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What to Avoid at Business Networking Events

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

A professional social event can be great for your success and your stress levels. Happy hours, mixers, receptions and other after-hours events are great opportunities to network, learn from your peers and have a good time. You should plan to attend them regularly, but be prepared to put your best foot forward. Maintain your reputation and get maximum benefits from the time you dedicate by following these tips.

Don’t Drink to Your Limit

If you can normally drink three drinks before feeling intoxicated, stick with only two. Don’t push yourself to the limit, because many factors could be involved. For example, what you’ve eaten that day, nerves, or even the bartender pouring stronger drinks than you’re used to consuming. The risk of embarrassing yourself is not worth taking. Once you have a drink in your hand, sip slowly and pace yourself to make it last longer.

Don’t Arrive Without a Goal

Just because you aren’t over consuming doesn’t mean you’re networking correctly. It’s important to go into every event with a goal. If you don’t know why you’re attending this event, you won’t know what to do when you get there and you will wander aimlessly. Prepare yourself ahead of time by determining what you hope to achieve from the event, who you want to talk to, and how long you plan to stay.

Don’t Take Photos Without Asking

Don’t be tempted to snap photos of others and put them on social media. Often, professional pharmacy gatherings have big-name players from the industry in the mix. It’s easy to feel a little star struck. Although this is true of any public event, it’s especially important at professional gatherings not to take candid photos on your phone. This is highly inappropriate and an invasion of privacy. Ask first, and be sure to let the person know if you plan to use the photo publicly.

Don’t Constantly Look for the Next Conversation Partner

Make the effort to establish a real connection with people during the mixer, instead of just throwing your business card at someone and moving on. While you may want to make as many useful contacts as possible, never look past the person you are talking to find someone better to connect with. This will come off as being extremely rude and will certainly not win you a stellar reputation if it happens often.

Don’t Spend a Lot of Money

Even though it is a business expense, there are many ways you can spend too much on a professional happy hour or reception. If the event is not affiliated with an industry conference, there may be a ticket charge to attend. If you are nervous and unprepared you may be tempted to spend excessively on drinks for yourself and others.

Your after-hours behavior can have a huge impact on your career, so make sure it’s a positive one. Happy hour is the “perfect storm” where you can make a lasting impression, in either a positive or negative manner. Remain professional the entire time and you will have nothing to worry about. These type of events provides a great chance for friends, colleagues, and industry professionals to meet and learn from each other in a relaxed, casual atmosphere.

The best event for socializing with independent pharmacy leaders and learning from your peers is the Independent Pharmacy Together Toward Tomorrow Conference. Attend this year’s event in Orlando, Florida and put your networking skills to the test. Click here to learn more and register now.

3 Ways Pharmacies Can Market a Pharmacogenomics Program

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

Are you thinking about launching a pharmacogenomics (PGx) program in your pharmacy, but aren’t sure if people in your community will pay for it? The answer is yes, they will! In fact, multiple PDS Members are selling numerous tests and clinical consultations per week for cash (often a $150 profit!) and are experiencing tremendous growth while branding themselves as the go-to resource for PGx.

As more labs go to market and pharmacogenomics – personalized medicine – becomes mainstream, people will seek a reliable source. Thankfully, when they think of medicine, they think of their pharmacist and will come to you first. However, neglecting to offer the tests could sadly result in losing patients to other local providers.

In a recent members-only Pharmacy Advancement Academy module, How to Create a Profitable Pharmacogenomics Servicewe worked with PDS Members Amina Abubakar and Olivia Santoso Bentley of Rx Clinic Pharmacy to outline the ins and outs of implementing a PGx program and adding $25,000 to the pharmacy’s bottom line.

Throughout the how-to webinar, they shared their best tips for spreading the word throughout the community. To get your wheels turning, here are three of the seven marketing strategies shared on the members-only call:

Mine Your Existing Database

While traditional pharmacy models have you waiting for patients to come to you, we encourage PDS Members to create more opportunities by mining their existing databases and identifying and anticipating needs. When it comes to marketing your PGx services, there’s a wealth of opportunity with your current customers. Before you market to the masses, run reports on the following patient categories to identify which customers and specialized doctors to speak with first. These disease states will most likely benefit the most from PGx and quickly become raving fans and spread the word.

