Vanishing From the U.S.
America is changing – and the cultural shifts bring us new products, technologies and methods to carry out our day. Some things will become extinct – while others are making alterations to adapt for both cost and efficiency.
Those of us that remember such things as full-service gas stations, rotary phones and bicycling to the local library to do research on our reports – now have a few new items to add to the list of things that-will-be-no-more!
Businesses must adapt to change to survive and thrive. Change might be difficult – but, it brings out the best in us all!
If you go on-line - type in a typical search for your pharmacy in your town - and your pharmacy is NOT listed with a web site....how are patients and customers finding you?
Here is a list of items that are vanishing as well as a few that are ‘in transition’. The internet seems to be a major player in this process for many of these situations!
The Yellow Pages
Although the yellow pages brought in a lucrative income, any business owner will tell you that you knew you had to be listed and the phone companies did their best to get your investment penny.
Marketers and creators of the yellow pages continue to promote stats and numbers regarding a fairly high percentage of adults that use these books. Of course they would!
According to The Kelsey Group, an advertising research firm in New Jersey. They say that in recent years, the use of printed newspapers and yellow pages has been falling at a rate of 2% to 3% per year. But in 2008, the drop in usage may be closer to 10%.
Although I have a copy of the local yellow pages --- I haven’t used it in years. Each year, I recycle the old book – and, it looks as fresh and clean as the new one that I receive. Yellow page companies have tried to adapt to the internet – by charging high dollars for your ‘web listing’. Sadly, when I land on one of these sites – the original company I was looking for is enmeshed in those that pay higher dollars for their ‘position’.
With internet search engines – there is no need for on-line yellow pages.
More households are using the internet, and web-savvy youngsters are growing up; with the skills to get whatever they want and need on the net. Baby boomers and older customers are included in that group! Just ask my 93 year old neighbor that e-mails me!
Newspaper Classified Ads
On this topic – I can speak with clarity and experience. In my younger years, I worked in 3 different newspapers across the country, eventually becoming a Manager of a Classified Dept. in a (now defunct) newspaper in Thousand Oaks, CA..
Newspapers make their money on the advertising. End of story. A good Classified Dept. will carry both individual and display advertising. With the advent of the internet – very few people read the newspaper for the advertising anymore.
As an example: I can heartily say, that in the last 10 years – all 3 of our vehicle purchases were based on the internet. The latest study of readership shows more declines among 18-24-year-olds, and another study says that people in that age group turn first to TV for their news, and to print newspapers a distant fifth.
The old argument in the newspaper biz = editorial department believes people buy the newspaper for the articles; advertising believe that the purchases are for the ads.
Most newsrooms have suffered deep layoffs and buyouts, even top tier ones like the New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Washington Post. The Boston Globe just floated a 10% wage cut proposal. There are very few newspapers left with foreign bureaus or bureaus in other cities (even Washington, D.C.). The latest trend is to cut arts coverage and let go film, TV, music and art critics. Some small papers are going out of print completely, like two papers recently did in Wisconsin.
With advertising dollars migrating to t.v. and the web – and job postings listed in the major and local sites – a good percentage of the income for the newspaper has gone to the wayside and their survival is in question.
If your pharmacy is still listing those ads and paying for those flyers – for print distribution…you might want to rethink your strategy and use e-mail blasts to bring the customer back to your website and list your weekly flyer on your site as well!
Movie Rental Stores
With Netflix currently looking up by offering both mail out and on-line movie views – stores like Blockbuster are closing by the minute.
From the death of the VCR tapes – to the DVD and on…the main reason that these businesses have maintained – is that Hollywood didn’t want to give up the royalties –and enter the digital future. Everyone is nervous about making it too easy to download – so it’s been difficult for companies to break out into that arena.
The future has arrived and the movie studios finally opened up to the prospect of HD transmission of their products. It goes to show that video rental stores never really had a sustainable business model, and the overbuilding in the late 1980s and early 1990s only compounded the problems as the industry contracted.
Dial-Up Internet Access
As the internet became more accessible, all of us became accustomed to the scream and squawk of the dial-up connections. To those of us in the Telecom industry, we were already aware of this type of connection, constantly battling the slow ‘bps’ rate (bits per second).
As they grew- internet sites and programs required more memory – the impatience we all felt as sites loaded ever-so-slowly, became the cry of the whole country.
