negative reviews about you. Tempting as that may be, we see that backfiring in some cases as the goBalto community may up the ante and even engage in “vigilante justice” by spreading more negativity. Try to remember, “the customer is always right”.
5. DON’T offer incentives or payment for your customers to write positive reviews about your business on goBalto. These paid reviews violate goBalto’s Review Guidelines and will be removed.

Now the DOs:

1. DO claim your company profile page to keep track of your company’s page on goBalto and to engage with the goBalto community.
2. DO add photos and videos to your business page and make sure your business information is correct. You’ll be able to immediately update your business’ information via the edit link on your company profile page.
3. DO take the feedback to heart but remember that each review is just one single opinion.
4. DO start thinking about every customer as a potential reviewer and supporter… and providing the excellent customer service that will encourage them to spread the word.

Partners

What are Partners?

Partners are companies and individual consultants who are involved in the global drug development and manufacturing industry. Partners are categorized by Clinical Research Organizations, Contract Manufacturing Organizations, Investigator Sites, Packaging & Distribution companies, Pharmaceutical & Biotech Companies, Preclinical service providers, and Consultants. We also have a separate category – Professional Services – which provide ancillary services to the industry.

How will goBalto help me?

goBalto promotes your organization online 24/7. Our site is designed to attract drug development and manufacturing professionals seeking partners whose services match their specific needs. We offer companies many opportunities to connect with potential customers on the goBalto network. Read more about these options by clicking here or call us at (415) 671-4372 or email us to learn more.

How much does a listing cost?

It’s free. But if you want to upload images, video, and your logo to your profile, you’ll have to pay for a premium account. You can learn more here.

How do I get my company listed?

Click on the following link and complete the online form.

Alternatively you may email us at newco@gobalto.com. Please remember to include the following information:

Primary contact’s First and Last Name
Primary contact’s Title
Email
Company
Address
Phone number
URL
Brief description of Company (500 characters or less)

If we don’t have any questions, new companies are posted within 48 hours of receipt of information.

Can consultants be listed as a Partner?

Absolutely! We believe individual consultants are just as important as large companies and encourage you to list yourself as a Partner. Just follow this link to request a free listing. After you are listed, you will be able to get connected with members searching for your specific area of expertise. In addition, consultants are also able to participate in all of the promotional services goBalto offer to increase your visibility. To learn more about our promotional services click here or feel free to call us (415) 641-4372 or email us.

How do I claim my business?

By claiming your business page, you can immediately update your business information. All you have to do is set up a business owner account. (See “How do I get my company listed?”) Or click the link “Request Access” on your prearranged vendor profile page.

Premium Partner Membership

What’s the difference between Basic-Partner and Premium-Partner membership?

Basic membership is free, and lets you list your company name and address and a description of your business and services. For a monthly fee, premium members can promote their organization by adding more descriptive text, uploading their logos, images, and video. You can learn more about the differences between basic and premium here.

What regions should I select for my company profile?

In general, most users are not interested in the locations of your corporate and branch administrative offices. The region should relate to the services you offer.

Region selections should follow these general guidelines :

Clinical research organization: location of labs
Investigator Sites: location of sites
Consultants: regions of expertise
Contract Manufacturers: location of plants and facilities
Packaging & Distribution: regions of expertise
Preclinical: location of labs
Professional Services: regions of expertise and/or office location

What kind of resources should I attach to my listings?

We recommend you add your logo to your listings, as well as photos and video that are broadly representative of your organization. Think in terms of what tells your story best: Photos of your building or offices? Or video of your facility site tour or CEO and staff interviews? CVs, whitepapers, research pages, and customer testimonials would also be helpful attachments. Remember, users want to make sure you are qualified to do business with them, before moving on to the next step of contacting you. goBalto works with a number of media professionals who can assist you in developing high-quality images and video. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us at support@gobalto.com.

What photo and video formats does goBalto support? How large can files be?

Photo images should be smaller than 3MB and saved as a .gif, .jpg. or .png files. The file sizes are small = > [82, 49], :medium = > [237, 174], :large = > [470, 290]. Any video format accommodated by YouTube can be handled by the goBalto premium profile media player.

How do I add video to my premium profile?

Partner administrators can add video by visiting their company profile and selecting “Edit,” followed by “Premium Content>Media>New Video.” Video can be embedded from YouTube by pasting the URL into the input field. (For example, http://youtube.com/watch?v=oCmAD-z7-mA).

How do I upgrade from Premium to Premium-Plus?

To request an upgrade, please email us at support@gobalto.com.

How much will it cost to upgrade from Premium to Premium-Plus?