Asthma
Cancer
Cardiovascular disease
Psychiatric conditions
Cholesterol
Epileptic seizures
Depression
HIV/AIDS
Hypertension
Concierge medicine
SyncRx patients

Bonus! Millennial patients – these patients spend money on themselves. In additional to healthy food and expensive exercise routines, many millennials invest in health apps, FitBits, etc. It’s likely that if they have to take medicine, they will want to see genetically what will and won’t work for them.

PDS Members: Want to learn which specific computer reports to pull to capitalize trends in your business, identify your most profitable customers train your team to switch low-margin prescriptions to higher ones? Access the Pharmacy Advancement Academy module Profitability Pathways by searching “pathways” in the PDSadvantage Resource Library.

Tap into Lab-Provided Materials

The pharmacogenomics lab you partnered with to offer the tests in your pharmacy should be willing to provide marketing materials for patients and doctors. They are the experts in this

arena and have likely invested a lot of money in research, branding and marketing campaigns. Request to have their brochures and training materials customized with your logo and information and printed for you. Related: 9 Questions to Ask a Prospective Pharmacogenomics Lab

Present the Value with Interactive Presentations In the webinar, Amina and Olivia recommended two types of presentations – one for physicians that discusses the value of pharmacist-driven MTM and the pharmacogenomics test and the second for the community. For example, identify niche businesses where people pay extra money for a higher level of care. This could include adult day care centers and Parkinson’s groups, to name a few.

To help explain the process and value, offer the test for free to a doctor or administrator and with their permission, share the results and experience in the presentation.

PDS Members: search “PGx” in the PDS Advantage Library to access a customizable PowerPoint template for promoting pharmacogenomics in the community.

Want to Access ALL SEVEN Pharmacogenomics Marketing Strategies and Quickstart Your Program?

PDS Members, log into PDSadvantage and search “PGx” to access a seven-step implementation manual, webinar, a project plan and turnkey templates that outline how to…

Provide the most comprehensive care to your community
Pick a reputable lab
Sell your PGx and MTM services
Collaborate with doctors
Seamlessly integrate PGx into your workflow
Properly train your team
Add $25,000 to your bottom line

Not a PDS Member? Speak with one of our Business Advisors today and immediately gain access to the PDS Resource Library with 100s of templates, tools and programs for growing and differentiating your business. You can also learn more by watching the free webinar, Introduction to Pharmacogenomics.

4 Signs Pharmacy Owners Can Use To Determine It Is Time For Change

December 15, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Too many small business owners run their companies in a hesitant and tentative manner. While your tried-and-true methods may have gotten you this far, they are probably not the best way to maximize your pharmacy’s potential in the coming months and years. In order to determine whether it is time to make changes, begin by making some observations.

Are your employees happy?
Are your customers satisfied with their experiences in your store?
How do you feel about going to work each day?

When it comes to managing your pharmacy, being “good enough” is not actually good enough. Remaining in the comfort zone can be very damaging to any business. Do not wait until your pharmacy is failing to take action. Here are 4 signs it may be time for a change.

You Wake Up Unhappy

If you are going to sleep anxious and waking up unhappy, it may be time to make changes. Most people have stressful periods in their careers and many will bring that stress home with them. Independent pharmacy owners are certainly no different, but if you are taking stress to bed every night and losing sleep, it may be time to rethink your current workload. Could you pass off some of your daily duties to a manager? Perhaps you are simply understaffed and need to hire more help. Sleep is crucial to your health and happiness, so losing sleep over work-related anxiety is a hindrance to your success.

If you are unable to remove responsibilities or immediately fix what’s troubling you, find an escape that relieves the pressure. Read a book, go for a walk, or start a new hobby. In order to prevent burnout, your life needs a healthy balance outside of the pharmacy.