It is estimated that dial-up is now around 10% of internet connections in the U.S.. Although these are a valiant few – about 62% of those with dial-up don’t seem to want to upgrade! The combination of an infrastructure to accommodate affordable high speed Internet connections and the disappearing home phone have all but pounded the final nail in the coffin of dial up Internet access.
Landlines
More and more of my friends, family, neighbors and associates are making the transition from a standard land-line to the sole use of their cell phone as their main communication method.
Having spent many years in telecom, I can understand the concept – but, will probably be only a few that maintain the same phone number and landline that I have had for over 19 years.
Anyone in telecommunications will tell you that any phone system, whether cell phone, land line, key system, switch and even your local phone company central office was never designed for everyone to use the system at the same time. Ergo – when there are emergencies, such as the power outages in major metropolitan areas, hurricanes here in Florida….the only reliable communication method was the good old land line. People were standing in line at the phone booths.
Now maybe you scoff – why should you base your communication method on a potential disaster? I guess that’s my own personal legacy left over from September 11th .
Businesses also cannot function well with a completely internet based phone system. Yes, I know the successes of VoIP – have been hearing about it for over 12 years. But, again – if your power goes out – and you don’t have a very substantial (and expensive) battery backup --- your business phone is down.
As technology improves – so will the methods of maintaining at least 90% connection integrity.
So – the old landline will be destined to go into history.
The VCR
Remember the nightly treks to the local video rental store for the latest movie on VHS?
Or- if you remember the Betamax in the 1980’s?
I had a technician that I worked with in S. California that always ran out and bought the latest technology released. He bought 2 Betamax machines along with movies – immediately followed by even more VHS machines (and movies). Of course- he was also the one with the bumper sticker that said ‘the one with the most toys wins’.
Although Betamax had better quality, VHS is what caught on and became the standard.
Compared to the DVD of today, the actual video and audio was horrible! But, it allowed those of us that had kids – to let them watch their favorite character movies over and over again! My son (now 20) would be embarrassed if I let everyone know how many times he watched that purple dinosaur or Power Rangers. So, I won’t mention it.
For almost 30 years, the VHS reigned supreme! But time marches on and so does our demand for quality video – now available with interactive, picture in picture, multiple languages, alternate endings and how-the-scenes-were-made technology!
The Answering Machine
Did you know that the first rudimentary answering gadget was invented in 1898? Of course, it has evolved a lot over the many years. Mohawk Business Machines released a product in 1951 – but it wasn’t until 1974 when the answering machine became up-front-and-center of our lives – as was shown on "The Rockford Files".
Fortune 100 companies invested in the high end (and high cost) Automated Attendant/Voice Mail – until smaller versions were created. The slimmed down versions were also used in what is now known as the IVR (interactive voice response) system in pharmacies.
Today – we have voice mail everywhere; but, specifically, our cell phones are the main focus. You can use the local phone company voice mail for pennies per day – or – use the many gadgets that are included with your standard home unit.
As land line usage drops – the use of all of the features that are offered on our cells have increased. No more hardware is needed.
Photos Made From Film
Unless your profession is photography – it is a rare thing to see anyone using a standard camera with film that advances after each ‘click’.
Everyone has a digital camera. It only makes sense!
This was proven further when Nikon, the professional's choice for quality camera equipment, announced in 2006 that it would stop making film cameras, pointing to the shrinking market -- only 3% of its sales in 2005, compared to 75% of sales from digital cameras and equipment. Pentax and Kodak have made similar changes in focus.
There is easily available and very inexpensive software that can be added to your computer or laptop – that gives you the ability to edit, clean up and crop your pictures. Photo quality paper can be purchased at any office supply shop. Americans, in general, are not relying on the quick photo places that gave you your good and bad pictures- in duplicate – along with the “where do I store these” negatives.
While the professional photographers may still use developing services, a majority of people don’t.
Hand Written Letters
Growing up, both sides of my family were spread out across the entire United States. I learned to hand write letters at an early age. This was a love-hate situation, as there were many people to write.
My Dad bought an old Royal typewriter, had it refurbished – and I saw something that would save me time! I taught myself to type (albeit, completely incorrectly – according to any typing instructor) – and hammered out letters that were often covered in ‘white-out’.
Along came electric typewriters and then – the computer…and I haven’t looked back since.