Premium profile members are credited for days remaining in the original subscription plan against the cost to upgrade.

Total additional cost to upgrade to Premium Plus is calculated as follows:

Credit = (Premium Profile Cost) x (# of days remaining in Premium Profile Plan / total # days in Premium Profile Plan)

Premium-Plus Cost – Credit = Additional Cost to Upgrade to Premium Plus

Projects

What are projects?

goBalto Projects is a collaboration tool to help you organize and run drug-development projects. Projects allow you to organize discussions, files, and tasks about a particular drug-development project or milestone in one convenient place.

You can create private projects just for yourself. But the real power of Projects is the ability to give other goBalto users access to your project so you can share information and work together collaboratively. Evaluate partners, organize negotiations, share files, track your progress, and monitor multiple discussions all in a single place.

Who can view my project?

When you create a new project, only you (the owner) can access it. If you want to grant access to other users, you can do so by using the “Access and Permissions” tab inside the project.

How can I control access to my project?

You can see who has access to your project using the “Access and Permissions” tab. The project owner (and only the owner) can grant and revoke access for other people at any time. When you grant access to someone, you can specify how much access they should have to your project.

What are the different levels of access?

There are three different levels of project access.

The “Owner” has full access to the project. They are the only one who can grant or revoke access, rename the project, or archive the project.

People with “Full Access” to the project can access and manage the whole project. They can view all discussions, start new discussions, edit To-Do lists and tasks, and upload files. However they cannot change access permissions, rename the project, or archive the project.

People with “Discussions Only” access are highly restricted. They can only access the Discussions tab and they only see discussions sent specifically to them.

How can I tell exactly which discussion my project users can see?

On the “Access and Permissions” tab, locate the “Discussions Only” section. Click on the blue info icon for a specific user, and a popup will appear showing you exactly which discussions that user can see.

Remember that people with Full Access can see all discussions.

How many People can access my project?

There is no limit to the number of people you can grant access to your project.

Can I delete a project?

No. However the owner can archive the project which removes it from the list of active projects. Archived projects cannot be accessed by anyone except the owner. The owner can view their archived projects, but they cannot make any changes to them.

How many projects can I create?

All goBalto members can create 1 project for free. If you purchase a Projects Basic Subscription, your limit is increased to 35 projects. Purchasing a Projects Premium Subscription allows you to have an unlimited number of projects.

Do all projects count towards my maximum?

No. Only active projects count towards the maximum. You can have as many archived projects as you want; they do not count towards the limit. Once you reach the limit you will not be able to create or un-archive any projects.

How does the 30-day free trial work?

The first 30 days of your upgrade are free! Your credit card will not be charged until the free trial period ends. If you cancel within 30 days of purchase you won’t be charged at all.

Do I have to sign a long-term contract?

No. Your projects upgrade is a pay-as-you-go service. You can cancel your upgrade subscription at any time by calling us at 415-671-4372 or sending an email to support@gobalto.com. Please note that we do not prorate for partial months.

What types of payment do you accept?

Currently we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and DiscoverCard. We’re sorry but we cannot accept purchase orders or invoice you at this time.

Can I upgrade my plan later?

Absolutely. If you’ve already purchased an upgrade, just call us at 415-671-4372 or email us at support@gobalto.com and we’ll be happy to help you.

How can I cancel my subscription?

To cancel your projects upgrade subscription, just call us at 415-671-4372 or email us at support@gobalto.com.

Is my credit card information secure?

Yes. The goBalto website uses SSL secure encryption – the same technology used by bank websites and major retailers (like Amazon.com). All credit card transactions are processed on a secure PCI-compliant network.

Advertising

What are Featured Partners?

We have created a dedicated space on our home page to showcase featured partners. Your company will be featured for a specified length of time with a custom image, tag line, and description. Visitors who click on your company will be taken to your company’s profile for more information.
To learn more about being a featured partner on goBalto click here or feel free to call us at (415) 671-4372 or email us.

What are Graphic Ads?

We offer key placements within the goBalto website to serve graphic ads. You can reach new customers at decision points and introduce your company. These ads can link to your goBalto profile page or to any appropriate offsite location. To learn more about advertising on goBalto click here or feel free to call us at (415) 671-4372 or email us.

Service Requests

What are Service Requests?

Service Requests is a marketplace where members create or respond to project listings. Buyers find the right partner for their project by posting specifications, and choosing from a pool of qualified companies that respond. Vendors access and respond to detailed project listings matching their services and specialties.

What can I list on Service Re_Service_Requestsquests?

