As a Pharmacist, “Marketing” is not something they taught in Pharmacy school. As a business person, you have either used a ‘learn as you go’ or have been forced to hire a marketing company. You need to ensure that the technologies you select include marketing tools. I advise Pharmacies to be wary of marketing companies that charge you for what is, pretty much, a common sense approach; but one that you simply don’t have time to focus on.
A Bit of Marketing Theory
It only takes a little theory practiced and applied – and soon you will find that marketing is part of your daily routine. Marketing is more than sales – it is a set of activities used to:
- Get your potential customer’s attention.
- Differentiate yourself from the competition with special sevices/products.
- Motivate your potential customers to buy.
- GET them to actually buy. *Recognize and reward your best customers, to keep them. *Attract new customers based on your unique branding and services.
Marketing is how you define your Pharmacy, products, promote your products, distribute your products and services, and maintain a positive relationship with your customers.
The ‘theory’ of Marketing is made up of only a few main concepts.. Each contributes to your ‘marketing mix’. There is usually not a ‘single’ marketing concept that is a complete success; it is a combination of efforts.
Product: Product is, of course, the service and/or products that you have to offer to the customers. There are a number of things about the product you should evaluate. It is important to understand your product and service from the customer’s point of view.
Product Description: It is critical to be able to say in one clear sentence, why your product and service is perfect for a specific customer/patient; and what it does best.
Product Name: It is more important to be descriptive than creative. There are some exceptions to this – such as working in ‘the arts’.
Functionality, Features & Benefits: In order to begin to understand the product and service from a customer’s point of view, list the functionality, features and the benefits that the product/service has. Prioritize each for the target market or market segments to determine the development as you go forward.
Product/Service Adaptability: By understanding how adaptable your technology is, you can incorporate the necessary elements into your marketing.
There are six factors for measuring how ‘adaptable’ your product/service is:
- Relative advantage of the product/service: How superior is the innovation to the product/service or other problem-solving methods it was designed to compete against? Will it offer automated and cross-over functions?
- Compatibility: Does it fit with current product/service usage and customer activity? Can you easily identify the best customers? Can you develop tools to bring new customers in?
- Complexity: Will confusion arise in understanding the innovations basic idea?
- Divisibility: How easily can trial portions of the product/service be purchased?
- Communicability: How likely is the product/service to appear in public places where it is easily seen and studied by potential users? Are you offering the same products/services that can be found elsewhere at lesser costs?
- Labor Intensive: Is the product/service creating a situation that requires repeating previous procedures, yet expecting a difference in results?
A little ‘common sense’ goes a long way!
Karen Sulprizio
Email Me or Call Me: 1-866-312-8324
