Many pharmacy owners, whether new or old, consider marketing as a big problem. Since the marketing process is considered a large financial burden that may not achieve a return on investment, in parallel with the high cost of the various printed marketing products – that pharmacists depend mainly on in promoting their services and offers.
Pharmacy owners usually use printed advertising campaigns once every year during an important occasion, such as printing annual results. They are satisfied with these campaigns, thinking that it can attract patients all year long, which does not happen in the majority of the time!
According to global research, independent pharmacies have several advantages to attract patients greatly, and by utilizing these advantages, we today offer a set of important advice, concerning the management and marketing of your pharmacy services exceptionally:
Also Read: Marketing for Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgeons
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Providing pharmaceutical care in person
The pharmacy public prefers to obtain medical services, including health consultations in person, through direct dealing with the pharmacy owner or the staff. Therefore, you should always strive to strengthen ties with your customers by identifying and meeting their needs permanently. The fact that you record your customers’ data and follow up with them occasionally is one of the factors that strengthen the ties between you and them.
One of the important factors to obtain customer loyalty is the ease of access to you and the provision of medical consultations continuously during different periods of the day, so the patient can reach you by visiting the pharmacy, chatting by phone, or communicating online.
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Special care for chronic disease patients and the elderly
The elderly do not like to explain their cases to the pharmacist again every time, and if they do so, they take long to explain and inquire about everything related to their health. They prefer the pharmacist to be familiar with the medications they receive. Therefore, it is easier to go to someone that resembles a family doctor – the pharmacist in this case!
Thus, the pharmacist is a personal friend and counselor to his patients, and you should always work to develop this aspect.
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Work to spread your culture and expertise
The pharmacy derives its main reputation from the experience of its owners and employees. The confidence-building process is mainly based on the validity and strength of health and medical information provided by the pharmacy to its customers. Therefore, you must spread your culture through various advertising methods, especially digital, which includes social media and provides useful health information and advice to your patients.
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Do not be afraid of change
Some pharmacists are against adding or changing anything in their pharmacy, fearing the negative impact on its limited clients. This is a big mistake, pharmacists must know the exact needs of their customers as we mentioned earlier, and work to provide appropriate services that satisfy those needs, even if they have to implement new policies, or buy different products, or even apply newer, easier, and faster ways to communicate using digital services and websites.
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Keep advertising
Some are satisfied with presenting one form of advertising once a year, fearing the high expenses. This is a mistaken belief by all measures since advertising is a long-term investment that can reap its benefits after a while. You should also experiment with different methods of marketing, measure their results periodically, and provide new and useful offers and services to the audience continuously.
Also Read: Marketing for Bariatric and Laparoscopic Surgeons
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Create your digital assets
The optimal communication method between the patient and the pharmacist is the use of the phone, whether for demand or inquiry. With technological advances and the public’s increased use of the mobile and the Internet, it has become obligatory for pharmacy owners to establish an online presence. Your website or social media pages is the pharmacy that patients and researchers for medical services and consultations can find you through, and communicate with you, and perhaps even ask for medications.
