Pharmacy Growth Strategies Archives

How to Develop and Achieve Your Independent Pharmacy Goals

June 3, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

When you started your independent pharmacy, you had a vision for what you wanted to achieve. You had great ideas and a plan for creating a pharmacy that did more than just fill prescriptions. As a pharmacy owner, it’s great to plan, but it’s also important to find ways to turn make sure your plans become reality. At the end of the day, what steps do you need to take to bring your vision to life? This is where goal setting comes in. Setting goals for your pharmacy allows you to identify what you want to achieve so you can develop milestones and measure your progress.

Why set goals?

From the biggest corporations to the smallest hometown pharmacies, the most successful businesses set goals. Setting goals for yourself and your pharmacy provides a long-term vision and short-term motivation. Goal setting allows you to focus your resources and organize your time. It also gives you a plan of action for moving forward. When you set goals for your pharmacy, you can track your progress and measure your success. You’ll give purpose to everything you are doing, and you’ll be able to clearly identify opportunities that will help you and your team achieve your goals. If you need help with developing your goals, here are a few tips to get you started:

Setting Pharmacy Goals

Set goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based.

Specific: Goals that are broad or undefined won’t provide you with the direction you need to succeed. Instead, you need to set concrete goals that give you an exact idea of what you’re working toward. Specific goals address the following questions:

Who will be involved in helping you reach your goal?
What exactly do you want to accomplish?
When will you start, and when will you reach your goal?
How will you make this happen?

Measurable: Now that you’ve set your goals, you need to figure out how you will gauge your progress. After all, if you don’t have a specific way to measure your goal, how will you know if you’ve reached it? Set a timeline for when you want to accomplish your goal, and continuously measure success.

Attainable: It’s good to think big, but it’s also important that you don’t set a goal that’s big. When setting your goals, think about what you can do along the way to accomplish them. If you find yourself encountering too many roadblocks, it may mean that your goal isn’t attainable right now. Try revamping your goal to make it more achievable.

Realistic: To be realistic, your goal must represent something that both you and your team are willing to work toward. It’s easy to set unrealistic goals. After all, you have high hopes and a vision of success for your pharmacy. Be honest with yourself when you’re setting goals for your pharmacy, and always make sure they are realistic and attainable.

Time-based: Putting a deadline on your goal will help you set a timeline to achieve it. Every goal you set for your pharmacy should have a start and an end date. This will help you set short-term goals, create mini-deadlines, and stay on track for getting your goals across the finish line.

Creating goals for your pharmacy can seem overwhelming, and the entire process will take some time. Don’t be afraid to take the time you need to get it right, and to work with your team to develop clear goals that will more your pharmacy forward.

Ready to create goals for your pharmacy but don’t know where to start? Download our free eBook, The Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to an Exceptionally Effective Implementation.

3 Reasons You Need a Recommendation Station in Your Pharmacy

June 1, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Shows like Dr. Oz, Oprah, and The Doctors are incredibly popular, and they frequently recommend products to their viewers. From weight loss supplements to healthy eating recipes, these popular talk shows suggest and endorse products that aim to help people improve their lives.

Almost immediately after a recommendation is made, thousands of people drive to their nearest retail store to get their hands on these hot new products. Green coffee bean extract, raspberry ketones, biotin, white kidney bean extract and coconut oil have all gained sudden popularity due to a recommendation from Dr. Oz.

There’s a good chance that some of your customers watch these shows, anxiously waiting for these new products to appear on store shelves. Where do these customers turn when they’re looking to buy one of these products? If it’s not your pharmacy, it should be.

This is where a Recommendation Station comes into play. A Recommendation Station is a section of your store that has products and program materials related to items recommended by Dr. Oz and other notable advisors. We suggest placing your Recommendation Station in one of these high-traffic areas: the end cap of one of the aisles, waiting area, near the supplement section or in the counseling area, closest to the pharmacist.

The amount of product you feature at your Recommendation Station will depend upon how much space you have in your pharmacy. Think about what types of products your customers would be most interested in. Choose from popular categories such as; weight loss, anti-aging and disease prevention all which can represent significant increase in revenue.