Although I receive handwritten letters and cards from many of my older relatives, e-mail and the ‘word document’ have replaced the hours of labor intensive processes that used to be part of my life.
Marketing specialists will tell you that a hand written letter has a higher percentage of being opened – because it is unique in our current society!
In 2006, the Radicati Group estimated that, worldwide, 183 billion emails were sent per day. Two million each second. By November of 2007, an estimated 3.3 billion Earthlings owned cell phones, and 80% of the world's population had access to cell phone coverage. In 2004, half a trillion text messages were sent, and the number has no doubt increased exponentially since then.
There is a certain elegance in both the writing and receiving of a hand written letter. It seems, it is now used on only those most special of occasions.
Personal Checks
I was one of the first people that I know to get on-line banking. I made sure that the security level was the highest encryption available at that time. Since I traveled, both nationally and internationally- on-line banking was the complete answer. It still is!
Our household may actually write 3 or 4 paper checks per year. The balance is paid for via debit cards and/or credit cards.
The day and age of the paper check has run it’s course. Yes – occasionally I see someone at a register writing a check. Most retailers have a routine that they must go through, which includes a driver’s license or ID card, etc. for verification. But, it’s a rarity any more.
Paying bills are as easy as going on-line, logging into my secure area and inputting the amounts to be paid to each company. No more envelopes, stamps, running to the Post Office to buy stamps or being concerned it the payment actually got to the right company.
Television Evening News Casts
As creatures of habit, we humans seem to enjoy some areas of our lives that are ‘predictable’.
The evening news cast used to be a time when the family (or at least the adults and older kids) stopped and listened.
I grew up with Walter Cronkite – whether he was sitting in the back of a truck with the film crew in the only area they could film a NASA lift off --- or talking about an international incident. He was, and remains, one of the most trust-worthy icons of the time. 6:00-7:00 pm, we would also watch the reporters entrenched in the Vietnam conflict. (this was before the term ‘embedded’ became popular). We listened, as we watched the soldiers existing, fighting, living and dying.
I worked at a newspaper when the news feeds began to show up on the teletype about “Watergate” and we in the news media held our breathe as we saw it unfolding on the nightly news.
As the progression of more news channels opened our media horizons, more news programs began to focus on offering news-specific programs. Seeing an opportunity, Ted Turner took the broadest of chances and instituted CNN. Slow to start, CNN eventually became the flagship of quality in news reporting. Other channels made attempts to catch up by appealing to a variety of viewers who either didn’t understand or didn’t appreciate CNN. Fox News became the alternative with MSNBC following suit with political spins as the main draw for their viewer types. In an attempt to attract the “Gen X, Y, et al’ , the addition of pop culture has been a big draw for the news channels. I have to admit that the addition of this interest has lowered the level of news reporting on all channels.
The internet has created an environment of getting the news in an ad hoc situation; with an open forum of credible and not-so-credible information. The main channels news broadcasts are now often seen as ‘cheesy’ presentations; which has generated a 21% viewership to such shows as Comedy Central’s: "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" from the younger Americans. I admit – I appreciate the humor, presentation and the guests on both of the above mentioned shows. They are a breathe of fresh air for those of us that are seeking a bit more. But- the old 'nightly news' as we knew it - is gone forever.
Analog TV
From the first black & white television that we got in our home – we were mesmerized by the shows. Yes, we adjusted the rabbit ears to get reception and I would race home from school to watch shows such as “Dark Shadows” and “Outer Limits”, which was only on the UHF channel. (standard tv broadcast was on VHF).
An avid Science Fiction reader, I reveled in “Star Trek”, “The Man From U.N.C.L.E.” (which, for those that might wonder or remember, stood for “United Network Command for Law and Enforcement”). “The Avengers” brought the tongue-in-cheek British humor and we had an entire following of fans at Philadelphia High School for Girls. “Emma Peel” was our hero!
We went to the movie theatre to see any film that was released and were in awe of the large screens and larger than life sound.
Times change – marketing opportunities opened up – and kids have grown up with access to renting and buying just about any film that they want. Many of my friends purchased the first horrid wide screen televisions. They were overpriced, had bad quality and typically took up the entire living or family room. I shook my head – as everyone was forced to sit straight in front of the monstrosity; knowing that this was not good technology and definitely not a good investment.