You Are Only Concerned with Profits

Running any business, especially one as important as a pharmacy, should be about much more than making money. Money can help maintain a lifestyle, but rarely it is not the key to happiness. If you have lost focus on why you went into pharmacy to begin with, it may be time to rediscover that passion.

You Have Little Good to Say

Make a conscious effort to pay attention to your own words and actions. How is your attitude in staff meetings, on the phone, and when dealing with customers? If negativity is seeping into your daily interactions, your unhappiness will impact those around you. Do not let yourself be the reason that your staff is feeling down about the company they work for. Your leadership will set the tone for every area of the business.

You Don’t See the Light at the End of the Tunnel

When you try to imagine your pharmacy’s future, what do you see? What about when you think about your own future? Are you excited about upcoming events, like this year’s Christmas party or your vacation to Disney World next summer? Perhaps all you see is a long, straight road of the same old stress and misery. If you are afraid that pharmacy policies will remain the same, interoffice communication will be as dysfunctional as ever, and everyone seems complicit in maintaining poor customer service, you are heading down a bleak path. Fortunately for you, as the pharmacy owner, you’re the one who can change this.

Many people resist change, and it is easy to see why. Contemplating the unknown is scary, so many businesses stick with the status quo, even if it is no longer working. But those businesses will be far less successful than those who embrace the opportunity to evolve and improve. If you find that you are not happy, your staff is underperforming, or your profits are not increasing in the way you would like, it’s time to implement some changes. Getting started can be overwhelming, but there are plenty of resources available to help you.

Each year, thousands of pharmacy owners attend the industry’s main event, the PDS Super-Conference. They learn about industry changes and discuss new ways to forge ahead successfully. They leave the event feeling energized and ready to implement improvements in their business year-round. Don’t miss the opportunity to gain the support and direction you need for independent pharmacy success.

Click here to reserve your seat before this event sells out!

The Importance of Credit Card Security in Your Pharmacy

December 10, 2015/0 Comments/in All/by pdsmarketing

If you think your independent pharmacy is immune to cyber crime, you may need to think again. Unfortunately, an increasing number of cybercriminals are now targeting small businesses, due to the fact that security is typically weaker. A recent survey by Fortinet found that nearly two-thirds of consumers held merchants responsible for data breaches and 60% of small businesses that suffer a data breach are out of business within six months.Therefore, keeping your customer’s credit card information safe is crucial to your pharmacy’s future. In order to keep your customers guarded and your pharmacy secure, it is essential to understand these three significant concepts:

You Are At Risk For an Attack

If you think it can’t happen to you, you’re already giving the cyberattackers a leg up. Any small business that accepts credit cards is a potential target for a cyber security breach. As an independent pharmacy owner, never make the mistake of believing you are too small or located in a safe enough area that won’t be on the radar. Hackers are targeting small-scale businesses more often, because locally-owned, small networks are easier to hack, and they are not as regularly checked for compliance with credit card security standards. If your computer system is under protected, a hacker can inject malware onto your payment terminal from anywhere in the world to access customer information. Understanding that you are at risk is the first step toward protecting yourself.

You Are Held to the Government’s Standards of Security

If you accept credit cards, you are held to the same standards as larger chain stores, like Target and CVS. The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of requirements designed to ensure that all companies that process, store, or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. When you initially set up your payment system to accept credit cards, you agreed to abide by the PCI DSS. Whether you swipe one or one million cards each year, you are legally required to keep your computer system as secure as possible.

This year, even more credit card security measures are being enforced. EMV (which stands for Europay, MasterCard and Visa) is the new global standard for cards equipped with computer chips and the technology used to authenticate chip-card transactions. It means greater protection against fraud for the consumer, and it is legally required for your pharmacy to have the proper technology to read these cards – so be sure to check the 2015 deadlines to have this implemented.

You Will Be Held Liable for a Preventable Breach

Any business that suffers a cyber security breach and is found to be non-compliant with credit card security standards is fully liable for charges related to the violation and can be required to financially compensate those who were defrauded. If a security breach occurs, PCI DSS inspectors will investigate. This process alone can be crippling for an independent pharmacy since it requires them to shut down operations for several days, or longer, and costs a few thousand dollars in inspection fees. If the investigation finds your security was not up to code, you’ll be paying for even more charges:

Data Security Fine – Up to $500,000 fine per security breach incident.