Do you need a Recommendation Station in your pharmacy? Here are three key benefits:

1) Brings in new customers

The moment a well-known TV personality recommends a product, people instantly want to know where they can buy it. Your patients will likely look online, in retail stores, and in other pharmacies. Becoming a supplier for trend products is a great way to solve a need in your community and bring in new customers. You might want to add a section to your website that lets people know you carry these products or post about it on social media sites. This will help generate word of mouth marketing. Soon, your current customers will be telling their friends and family that they can find these special products at your store.

2) Sets you apart from your competitors

As an independent pharmacy owner, you’re constantly looking for ways to set yourself apart from the competition. Although national chains often carry “as seen on TV” products, when was the last time you saw one of them with a section of products that was recommended on a health-related TV show? When you set up a Recommendation Station in your pharmacy, you’re doing something that many of your competitors aren’t doing. You’re offering products that your customers can’t get anywhere else, and in turn, you’re differentiating yourself from other pharmacies in your area.

3) Provides another opportunity to help customers

Setting up a Recommendation Station is more than just putting the products in your store, doing some marketing, and watching your customers buy the products. When your customers are in the store, it’s important that you educate them about the usage of these products including possible drug interactions, recommended dosage, and more. You should use your Recommendation Station as an opportunity for your staff to engage with your customers and provide useful information.

To be a valuable resource for your customers, it’s important that you educate your staff on the products you’re selling. Create binders with all of the products that include product information, sales cheat sheets, and patient brochures with talking points to address questions.

Setting up a Recommendation Station is a great way to bring in new customers, increase sales, and set yourself apart from the competition.

Looking for more ways to differentiate yourself in the pharmacy market? Register for our free webinar, 5 Niches Chain Pharmacies Are Neglecting

Guide to Offering Compounding in Your Independent Pharmacy

May 30, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

When you opened your pharmacy, you had a vision. You wanted to implement new programs, better serve the needs of your customers, and to do all of the things you could never do while working for a national chain pharmacy. One of the biggest struggles that most pharmacy owners face is determining which programs are right for their pharmacy and how to go about implementing them. Compounding is one of the most popular services among independent pharmacies – and for good reason. Compounding allows you to create customized solutions for your patients while giving them access to medications they can’t obtain at a chain pharmacy. Compounding allows you to differentiate yourself in the marketplace while making sure your patients are able to get the specific medications they need. Are you thinking about offering compounding as a service in your pharmacy? Here’s what you need to know before getting started.

What is Compounding?

Compounding involves preparing personalized medications for your patients. Compounding medications are created by mixing together individual ingredients in the exact strength and dosage that your patient needs. Patients don’t always respond to medications that are commercially available, or they may need their medication in a different form. Compounding allows you to create customizable solutions for your patients.There was a time when nearly all prescriptions were compounded, but with the introduction of mass drug manufacturing in the 1950s and 1960s, compounding rapidly declined. The pharmacist’s role as a preparer of medications quickly changed to that of a dispenser of mass-manufactured medications. However, the “one-size-fits-all” method didn’t work for long, and many pharmacists and pharmacy owners quickly found that compounding was still very much in demand.

Benefits of Offering Compounding

Compounding is incredibly beneficial for your patients, but it benefits your pharmacy as well. Offering compounding in your pharmacy can bring in new customers, increase sales, may increase adherence, and may help patients gain access to the specialized medications they need. Here are some additional benefits of compounding:

Gives patients access to discontinued medications: Sometimes, pharmaceutical manufacturers stop making medications that are in low-demand. As a compounding pharmacy, you’re able to give patients access to medications they aren’t able to get elsewhere.
Makes medications easier to take: Some patients have difficulty taking a medication in the prescribed form or the taste may be so unpleasant that they’re unable to take it. Compounding allows you to change the strength of a medication, add a flavor, or alter its form to make it easier to take.
Addresses allergy or ingredient sensitivity: Patients may be allergic to dyes, preservatives, or other ingredients found in commercially available drugs. Compounding allows you to create medications without these ingredients so that patients can receive the treatment that they need.
Reduces side effects: When patients take compounded medications, they’re less likely to experience side effects since their prescriptions are tailored to their specific needs.
Increases compliance: Compounding allows you to combine multiple prescriptions into a single dosage. Not only is this convenient for your patients, but it can also help increase compliance.

