Early this year it was reported that for the first time in history, more households have only a cell phone for telephone service vs. households with both a landline and a cell, or a landline only. Add that to the fact that 77% of people in the US have smartphones, and regardless of your pharmacy customer demographics, you’re no doubt dealing with a customer base that’s becoming increasingly more comfortable with mobile technology.
For many business leaders this is a new frontier that will require adjustments in the way their pharmacy operates. Luckily there are some easy ways to alter your business to better serve those tech-savvy pharmacy customers. Check them out here:
Emailing Coupons
In the past, sending coupons or promotions through “snail mail” was an effective option for many pharmacies. Yet, fewer and fewer people engage with their physical mail in a meaningful way. On the other hand, emailing coupons can be a great option for many pharmacies. Not only do you get to save a tree or two (when compared with paper coupons), but it’s also just going to be more convenient for many of your customers. Remember, you can email coupons generated by your RMS POS system, and you can also use the RMS integration with SnapRx to email promotions and valuable content.
2D Scanning
What good is that emailed coupon if the customer has no choice but to print it out to use it? Sure, some may choose to, but many customers will show up with smartphones in hand to present their coupon. 2D barcode scanners enable pharmacy professionals to scan directly from a customer’s device. Obviously, this can directly improve customer outcomes. No one wants to have their coupon rejected because the store didn’t have the capability to scan it on their phone. Avoid this possibility with this simple, but effective tech upgrade.
Curate your website
If 77% of people in the US have smartphones, then that means that people pretty much have the internet in their pocket all the time. As such, pharmacy business leaders need to ensure their website is up to date, easy to navigate, and optimized for use on a mobile device. To do this, you’ll first need to find out if your pharmacy has enough of an online presence to be easily found by prospective customers. Check out this article to help you start evaluating your online visibility. Then, turn a critical eye to your website. You can use these 5 tips to make improvements and add value for your customers
Emailing Statements
Just like coupons, statements can easily be missed or misplaced. But if a customer misses a statement, it’s negatively affecting your cash flow right now. More importantly, it can damage the relationship with a customer if you begin to send past-due notices, or if you put a hold on their credit line because of an unpaid amount that they never saw a statement for. Plus, emailed statements provide the added benefit of time and money saved by not having to print, stuff, pay for postage, and mail statements out.
Using Mobile Technology in the Pharmacy
Pleasing increasingly technology-addicted customers goes beyond how you interact with them on their smartphone. Changing the way you engage with them one-on-one by implementing mobile technology is guaranteed to make a big impact. While it may not be right for every situation, RMS’ EvolutionPOS V2 tablet can streamline the customer interaction and shows that your pharmacy business takes technology advancements seriously. That can only help to build trust and increase positive customer perception.
Contact Us
Of course, not all of your pharmacy customers will have the same communication and interaction preferences. It’s important to be mindful of what works best for your customers. Once you have the tools, you can serve your customers in the way that works best for them and for your pharmacy business. And at RMS, we can help you do just that. Contact us here to learn more about our services and products.
