Planning a Late Marketing Strategy
Is Like Deciding On Protection When a Hurricane is close!
When tropical storm ‘Faye’ began looming on our horizons, my husband and I were glad that we had planned ahead.
Although we work 50-60 hrs. per week, and knew we deserved a vacation, we gave that up to ensure that we had accomplished everything we could, to protect our home and belongings.
I was quite shocked when our next door neighbor invited herself to our home if a hurricane showed up, as she had done absolutely nothing. Yes, she had 3 vacations this year – and, at this writing, is on a 4th! But, she had not planned 1 thing for herself and her son, in case of a hurricane.
People prioritize what they want – and, in some cases, it can mean disaster.
Too many Independent Pharmacies are looking at their community and seeing the ‘big box’ chains showing up. Not planning a marketing strategy to maintain and keep your customers and patients – is like waiting until a hurricane appears.
If you don’t already have a good ‘web presence’ and a loyalty program, as well as an inventory of high quality items that are usually not found at the mass chains – you will not be prepared.
A ‘web presence’ is a professional site – with changing information, health and wellness e-newsletters, marketing tools and areas to list your products. 5-7 ‘static’ (non-changing) pages – with pictures of your staff, will not ‘cut it’ in today’s economy. Today’s internet is a lot more sophisticated than you think – and so are your patients and customers.
A smart loyalty program should already be in place. One that offers points and rewards. If you are offering register discounts – you are ‘giving away margin for no good reason’.
If you spend hours trying to do either of the above yourself – you are wasting your own valuable time. Customers can see through a poorly designed or ‘home grown’ site. They also will not spend any time on a site that is 3-4 yrs old – and looks like it needs a ‘facelift’.
I can’t tell you how many Pharmacists I talk with – that either think a ‘loyalty’ program is too new of a technology (first loyalty program= remember back to ‘Green Stamps’?) or use their own time and staff to spend hours sorting and looking through their customer/patient list, printing their own cards & labels and trying to send things out on their own. They still can’t figure our who their ‘missing in action’ customers are – and it’s a complete loss if they do a mass mailing – wasting time and money on misdirected marketing. Oh sure, there are loyalty plans out there that ‘look’ cheaper – pay-per-processing = you are penalized for any big successes you have and, worst of all, cheesy looking art work that reflects badly on your pharmacy.
Get Your Head Out of OTC
I have said this over and over in on-line demonstrations. You have to get your head out of “OTC”. No one is interested in a site that has pain killers, cotton balls or that you can buy everywhere!
The integrative medicine, vitamins and supplement market is one of the few markets that is not only showing a success through this questionable economy, but is making huge profits. 2009 is predicted to break all records! Look to higher quality items that will off set the drug depletions your patients experience. Advise them – and guide them over to recommended products that you carry on your shelves.
They Don’t Teach Marketing In Pharmacy School
The mass chains have huge marketing departments and invest millions of dollars in knowing what works. They also know that the Independent Pharmacy doesn’t have that kind of ‘clout’ and they count on your lack of marketing savvy knowledge.
Some Independent Pharmacies flounder in what they think is the marketing dollar investment: Sunday newspaper ads, Yellow Pages, etc.. After all, they seemed to work in the past, didn’t they?
Today is a different era – no one is interested in coming to your pharmacy simply because you are having a sale on an item that is already marked down at the chain pharmacies.
Other Pharmacists hire a staff member with marketing background. In some cases, that person is smart enough to look into a program that will bring more traffic and purchases to the pharmacy. A professional and automated process, with a smart look that reflects well on your business. Sometimes the Pharmacist agrees – however, in other cases, the owner doesn’t listen to the marketing expert but, decides it would be ‘cheaper’ to again try to do things themselves. It looks bad, usually fails and is costly.
Return On Investment Should Be Measured
When looking into a web or loyalty technology you should be able to gauge a return on investment:
Am I keeping in contact with my current customers & patients?
Is the web offering the ability to expand, change and give me control?
Am I appealing to my future customers & patients?
Can I list product and be in control of the pricing?
Can I do e-coupons that will drive traffic to my pharmacy?
Can I do e-mail campaigns to send e-coupons to my customers?
If my vision of my pharmacy changes – can I change my site with it?
Can I post pertinent articles that my patients will be interested in?
Is there enough changing information that will draw my customers?
Is the loyalty program able to find my ‘missing in action’ customers &
Have me spend 5 minutes in a promotion to bring them back?
Can I do marketing based on demographics?
Does the program calculate and automatically send out rewards?
Is the artwork nice enough to reflect well on my pharmacy?
Can I do promotions when I add new products?
Can I have a loyalty program even if I don’t have a POS system?
Can I upgrade the loyalty program when I do get a POS system?
Is this the kind of loyalty program that tomorrow’s customers will like?
Am I spending very little time on the loyalty program –
And yet keeping my customers & patients?
Karen Sulprizio
Email Me or Call Me: 1-866-312-8324
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