How to Get Started

If you’re thinking about offering compounding services in your independent pharmacy, one of the first things you need to do is determine if there’s a need among your customers . Find out what side effects they’re dealing with, what questions they have about their medications, and if they’ve discussed compounding with their physicians.As a pharmacy owner, compounding allows you to use your extensive knowledge about drugs to create customized treatment plans for your patients. With compounding, you’re able to offer treatments that larger chain pharmacies cannot, giving you a leg up on the competition.

Are you ready to offer compounding services in your pharmacy but don’t know how to get started? Download our free eBook, The Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to an Exceptionally Effective Implementation to learn more about implementing new programs in your pharmacy!

Is Your Pharmacy’s Customer Database Secure?

May 29, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

As a pharmacy owner, do you know how secure your customer database is?

If the answer to that question is “sort of” or “no,” then you have some work to do. Even if you answered “yes,” it’s a good idea to brush up on the systems you have in place to protect your customers’ valuable information. These systems need constant updating as criminals continue to find new ways to hack into databases and steal valuable personal information.

Independent Pharmacies are at a higher risk for database breaches than most businesses because of the amount of customer information they store and vulnerability in their security programs. When filling prescriptions, not only is the customer’s name, address, and credit card number collected, but also insurance information, date of birth, and medication history. This data is valuable information that criminals will use to steal identities and cause harm such as hacking customer bank accounts.

Since you probably don’t think like a criminal, you may not have thought about the gold mine of data in your store. You should make cyber security as big a priority as store security and loss protection. Here are some guidelines to think about when protecting customer data.

1. Internet Security

Online security includes anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, as well as intrusion prevention. Your internet security should also include limiting your employees’ access to the internet. You can’t get infected from a bad website if you can’t visit it. It’s also necessary to keep your anti-virus software up-to-date and activate real-time protection.

2. Offsite Backup

Having an offsite backup of your customer files is vital. Having backups in the pharmacy store isn’t very useful after a natural disaster such as a tornado, flood or fire. Ideally you should utilize a HIPAA compliant online backup service

3. Network Security

Make sure you have a PCI and HIPAA compliant level of security on your network and ensure it stays that way. The first line of defense for network security in is a managed firewall. It should be encrypted from people and other programs that access your data. It’s also a good idea to limit your employees’ access to only the information they need to do their work. Password protect sensitive areas of your database so only necessary staff members can use it.

If you don’t have the time or the expertise to manage these security efforts, there are plenty of services that can help. Reach out to your pharmacy’s software or POS vendor and ask if they have security services to provide or if they can recommend a company to keep your data safe and secure. It’s also a good idea to make sure you have data compromise coverage included in your liability insurance policy. The penalties for poor data protection and privacy practices can be stiff, ranging from negative publicity and embarrassment to costly fines and lawsuits. Protecting your business and your customers should always remain a priority.

To help put these plans into action, download our free ebook The Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to Exceptionally Effective Implementation.

Social Media Best Practices for Independent Pharmacies

May 27, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

In today’s digital age, it’s no secret that having a social media presence for your business is an essential part of growing a loyal customer base. Social media allows pharmacies to join groups, take part in industry conversations, and share information with a wider audience. Social media has literally changed the way businesses interact with their current and prospective customers. Getting started with social media is easier than you might think.
If you didn’t take “social media 101,” you might be overwhelmed at the thought of using social media for your pharmacy. Even if you are active on your personal Facebook account, utilizing social media for your pharmacy business may seem daunting.Thinking about utilizing social media for your pharmacy? It can be extremely beneficial for business, so here are some best practices to get you started:

Learn the standards

The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) has a statement on their website encouraging pharmacy professionals to use social media to connect to and educate the public. Social media is a great way for pharmacies to enhance their relationships with patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and the public. However, the ASHP also states that pharmacy professionals who use social media should do so in a professional, responsible, and respectful manner. Additionally, they warn pharmacists to be careful not to violate patient privacy.