Non-Compliance Fines – Up to $50,000 per day for non-compliance with published standards.

Card Replacement Fees – $3 to $10 per card multiplied by the total number of cards compromised.

Refund Fees – Potentially held liable for all fraud losses incurred from compromised account numbers.

Failing to update your security programs could cost a lot of money in the long run, so do the hard work now to make sure that your pharmacy is PCI DSS compliant. That way, if your pharmacy is successfully hacked, you will not be held liable for any fines beyond the possible audit fees.

Keeping your technology up-to-date is just one of the ways to successfully compete in the pharmacy industry. For more advice on how ensure that your pharmacy is staying productive and profitable, download our free eBook 3 Innovative Ways to Compete in the Pharmacy Market.

9 Questions to Ask a Prospective Pharmacogenomics Lab

December 9, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Offering pharmacogenomic (PGx) testing creates numerous opportunities for independent pharmacy – increases patient retention, ensures the most comprehensive care, strengthens relationships with doctors and rapidly builds a new cash revenue stream, to name a few.

While little clinical training and overhead are required for personalized medicine, your success hinges on a key element: partnering with a reputable lab that compliments your pharmacy’s goals and infrastructure. On a recent members-only Pharmacy Advancement Academy webinar, How to Create a Profitable Pharmacogenomics ServicePDS Members Amina Abubakar and Olivia Santoso Bentley of Rx Clinic Pharmacy shared what they’ve learned throughout their journey of becoming one of the industry’s leading PGx providers, here’s what they had to say:

To ensure you have reliable information, ask to speak with the billing department and lab and discuss the following questions.

Are you a distributor or an actual lab? You will want to determine if you are working directly with the physical lab that processes the tests, or a distributor. While there may be benefits to working with distributors, make sure that they’re offering you value and transparency in regards to billing and payment processing to ensure that this is a better option than just working with the lab. For example, if the lab you choose only offers the testing and outsources the clinical education and implementation materials, you can feel more comfortable around the value that a distributor partnership is offering.
How will my pharmacy be paid? It is essential that the lab is transparent with their payment structure, especially if they are billing insurance. The monthly reports the lab provides should clearly state how many tests you distributed, what’s being billed and what’s being paid to you. For labs offering an insurance billing model, there should be transparency around the rejections, with the EOBs from the insurance companies. It’s also important to discuss if you’re getting paid per test or if you’re only getting paid what you collect. Also, what exactly is your role in the PGx process? Are you just paid for the collection or the medication review or both? Some labs have a pharmacist who will perform the review, and you’re just the collector.
Will you be able to support my pharmacy’s infrastructure? Every pharmacy is designed a little bit differently, and your lab should fit your needs. For example, if you’re technologically savvy, is the lab? Will they fax you everything or will they create a portal for you to house everything electronically? It’s highly recommended to work with a lab that will provide you an online portal to streamline all of the paperwork and keep the pharmacy clutter free. Some labs will say you need to have a separate portal or login per doctor. We suggest working with a lab with one portal and one login, regardless of the number of doctors. The lab may even be able to provide portals for your doctors so they can pull the tests whenever they want. It’s also nice if they can provide you with logins for your patients, making it easy for them to access their data. Just be sure the portal has your name on it so you get the brand recognition!
What size panel does the lab run? How many drugs, biomarkers, Apo E lipids, etc., do they offer? Is it an extensive panel or only for a few pathways? You want your tests to be as comprehensive as possible and for the lab to be continually adding more biomarkers and enzymes as technology advances. Some labs offer a lower cash price point for a fewer-panel test. Ask the labs about their panels and which drugs and disease states are covered and determine the best fit for your patient demographics.
Will you provide customized marketing materials? They are the experts in this arena and have likely invested a lot of money in research, branding and marketing campaigns. Request to see their collateral for patients and doctors and to have them print it for you with your logo.
How will you train my team? Is the lab willing to invest in training so you and your team are confident in administering tests and consulting your patients? Most labs have a clinical team in place who can get you up to speed on which CYPs they’re testing for and what poor metabolizers, fast metabolizers and everyone in between needs to know about their genetics and their medications.
What does the next 1-3 years look like for your lab? You’ll want to ensure that the lab you choose is willing to think ahead and collaborate as your business grows. For example, when Amina started offering a PGx service in her business, it was easy to track patients with a simple prompt in her computer system, but as she’s grown, there’s now a need for full integration. The lab she works with, MD Labs, was willing to have conversations with her software company to determine a solution.You’ll also want to confirm that the lab will be continually working to include more biomarkers in their panel and that patients who received their initial PGx results in 2015, for example, can be re-run as new information emerges, making it a “once-in-a-lifetime” test.
What happens if my patient’s insurance isn’t accepted and we’ve already submitted a test? If a lab is offering to bill the patient’s insurance, be sure to question what will happen if it’s not covered. You don’t want a patient or a physician upset at you because now they owe the lab $1,000 for their genetic test when you told them it was covered by their insurance.
What disclaimers do you include with your tests? If you’re out there promoting these tests, the lab needs to include disclaimers on their materials that not only protect you, but also the doctors. For example, you do not want a patient to get upset at the doctor because they prescribed a medication that happened to be on this test that they couldn’t take. The disclaimer should also help the patient understand that they need to take responsibility and share the information with everyone involved in their care. Amina suggests working with a lab that’s also flexible with changing wording and adding things to the forms to ensure everything protects the pharmacy and providers. Nothing should ever be set in stone!