Service requests are intended to describe drug-development related projects for which you would like to engage external service providers. You can list any need you have for preclinical research, clinical research, contract manufacturing, investigator sites, consultants, or generics.

Who can see my listings? Can they see my name?

All posts are anonymous. Any visitor to the site can read your listing, but only members can send you messages regarding them. For a member to see your name, you would have to respond to their inquiry.

How much does it cost to post a Service Requests?

Nothing. For a limited time, we are offering members the ability to list Service Requests for free as we develop this into a rich set of features the community will find useful.

How long do my listings stay on Service Requests?

Sixty days. You can remove a listing at any time.

Answers

What are Answers?

goBalto Answers is the place where members ask industry-related questions, and receive answers from thousands of experts in the goBalto community. There you can connect to the information you need, and share knowledge with drug-development professionals around the world.

What should I post on Answers?

Ask any questions you’d like on industry trends, about practical advice or anything else related to the drug-development industry. And share your expertise by answering other members’ questions about the same.

Who can see my posts? Can they see my name?

Your posts will only carry your first name and first initial of your last name. Any visitor to the site can read your posts, but only members can send you messages regarding them or vote on them (“Thumbs up” or “Thumbs down”).

Invite

How do I invite colleagues?

Click on the “Invite a Colleague” link from any page. Then enter the email addresses of people you would like to join goBalto. Feel free to use the standard goBalto message or type your own. Your colleague will receive an invitation requesting they confirm their membership.

Privacy and Security

How do I deal with spam from the site?

We take your privacy seriously. If you receive spam from goBalto members or any messages that violate our Terms of Service, please forward the message to support@gobalto.com.

Is my data secure and private?

Yes. The goBalto website uses SSL secure encryption – the same technology used by major banks and online retailers (like Amazon.com). All information you send to goBalto is encrypted and safe from internet spying. Your account is password protected and your password is always encrypted. Your data is backed up daily to protect against hardware failures. Long-term backups are encrypted so they remain private.

Our software infrastructure is monitored and updated regularly with security patches as they become available. The goBalto web servers are hosted at a SAS70 certified data center with 24/7/365 on-site security and redundant power systems.

Membership

How do I cancel my membership?

To cancel, please forward a message to support@gobalto.com.
If you don’t mind, we would very much like to know why you’re canceling. Our goal is to make goBalto as good as it can be, so we’re open to all feedback.

goBalto

CONNECTING DRUG DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Search

Member Profile

Rating Partners

Partners

Premium Partner Membership

Projects

Advertising

Service Requests

Answers

Invite

Privacy and Security

Membership

General

What is goBalto?

Is goBalto free?

Why use goBalto?

Who uses goBalto?

How do I submit feedback and suggestions to goBalto?

What is the meaning behind the name “goBalto”?

Search

What companies are in the goBalto database?

How do I refine my search to come up with a more accurate list of companies?

What is “Filter by selection criteria”?

How is relevancy determined in search results?

Member Profile

How do I view my Member Profile?

How do I verify my account?

How do I change my account information?

How do I change my password?

What is Activity Feed?

How do I send messages to people on goBalto?

How much of my name can people see?

How can I get multiple accounts?

What does “Add to collection” mean?

What does “Share a collection” mean?

How do I request more information from a partner?

Rating Partners

What are ratings?

How do I rate a Partner?

How are ratings calculated?

What should I be reviewing on goBalto?

What makes for a great review?

Will goBalto remove bad reviews if a Partner pays for advertising?

Does goBalto allow Partners to move bad reviews to the bottom of their page?

Does goBalto allow Partners to provide comments on reviews?

Can I post ratings anonymously?

How do I know if ratings are from real people who know what they’re talking about?

Does goBalto allow members to delete or edit ratings that they have submitted?

Can Partners message me after I review their business?

Does goBalto ever remove reviews?

What if I had a bad experience? Can I say something negative?

My business has been reviewed on goBalto. Now what should I do?

First the DON’Ts:

Now the DOs:

Partners

What are Partners?

How will goBalto help me?

How much does a listing cost?

How do I get my company listed?

Can consultants be listed as a Partner?

How do I claim my business?

Premium Partner Membership

What’s the difference between Basic-Partner and Premium-Partner membership?

What regions should I select for my company profile?

What kind of resources should I attach to my listings?

What photo and video formats does goBalto support? How large can files be?

How do I add video to my premium profile?

How do I upgrade from Premium to Premium-Plus?

How much will it cost to upgrade from Premium to Premium-Plus?

Projects

What are projects?

Who can view my project?

How can I control access to my project?

What are the different levels of access?

How can I tell exactly which discussion my project users can see?

How many People can access my project?