Target your audience

Social media has evolved so much over the past several years, and it seems as though there’s a platform for just about everything. Before creating an account, identify which sites your target audience might use the most. For example, Facebook has a pretty general audience while LinkedIn is more geared toward professionals. Twitter tends to have a younger audience, but that doesn’t mean you won’t find a diverse audience there as well. If you’re looking to share visual content, YouTube is your best bet. There’s no point in creating an account if you’re not going to use it, so do some research and talk to your customers before joining.

Share useful information

As a pharmacy entrepreneur, you’re a highly trained professional with many years of experience. Don’t underestimate the value of the knowledge you have. If you think something is important or helpful, share it! You never know who could benefit from the information you share. Also, don’t be afraid to share articles from other industry experts. Your social media posts can be yours or from reputable third-parties (just be sure you give credit when it’s due). Every piece of credible information you share helps develop you as a thought leader in your industry.

Interact and engage

Think of social media as an avenue for creating conversations. After all, it’s called social media for a reason. You shouldn’t be spending all of your time posting content but rather think of social media as a two-way conversation. Spend time looking through comments and posts, and respond to what other people are posting. It can be as simple as saying, “We’re glad you found this helpful.” Additionally, when you encounter negative comments, don’t delete them. Instead, take the time to respond to them and find ways to improve the situation. When you try to fix any wrongdoings, you’re showing your audience that you offer extraordinary customer service and that you care about your customers.

Be careful when giving advice

The value of your online presence increases as more and more patients turn to the Internet to seek medical information. With all of the misinformation out there and “self-diagnosis,” you may be tempted to give out all of the free advice that you can. While it’s important that you counter misinformation with your expert knowledge, be careful not to violate patient privacy and always encourage patients to meet with a doctor or pharmacist face-to-face. Remember: you don’t to give advice online. Ultimately, the choice is yours, but if you do give advice, just make sure you’re mindful.

Always be professional

When you post on social media, you’re not only representing your pharmacy brand. You’re also representing yourself as a professional pharmacy entrepreneur. Mistakes on social media can create the perception of a lack of professionalism. Whenever you post something ask yourself: “is this how I want my brand represented online?” It’s okay to be funny or witty if it makes sense, but think through what you are communicating before you hit send. Also, try not to complain on your company social media accounts, and avoid being negative or using slang.Social media is a great place to share industry news, give advice, and promote new programs. Before you start posting, it’s important that you educate yourself on social media best practices so you can avoid preventable mistakes.
Looking for ways to stand out from the crowd? Download our free eBook, 3 Innovative Ways to Compete in the Pharmacy Market

The 5 Steps to Building a Remarkable Marketing Campaign

May 26, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Marketing is so much more than just sending out a customer email, mailing out a postcard, or advertising a coupon in the local newspaper. From researching your audience to developing and analyzing campaigns, marketing plays an integral role in the success of your independent pharmacy.

Marketing and promotions may not be your cup of tea as a pharmacist, but knowing tactics for spreading the word about your pharmacy will help you reach and retain your ideal customers. Below is a step-by-step process that will teach you the basics of how to plan, launch, run, and analyze a marketing campaign for your pharmacy.

Step 1: Research

The first step to any successful marketing campaign involves doing research. The research phase is time consuming, but it will help set you up for success. There’s nothing worse than spending time and money on a campaign only to not have it produce minimal results without knowing why. Spending time doing initial research will help you avoid this and will save you time and money in the long run.

What research should be conducted?

Focus on identifying and learning as much as you can about your “ideal” customer. Find out who they are, what they want, what they need and what their habits are like. Once you identify their pain points then you can help provide them with solutions. Additionally, network with other pharmacy owners and find out what types of marketing programs have worked for them. When it comes to marketing, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, and there is a wealth of information easily within reach.