And remember, not all labs are created equal. Researching multiple labs will ensure the highest ROI, most comprehensive panel and support.

Want to Quickstart Your Pharmacogenomics Program?

PDS Members, log into PDSadvantage and search “PGx” to access a seven-step implementation manual, webinar, a project plan and turnkey templates that outline how to…

Provide the most comprehensive care to your community
Pick a reputable lab
Sell your PGx and MTM services
Collaborate with doctors
Seamlessly integrate PGx into your workflow
Properly train your team
Add $25,000 to your bottom line

Not a PDS Member? Speak with one of our Business Advisors today and immediately gain access to the PDS Resource Library with 100s of templates, tools and programs for growing and differentiating your business.

Ready to learn more about Pharmacogenomics? Watch our free webinar for a thorough introduction now.

5 Ways to Become a Better Supervisor Now

December 2, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

As an independent pharmacy owner, you are much more than a pharmacist or an entrepreneur. You are the fearless leader, manager and supervisor to your dedicated staff members and depending on the size of your pharmacy, there could be quite a few of them. An excellent manager knows how to facilitate the growth of their skills and talents in order to bring out their best work and encourage an awesome pharmacy culture.

Great supervisory skills can have innumerable benefits for your pharmacy from increased productivity and customer satisfaction to a positive improvement in the overall work atmosphere. Here are five ways to improve your supervisory skills immediately:

1. Set Clear Expectations

Staff members will be happier and more productive if they know exactly what is expected of them and how to accomplish it. Providing this kind of structure is the cornerstone of any successful pharmacy. A stellar supervisor can guide employees to work within appropriate parameters without stifling them.

2. Show Your Human Side

Just because you need to provide structure doesn’t mean you have to behave like a robot. Employees value leaders who are human and who don’t hide behind their authority. The best supervisors are those who aren’t afraid to be themselves and show they care. Managers who respect and connect with others on a human level inspire great loyalty. Employees will inevitably face life events that require flexibility and understanding from management, so maintaining a real relationship with your staff will make the work environment much more pleasant.

3. Keep Your Commitments

Cultivating dedicated, loyal employees will require you to keep the promises you make to them. If you promise an extra vacation day after a year’s employment, you better keep your word. If you schedule a staff meeting for 9:00 and don’t arrive until 9:15, you are sending a negative message to your staff. It’s extremely important to lead by example – if your staff can sense your energy or commitment level waning they will inevitably follow your lead.

