Growing your pharmacy – Mission Impossible made possible

Growing your business can seem like an elusive goal to achieve.  Like Mission Impossible without all of the fun stunts, cool gadgets and oh yeah, a team of highly trained government agents to make sure that you can accomplish astounding, death defying acts and look super cool while doing it. 

Somehow in the movies, our put upon hero always manages to pull a plan out of his, um, hat, and something that seemed completely impossible, is suddenly ridiculously doable.  He breaks down the challenges, figures out a strategy, and voila, the world is once again safe.  You can do the same thing when it comes to facing the challenge of growing your independent pharmacy business.

A good many things can attribute the growth of your pharmacy, but there are three major goals you can set to help you on your way.  Attract more customers, Encourage customers to shop more often, and Increase your average ticket size.  And just like our hero from the movies, you can achieve these goals through pharmacy technology. True, you won’t get to repel down the side of one of the world’s tallest buildings… but you can still do some pretty cool things.   Here’s how:

Attract more customers: There are countless different ways to attract customers to your store.  Advertisements, social media, a well-rounded informative website, to name a few. If there’s something you’re doing well, somebody is going to take notice and that’s the first step to getting someone new to walk through your door.  However, one of the most powerful ways to attract new customers is through word of mouth. Customers share outstanding experiences with their friends and family and that can be key to driving new business to your pharmacy.  Obviously good customer service is one of the best ways to ensure that your customers have a memorable experience that they want to share. You can use pharmacy technology to help you get to a point where customers can’t wait to share how great the service at their local pharmacy is.  From something as simple as a quick, smooth and easy transaction at a traditional pharmacy cash register to a customized experience utilizing new mobile technologies, (think curbside delivery or customized consultation and service without a counter between you and your customer), your pharmacy point-of-sale system plays an important role in the experience your customers will have in your store, and share within their own circle of influence.  Check out this past article on turning point-of-sale into point-of-service for more details and ideas.

Encourage customers to shop more often: Your customers need to think of your pharmacy as more than a place to pick up their monthly prescriptions.  Increasing how often they shop at your store means getting them to think of your store as their go to for their OTC medications, health supplies, gift items, beauty products, supplements, or whatever other niche departments you might carry.  This means working to drive your customer’s behavior in a new direction which is easier than it might sound if you implement a comprehensive customer loyalty program. You can read more about this particular trend here and then download our free E-Book on customer loyalty here.

Increase your average ticket size: If you’ve succeeded at encouraging customers to shop at your pharmacy more often, you’re well on your way to increasing the average amount they spend each time they come in.  Increasing average ticket size means focusing on the three major types of sales, Planned, Impulse and Companion.  Just click here for some insight on how to drive these different kinds of sales.  Again, your pharmacy technology can play a key role in this venture.   Setting promotions, monitoring sales and bundling items together are just a few ways to push sales and all made exponentially easier via a good pharmacy point-of-sale system.

I hope that your Mission Impossible seems a little less daunting using these tips and strategies.  If you find yourself in need a few of your own gadgets to get there, one of the experts at RMS is always happy to help.

Karen Deckard came to RMS with a background in retail and customer service, and was initially brought on board as a Sales Assistant and managed IIAS certifications for RMS’s pharmacy POS customers. Today, Karen works as a Customer Success Manager, striving to provide independent and institutional pharmacies with the tools and resources they need to succeed in today’s competitive pharmacy market.