Summer vacations will soon be in full swing. Some may have already started! This can mean two big things for your pharmacy business.
First, as the seasons change, so will the products your customers need the most. A few changes can help you boost front-end sales, even if you carry a very small number of front-end products.
Second, summer vacations aren’t limited to your customers. You and your team may be taking off for family vacations or be away for pharmacy conferences. A little prep-work now will go a long way and help your pharmacy run smoothly, no matter who is out of the office.
Here are some quick tips to get your pharmacy, and your team, summer ready!
Use point-of-sale reports to adjust product placement. (And more!)
Take a look at product movement during the summer months last year. What were your best sellers? What should have sold well that didn’t? Of those best sellers, or would-be best sellers, which products offer you the highest return on investment? Use this data to make strategic decisions on product placement. Well-placed endcaps or displays that make it easy to find summer essentials can help boost sales in those departments. Remember to practice your visual marketing skills when building out your displays.
Another great reporting tool for the summer months is your transaction volume for a specified time frame. Looking at store traffic by month, day of the week, hours in the day, etc. can help you staff appropriately when you’re looking at approving time away for the pharmacy team.
Set reports to run automatically.
Any time you make a change to product placement, it will be important to track how that change performs. Plus, it’s a good idea to be looking at your numbers on a regular basis. That’s one of the best parts of point-of-sale. The data you need to run a more profitable business is always within your reach. Set your reports to run automatically. That way they’re there to read through with your morning cup of coffee, or ready for catch-up after a well-deserved vacation.
Get promotions ready to go.
Don’t wait until the night before to schedule your promotions. Look at the bigger picture for the upcoming months and get everything scheduled in your point-of-sale system. Having your promotional inclusions, start dates, and end dates ready to go in advance gives you one less thing to worry about. All that will be left is setting signage and communicating your promotions out to your customers. (Hint: There are lots of social media apps that allow you to schedule posts in advance too!)
Set an escalation process.
When key team members are out of the office, it can leave a void when it comes to decision making and create stress if something goes awry. Make sure your staff know who to go to with issues or questions. Who is it appropriate to call and when? What are the important numbers they need to know, and can you post those and other important info in an easy to locate place? (The RMS 24x7 support line is 877-767-1060)