Step 2: Define Your Audience

The second step is getting to know your audience. Without a strong understanding of your target customer, you won’t be able to develop a remarkable marketing campaign that addresses his or her needs. The success of your marketing efforts depends on how well you know your audience and their pain points.

Your target audience is more than “anyone and everyone who needs a prescription filled and is within driving distance of my store.” Although this may be partially true, having this mindset won’t make your marketing campaign successful. Remember, you can’t be everything to everyone. At some point, you will need to specifically define your target audience.

You can have more than one target audience. Chances are, you have somewhere between two to five important audiences that you will want to target. However, start by identifying one audience and learning as much as you can about them. Find out their demographics, psychographics, what media do they consume, what are they looking for in a pharmacy, what motivates them to buy, and what keeps them coming back.

Not identifying your target market can lead to failed marketing campaigns, as well as, wasted time, money, resources, and energy. Perhaps more importantly, not having a clearly defined target audience can be a waste of your marketing efforts. The more you know about your audience, the easier it will be to predict which types of marketing elements will resonate with them.

Step 3: Formulate a Plan

If you don’t have a plan in place, your marketing program will likely fail. To launch and promote a strategic marketing plan for your pharmacy, you may want to include the following components:

A promotional calendar to help you organize and schedule all of your marketing efforts

Templates for your email and direct mail marketing pieces
Step-by-step processes for campaign creation, pre-launch, launch, and post-launch deliverables
A list of media outlets including; newspapers, local magazines, radio, and television news stations
Identify how much you are willing to contribute to your dedicated marketing budget

Step 4: Effective Program Timing

You will need time to plan, design (or hire a designer) materials, time to promote, and time to analyze effectiveness of your program. Create a timeline with specific milestones and when they need to happen.

You will also may want to schedule the following items:

Contacting vendor partners to organize efforts
Creating a calendar of media deadlines and seasonal promotions
Training your team about promotion and event specifics

Step 5: Evaluate and Adjust

Tracking a campaign is vital to gauging its effectiveness. You can do this using special promo codes, toll-free numbers, tracking links to online ads and so on. Evaluation will help you determine how well your campaign elements are being received. Don’t just hit the “go” button and let it roll. Nurture your program and make adjustments along the way to reach your goals and ensure success.

Creating a marketing campaign for your pharmacy is a strategic process that is designed to help you connect with the right people, at the right time, and with the right message. Conducting research, defining your audience, planning for success, creating timelines, and evaluating the results are the steps you’ll use to develop a marketing message that best speaks to your ideal customers. Marketing is partially art and partially science. Keep testing different aspects of your campaign so that over time your results continue to improve.

How to Stay Motivated to Achieve Your Pharmacy’s Goals

May 23, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

You brainstormed new ideas, worked with your team to create goals for your pharmacy, and spent weeks figuring out how to achieve those goals – only to get caught up in the daily grind and lose your focus. All the excitement about implementing new programs, growing your team, and establishing a high performance pharmacy culture is suddenly gone. It’s not unusual to lose sight of your goals as a business owner. In fact this happens to practically everyone, but that doesn’t mean you’re stuck.Sometimes it’s difficult to stay motivated and remain focused on an important project simply because there are other things that need your attention. Even with the best of intentions, goals may get pushed aside after the initial excitement dies down. If you’ve found yourself losing the momentum to achieve your goals, here are some ways to stay motivated and get back on track:

Remind Yourself Why You Created Your Goals

When you started your pharmacy, you thought long and hard about the business you wanted to create, the team you wanted to build, the programs you wanted to implement, and the impact you wanted to make on your community. You had a vision in mind, and you spent countless hours thinking about where you wanted your pharmacy to be in the future. Perhaps you put together a business plan with goals for the first year and then maybe the next five years. When you feel like you’re in a rut, think about why you made your goals in the first place. You created goals so that you and your team could take actionable steps for improving the business, creating efficiencies and becoming more profitable. When you notice that you’ve lost some of your focus, think about the vision you had for your pharmacy and then spend some time revisiting your goals and why you made them in the first place.