4. Stay Up To Date

Resentment will grow if staff members feel they are being supervised by someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. If you are busy managing the back end of the business, delegate supervisory responsibilities and ask for periodic progress reports. Staying up to date on everything from industry trends to store processes is critical to your success as a manager.

5. Look At The Big Picture

The best supervisors see the big picture and don’t get involved with micromanaging their staff. Empower your employees by giving them space to tackle problems independently, but make yourself available to answer questions and offer advice. If you know how to foster a team with a sense of shared purpose, you will be able to trust that your employees are working to the best of their ability, and they will be able to place the same level of trust in you.

Believe it or not, most exemplary supervisors are not born that way. Supervision is a skill that requires awareness, training and practice. Lucky for you, we provide a number of online and in-person trainings that will take your leadership skills to the next level.

5 Ways to Make Your Pharmacy Customers Love You

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

Customers are paramount to the success of your pharmacy business. For this reason, going the extra mile to earn your customers’ devotion should be a top priority. Doing the extra work to make sure your customers love your business can set you apart from your competitors, increase loyalty, boost sales and build relationships that can last a lifetime. Follow these five tips and you will have customers buying from you again and again.

Create Opportunities That Benefit Customers

Create opportunities for the customer to buy, rather than opportunities for you to sell. The greatest compliment you can receive from your customers is “I just love coming in here.” That will only happen if they feel like you are providing them with value, not tricking them into boosting your profits. An excellent way to do this is to develop a strong method of cross-selling and upselling for all of your products.

Have Meaningful Conversations

Do you take the time to have meaningful conversations with your customers? Make building the relationship more important than making the sale. Address your customers by name, and tell them your name at the very beginning of your interaction. Talk to your customers as you would a friend or family member, and they’ll treat you like one in return.

Treat Your Customers Right

Running a pharmacy that customers love doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a perfect operation. It means you will give customers a reason to stay if an honest mistake has been made. When you encounter an unhappy customer, deliver a sincere apology, describe how the issue will be corrected and then deliver what you promised. Studies show that happy customers who get their issue resolved tell 4 to 6 people about their experience and 58% of those people report telling their friends about bad experiences as well. Which type of word-of-mouth advertisement does your pharmacy need?

Send Thank You Notes

If your pharmacy has yet to set up a thank you note program, do so now. These can be sent for no other reason than to show your gratitude for their continued patronage. You can use handwritten cards as a personal way to send out congratulations on a new baby, check on someone when they’re released home from the hospital, or follow up with a customer who has not visited your store in a while.

Communicate Upcoming Changes

A major change can be disruptive to regular customers. Alert them ahead of time to large scale changes like a new billing system, different product availability, or new hours of operation. It is crucial to tread lightly when making changes to your products and services, because customers become accustomed to the status quo. If you receive a lot of negative feedback when you announce a change, make sure you listen.

Studies show that as many as 89% of consumers will take their business to a competitor following a poor customer experience. If your customers don’t love visiting your pharmacy, you risk losing them. Businesses are built around the customer experience, but it’s easy to forget that as you run your pharmacy’s daily operations. These five tactics will help improve your customer experience and build a pharmacy your customers simply love to visit.

Pharmacy ownership is constantly evolving and the best way to make sure you remain ahead of the curve is to attend the industry’s main event. You will network with like-minded industry professionals and learn about every significant change to pharmacy ownership at the PDS Together Toward Tomorrow conference.

5 Ways to Enhance the Retail Experience in Your Pharmacy

November 24, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Too many pharmacy owners focus solely on the prescription side of their business and fail to put enough effort toward boosting retail sales. If you fall into that category, you are missing a big opportunity for extra revenue. Whether it’s suntan lotion, vitamins, diapers or snack foods, your retail section is often the most memorable area of your pharmacy. Make sure your customers have a positive experience by following these steps:

Engage With Customers Immediately

Greet customers with a friendly smile and a unique greeting as soon as they walk in the door. We have all visited businesses where the greeting felt scripted and forced. Don’t micromanage your staff’s reception techniques, but make sure they are welcoming every person who walks in the door. After the purchase, make sure everyone gets a “thank you” and a “goodbye” on the way out. A simple smile and acknowledgement will go a long way in providing a quality retail experience for your customers. Customer engagement starts and ends at the front door.