With over 200 channels to view, finally, quality became paramount and HD (high definition) television is pretty much, the standard.
Yes, there are still those that think they must have the biggest screens; there always will be people like that. But, as the analog phone (rotary) went to the wayside, so will the analog television broadcast. Effective January, 2009, all cable companies will be broadcasting in HD. Most that still have an analog tv will either not be affected or will have a method to continue using those ‘other’ tv’s.
We have a modest sized Sharp Aquos HD television on our wall so that we can watch the Discovery channels, The History Channels, A&E, Comedy Central, and, of course, the Sci-Fi Channel!
Still In Transition:
Trade Shows
Trade shows have historically been a marvelous venue for vendor and customer to see the products up close, ask the questions and accomplish a networking environment.
The cost to the vendor for a typical trade show is around $10,000-$20,000 per show. It is understandable that a vendor relies on show purchases to help off-set the costs.
In the last 10 years, attendance to a variety of trade shows have been dropping, while others have increased exponentially. Some trade show locations have made a shift to more ‘vacation’ spots for those that have a decrease in attendance. This has been a double-edged sword, as attendees bring families and have outside interests, other than viewing the vendor products.
High technology and natural products trade shows are just two of the types that are showing an incredible increase. The demand is there – and the venues are sometimes in areas that are not quite so ‘vacation’ oriented. Decision makers are present and vendors gladly attend the show, as the on-site purchases are cost effective.
For those other trade shows, the jury is still out. There is a transition in the process as vendors begin to make trade show decisions and reduce to just a selective few. The investment costs are too high to try to present their products to dwindling attendees. With the addition of teleconferencing and on-line multi-media presentations, a potential customer can have a personal dialogue between co-workers and vendors around the world. Webinars are now available for information as well as participation; with the ability to access the information if you cannot attend the various time slots available.
As costs continue to rise due to the gas situation, only the most successful shows, with on-site purchases will continue to show growth.
Fax
The newspaper industry in the 70’s and early 80’s used fax as a main method of communication for many of our last minute information for publication. Those were the days of the large, bulky machines that used large rolls of thermal paper.
For the Pharmacy, fax has been an excellent tool for receiving communication from physicians for new and refill prescriptions, as well as Insurance companies and all main pharmacy contacts.
However reliable, it is encroaching upon becoming extinct. While e-prescribing is gaining momentum – it’s neither completely perfected or accepted as of yet.
Interfacing with the hundreds of Pharmacy Management Systems has been a hurdle that IVR companies, such as Tele-Manager, have overcome (www.Telemanager.com) . They currently offer a very high quality technology for both the IVR answering the pharmacy line as well as an on-line prescription refill that can be easily added to a website.
Cash Register Only Pharmacies
The daily technology requirements of today’s Independent Pharmacy are such that you must have information exchange at the click of a button. You simply don’t have time for anything else.
Cash registers have had their day – in fact their century…but, they offer absolutely no marketing or technology abilities.
POS (Point-of-Sale) products replace the standard cash register – with an incredible array of tools and abilities. Anyone that has a pharmacy-specific POS system – wonders how they existed without it!
POS companies such as Retail Management Solutions (www.rm-solutions.com) specialize in working with the Independent Pharmacy. They have a fantastic staff, 2 great products and are adding our Rx Loyalty Genius to the mix – to give our Independents the only ‘smart’ Loyalty program – designed to increase your margins. (pardon me- while I put in a 'plug' for the product!)
Summary
Technology changes bring the demand for better technology! The internet has played a heavy role in the shaping of our interests, our purchases, our information and our opinions.
Independent Pharmacies pride themselves on customer service, which is rarely found in the mass marketed chains. However, you can blend customer service with today’s technology.
It is even more important for Independent Pharmacies to ensure that they are focused on not only maintaining today’s customers and patients, but tomorrow’s as well. More and more pharmacies are transitioning from the ‘drug store’ to a ‘wellness environment’ with the marketing tools of a professional web presence to attract and keep their patients to loyalty programs that keep their Pharmacy competitive.
As Baby Boomers increase their integrative medicine health interests, more people purchase on-line due to rising gas prices and we try to balance ourselves as a world economy, the Independent Pharmacy must be prepared to make the changes needed.
Karen Sulprizio
Email Me or Call Me: 1-866-312-8324