Focus on How Far You’ve Come Instead of How Far You Have to Go

When you shift your perspective, you change what you see. An empowering way to make progress toward your goals is to focus on how far you’ve come instead of how far you have left to go. When you focus on the positive, you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment, which is an important part of achieving any goal. If you look at what you’ve already done, you will be more motivated to push yourself and your team across the finish line. It will also serve as a reminder that you making progress. There will be days where you feel like you’re just standing still, but look at your goals from a new perspective, and it will be much easier for you to see your progress as it unfolds.

Create a Culture of Accountability in Your Pharmacy

You can’t become successful on your own. Successful people always have support and people who helped them along the way. Your team is more than just the people who help run your pharmacy. They’re your accountability partners and the people who will help you reach your goals.Keeping your goals posted in your pharmacy will give you and your team a visual reminder of what you’re hoping to achieve, and help keep your entire team on track. Every month, check in on your team and have them check in on you to ensure milestones have been reached. This will allow you to see what progress is being made, as well as, give you a better idea of areas for improvement. You aren’t in this alone and by encouraging team accountability you will achieve the success you projected for your pharmacy. Ready to create goals for your pharmacy but not quite sure where to start? Download our free eBook, The Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to an Exceptionally Effective Implementation

Stepping Into Multiple Pharmacy Ownership

May 22, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Pharmacy ownership is rewarding and if done correctly, can be a profitable endeavor: you’ll be able to impact the lives of your customers and become a pillar in the local community while earning a nice living. By working hard on your own business, you learn how to grow and succeed as an entrepreneur. And like all successful entrepreneurs, one day you may decide to open a brand new location in addition to a well-established store that you already own.

Owning multiple pharmacies takes a tremendous amount of work, and transitions you from a pharmacist and a manager, to the visionary leader. When planning multiple pharmacy locations, consider the following factors. They will help you navigate the waters of owning two or more pharmacies and put you on the path to long-term success.

Location & Buy or Build

One of the first decisions you’ll need to make is whether you want to purchase an existing pharmacy or build a new one from the ground up. There are pros and cons to each option: some deal with inheriting an existing customer base vs. having full design control over the new structure and putting the store in the location you want. The location is always a huge determining factor when it comes to a pharmacy’s success. There are many factors to consider when searching for a prime location. You may want to open your pharmacies in nice areas with a high household income, but operating in these areas tends to come with higher taxes.

Another factor to consider is pharmacy saturation. Is there a pharmacy on every corner within a 5-mile radius? If so, you may want to consider a location with fewer pharmacies.

Ability to effectively manage multiple locations at the same time also plays a big role in determining where to establish your new stores. While high-speed internet and powerful software platforms makes it possible to manage stores remotely, many pharmacy owners prefer operating on-site for maximum efficiency.

Using Management Software

Finding financial management software that ties together your pharmacies is a foundation for multi-store success. Managing the financials for two or three stores can be done with simple bookkeeping programs, but when you add more locations, you’ll need a more powerful financial tracking solution. Most people working in your pharmacies are not trained in business or financial accounting. So, when expanding to multiple stores it might be a good idea to hire an accounting person that has more in-depth financial software experience. This person and the software will help your locations set monthly budgets, profit and loss reports, revenue forecasting, and growth categories. That’s why using a single platform for all your locations will help you and your staff stay on the same page.

Surrounding Yourself with the Right People

It will be difficult to run and manage multiple pharmacy locations on your own, without the trusted support of your team. Working on your businesses as a visionary leader, rather than in them day in and day out, will allow you to oversee multiple stores and strategically plan operations. There’s a finite number of hours in a day and your time will be spent more effectively if you accept a more visionary/leadership type role. At this stage, finding the right talent to build a strong support system is vitally important for the growth of your pharmacy brand.