Make Your Pharmacy Kid-Friendly

Kids influence $1.2 trillion of purchasing dollars every year, so it makes sense to serve the children whose parents are making those purchases. Place a small table in a corner of your pharmacy filled with toys or crayons and paper, so children can entertain themselves while parents shop and wait for prescriptions. Keep all sharp, breakable and poisonous items high on the shelves. You may also want to consider offering kid-friendly programs, like a free children’s vitamin program

Put Relevant Products Together

Do not allow your valued customers to wander around the store looking for what they need. In many cases, a staff member will not be available to assist in the search and some customers will leave unsatisfied. Make sure that the layout of your retail space is intuitive. For example, someone who needs to purchase cold medicine is probably also looking for tissues even though those aren’t the same type of product.

Ask for Customer Feedback

Encourage your customers to provide feedback, so you know exactly what products they like, what they don’t need, and what they would like to see on your shelves in the future. When customers provide your company with feedback, implement the ideas that can improve their experiences. The more you take their input into consideration, the better experience you can create for them.

Offer Easy Payment Options

Let your customers pay in ways that are convenient for them. That may mean accepting as many credit card companies as possible, allowing them to pay online before they arrive, or even installing micro-fencing technology so they can pay without pulling out their wallet. With constant technological advances, businesses have a variety of ways to instantly transform the way their customers interact. Many millennial customers would rather use Apple Pay or a similar method than traditional cash or credit options, so keep this in mind when trying to attract the younger demographic.

Following these five steps will inevitably enhance the retail experience for every customer who visits your store. It will help increase your customer base and result in higher profits. Are you aware of every possible way to increase profits in your pharmacy business? We would like to offer a free business assessment where one of our business advisors will help you identify new niches and programs you can implement to improve your business.

4 Ways to Grow Your Pharmacy Without Selling

November 19, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

Not every business owner, and certainly not every pharmacist, is a natural-born salesman. Finding opportunities to sell products to every patient who visits your store can be awkward, but you have to constantly sell to increase profits, right? Maybe not. In reality, there are several effective strategies that will allow your business to grow without pharmacists engaging in uncomfortable sales tactics. Let’s take a look at four proven strategies that will allow you to build your pharmacy business in other ways:

1) Increase Prices

A small uptick in prices could translate to a big profit increase at the end of the quarter. If you haven’t taken a close look at your pricing strategy in awhile, you’re probably missing a big opportunity. When compared with your competitors, you may find that many items are underpriced. Remember, low prices are not the only thing your customers care about. Personalized, top-quality care is your competitive edge. Many customers will not noticea small price increase and those who do will remain loyal to your exceptional customer service.

2) Add More Available Products

Many pharmacy owners focus too much on gaining new customers and miss the chance to maximize untapped potential with current patients. Building trust is the most nerve-racking, expensive and time-consuming portion of any sales process, but you have already overcome this barrier with your current customers. The smartest strategy for increasing pharmacy sales is to offer more to your existing customers, which is also known as cross-selling. Keep an eye on your inventory to make sure you carry related products that are in-demand. Make sure your staff is trained to recognize cross-selling opportunities and recommend additional products when necessary.

3) Grow Through Acquisitions

Depending on your pharmacy’s financial situation, you may consider buying out a small competitor rather than working to gain their customers in other ways. If pharmacies in your area are struggling and selling at relatively low prices, then growing your business through acquisition could be a very viable strategy. If this idea sounds overwhelming to you, PDS can help

4) Simplify Your Products

If you are running regular reports, you may quickly find that some of your products and services are actually costing you money. Eliminating items that are costly, hard to sell or expire too quickly will increase your profits in the end. Taking the time to replace unprofitable products with better options is a worthwhile investment.

If selling isn’t your forte, but you are looking for ways to grow your pharmacy business, don’t worry. Keep your eyes open for pharmacy acquisition opportunities. Remove unprofitable products and add inventory that will increase cross-selling. Effectively managing products and prices can increase your pharmacy’s profits exponentially.