Pharmacy owners agree: when adding a new location, hiring the right people to help you grow your business is more important than choosing the new location itself. Where do you find a talented manager to spearhead the operations of your newly opened business? Look inside your team first:often enough, you’ll be able to grow and nurture your current employees to become store operators or even new business partners. A team member that started out as a stocking clerk, then grew into a sales assistant, then a pharmacy technician, and finally a manager, is worth their weight in gold. Team members that demonstrate ambition and dedication make perfect candidates for helping you grow your business. They are loyal, they know how you like to run things, and they feel empowered by the increasing amount of responsibility.

Changing Roles of an Owner

When you go from operating one pharmacy to becoming a multi-store owner, your duties are going to change dramatically. As a single-store manager, you likely wear many hats: you might have to wake up early to be at the counter by 5am, paint the building on the weekends, and set up new computer systems at night. When you grow to own multiple locations, you simply aren’t going to have the time to perform all these tasks by yourself. You will need to learn to delegate and transform your role from a hands-on manager to a leader with immense organizational skills. Later, this will change again.

When your collection of pharmacies reaches a higher number, you’re going to find that simply overseeing and managing people will become inefficient and you’ll need to adapt and become a more visionary leader. Still, you will want to “get your hands dirty” by working short stints behind the counter and engaging with customers. You will still be willing to participate in the daily operations of your pharmacy because it’s a part of who you are and because you deeply care about your team and your customers. So, in a way, the owner’s role almost comes full-circle.

At this stage, you’ll also want to put systems in place that improve overall company efficiency. Give the pharmacy manager more authority to run the store on their own. Tasks like hiring, human resources, marketing, and purchasing can be done by them, but you’ll still have to set up the framework to allow this to happen. Once you do, each pharmacy should almost run itself. These efficiency processes take you out of the day-to-day tasks, allowing you more time for growth strategies.

As your pharmacy business grows, your roles and responsibilities will change, but if you establish a strong support system, your business will succeed. The Pharmacy Owners Guide to an Exceptionally Effective Implementation ebook is a free resource that will help with growing your business and put you on the path to success.

How to Plan a Health Fair at Your Pharmacy

May 21, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

As an independent pharmacy owner, you are a pillar of the community, a place that people rely on for their healthcare needs and advice. An effective way to promote better health, as well as, your pharmacy, is to organize a community health fair at your store. Not only will you draw in brand new customers who might not be familiar with your store, you will also position yourself as a credible source of healthcare information. Health fairs have become increasingly popular because they help address preventable health issues that consumers can easily address themselves like healthy weight, blood pressure and cholesterol readings. Many of these factors can contribute to diseases like cancer and heart disease and can easily be screened for at your health fair event.

Here are some tips and suggestions for organizing your own successful health fair:

Planning and Organization

Health fairs are just what they sound like—exhibits, workshops, demonstrations, screenings and expert advice in one place for your customers to access. Depending on your budget and available resources, you may decide to host a small event, or go with something bigger.

Begin planning at least three months before the scheduled date of the fair. You’ll need time to locate volunteers from local health agencies such as hospitals, specialty doctors (optometrists, ENT groups, pediatrics, and chiropractors), the Red Cross, and other health care providers. It may work best to plan a weekend event when these professionals are more likely to be available and when the public is looking for activities to do with their families. You will also need ample time to promote your health fair. Printed flyers, Facebook posts, advertisements, press releases and word-of-mouth promotion will be helpful to promote the event in advance of the scheduled date.

Another important part of the planning process is making sure you have the proper permits and insurance coverage required by your city. Reach out to the local city government and apply for the correct event permit.

Activities, Booths, Exhibits

Deciding what activities, booths, and exhibits you want to be featured is a big part of the health fair planning process. Which health benefits do you think people in your community will respond to most? You’ll have the opportunity to run health screenings, offers advice, and gives away samples. Here is a list of the most commonly seen booths and vendors at health fairs:

Blood Pressure Screenings
Tobacco Use Prevention
CPR & First Aid Demonstrations by EMTsand/or with ambulance tours
Back Health hosted by a local chiropractor
Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety
Dental Care hosted by local dentist or dental hygienist
Cholesterol Screenings
Animal Danger Awareness hosted by Poison Control
Skin Cancer Prevention hosted by dermatologist

With health workshops and seminars increasingly gaining popularity all over the country, consider inviting live speakers who will provide useful information on topics such as:

Shopping and diet tips
Exercise benefits
Healthy cooking
Alternative medicine

A lot goes into planning a health fair and you may want to consider delegating responsibilities to your team. You will need an organized point person to handle all the details and follow-up items. This person can handle all of the vendor communication, permits, and insurance while you focus on running your business.

Hosting a health fair can also be a great way for your pharmacy to raise money for a local charity. Cross-promoting with a cancer research organization or cardiovascular health clinic can boost your event’s promotional value.

Health fairs offer the opportunity to celebrate health through the use of interactive exhibits, screenings, and expert speakers. Not only will hosting such an event provide a useful service in your community, r it will also position your pharmacy as a leader in healthcare. For additional resources to help you implement your own health fair, download this free ebook – The Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to Exceptionally Effective Implementation.

How to Capture and Retain Pharmacy Customers

May 20, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Growing your customer base and then retaining those customers is one of the most important aspects of running a pharmacy or any business. It’s all about bringing value to your customers and making them feel comfortable. I know you’ve heard the old adage, it takes months to gain a customer, and seconds to lose one. Treating customers as a number or a commodity is a sure fire way to send them to the pharmacy down the street. Give them the attention they deserve and build relationships with your customers to create brand loyalty.

How to Retain a CustomerOne way to show your customers that you care, is by increasing the number of quality communications or touch-points they receive from you each month. This can be done through strategic marketing through channels such as social media, blogs and emails. Provide possible solutions that may help your customers with their specific ailments and concerns. These marketing techniques should happen both online via email and social media and offline, in your pharmacy and at their home.

Your goal is to put an invisible box around your customers, making it easy to do business with you, but hard to go elsewhere. Does that business model sound familiar? It should, because it is used by companies like Apple, Google, and Facebook who have mastered customer strategy.

Following are four easy ways to increase customer loyalty:

1. Capture Customer Contact Information

When a new customer comes in you’ll want to obtain his/her permission to collect their name, address, phone number and email address. This information will be critical for you to communicate with them concerning their prescriptions, health notices, and refill dates. Use the right form of contact for the right message you want to deliver. You wouldn’t want to call the customer to let them know about a sale on floor items, that message might be better delivered by email or mailer. Your email list will be one of your most effective marketing resources, so make it a priority to capture that information from customers.

2. Personally Reach Out

There’s nothing like a warm voice helping you with your health concerns. Call your patients to ask if they have questions concerning their new medication. Most medication has important protocols that need to be followed for safety and other health reasons.

Give your customer that personal feeling when they walk through your doors. Train your staff to great repeat customers by name and ask about their families. Do this in a sincere manner and you’ll build one of the most important parts of a customer/company relationship – trust.

3. Go Above and Beyond

Do you love your customers? Of course you do! Reach out to them in an unexpected way to show that your care. Send a carefully written personal letter, thanking them for being a loyal customer. Don’t include any marketing message or product information. Simply reach out and thank them. This can simply be a hand-written note or a printed piece with a real signature. This type of personal contact goes a long ways in building the relationship and showing them that you care. This will catch them by surprise and they will be eager to walk through your door to thank you.

4. Create a Points or Loyalty Program

A customer loyalty program is an extremely effective tool when your goal is to create repeat customers. Sandwich shops do it, gas stations do it, why not your pharmacy? Customer will continue to return in order to earn reward points that could help them save through merchandise discounts, free health assessments, and other benefits. Once they have started building up loyalty points, would they ever visit the pharmacy downthe street?

Think of your customers as friends and they will reward you with their business. Yes, they are important assets to the success of your pharmacy, but don’t think of them as an asset, think of them as people that you want to help live better and healthier lives.

To better understand different ways you can connect with your current customers and build trusting relationships, download our free eBook, The Pharmacy Owner’s Guide to an Exceptionally Effective Implementation.

Pharmacy Growth Strategies