One of the best ways to identify new growth opportunities is to connect with other like-minded independent pharmacy professionals. This industry is different from many others, which is why networking with other owners and learning about the future of pharmacy is so vital to your success. The PDS Together Toward Tomorrow Conference is held annually to unite pharmacy owners as we pave the way toward a better tomorrow.

Learn more and reserve your seat today

4 Personality Types to Improve Pharmacy Customer Service

November 18, 2015/0 Comments/in All, Pharmacy Growth Strategies/by pdsmarketing

You’ve probably spent a lot of time telling your staff that customers are your number one priority. Surely you know that providing extraordinary pharmacy customer service will help you rise above your competition. You can talk about customer service until you’re blue in the face, but the truth is, good intentions can only get you so far.

Your customers are unique individuals, so their responses to your efforts will vary. Far too many pharmacy owners don’t take this into account when handling a complaint or problem that is brought to their attention. Believe it or not, there is a tried-and-true method for customizing your customer service to effectively deal with different personalities.

Read on to learn how to identify the four different basic personality types you’ll likely meet in your pharmacy and a few tips on how to achieve the best results:

1) Dominant Personality Type

These people are often aggressive and pushy, especially if they feel like they aren’t getting the kind of service they deserve. A dominant personality type will tell you why they are unhappy may never return. While they may seem intimidating, they give you the opportunity to keep their business by telling you what they want to have resolved.

When handling a customer that has a dominant personality type, it isn’t smart to argue with them or try to assert any kind of authority. They want to see quick results, so be sure to address their complaint immediately. A dominant personality type wants to see evidence that you take their complaint seriously.

2) Influential Personality Type

While a dominant personality type may present their issues with anger, an influential personality type is more logical and calculated. They are usually skilled in verbal attack and may also come across as manipulative. You may have heard a customer say something like “I bet a letter to the newspaper about what’s going on here would change your bad business practices!” If so, that person is an influential personality type and should be handled with care.

For some pharmacy owners, the course of action that will come most naturally when dealing with this type of customer will be to sit passively and allow the customer to lecture. This type of customer craves personal attention and the assurance that their problem is being handled with the utmost professionalism. Respond to this customer with a plethora of verbal affirmations and then take action to ensure the problem is being corrected.

3) Steady Personality Type

Those with a steady personality type may seem like your favorite type of customer, but they’re also the hardest to keep happy because they often don’t verbalize their complaints. Those whose personalities fall into this category are the least likely to be loud and argumentative. If they do eventually come to you with an issue, they may appear submissive, hesitant, or even apologetic. This type of customer rarely complains openly – he or she will internalize dissatisfaction and then take their business elsewhere.

When you identify a complaint from a steady personality type, show your commitment to saving the relationship and express that ensuring their satisfaction isn’t an inconvenience to you at all. You want to keep them happy and be sure to tell them that!

4) Conscientious Personality Type

Conscientious customers won’t angrily voice their complaints and call attention to themselves, but they won’t be submissive either. While their complaints may not be loud, they will have a sharper edge to them. Conscientious customers tend to recite the chronology of events and list the errors they’ve had to endure. They’ll provide data and documentation to prove their point.

The first step in dealing with a conscientious personality type is to acknowledge that they are right. Show them that you appreciate their thoroughness and then, patiently explain the process for correcting the problem. Resolve the issue quickly and quietly, so that the customer feels as comfortable as possible.

Dealing with a customer complaint is never easy, but handling a grievance incorrectly can result in loss of business. If you want to maximize customer loyalty, be privy to the characteristics that will help you identify these four personality types and the best methods for managing each one. Studies show that when customers feel that a company responded to and addressed their complaints appropriately, they are actually more loyal than if the problem never happened at all.

Responding properly to each situation that arises in your pharmacy is one of the best ways to ensure that your customers stay with you for the long haul. There are many methods for boosting customer retention in your pharmacy. To learn more about the various ways you can improve your pharmacy business, download our free ebook 3 Innovative Ways to Compete in the Pharmacy Market