3 Organizing Principles for Independent Pharmacy Success

You’re a scientist. And that’s good. In business, being a scientist can take you just so far. The reason is simple. Scientists watch things, and attempt to predict the future.

However, to become the person that makes things happen, and changes your future, you should combine your expertise as a pharmacist with knowledge of how to make your pharmacy work as a business. It should work so well that you create the future you want. There are many sources of information about entrepreneurship, leadership, and management that you will probably discover. However, how you organize your pharmacy’s business to create significantly more success is what this article is all about.

Think in terms of these 3 organizing principles.

1. It’s all about your mission. Your mission in life, and the mission of your pharmacy. Understanding your mission will enable you to create your own destiny. Identify your mission, and you will be on your way to recreating your dream pharmacy, and becoming a master of your own destiny.

2. It’s all about your vision. Your vision for the future. Your vision for your ideal pharmacy. Not what it is now, not what you do now, but what your ideal pharmacy should look like at some point in the future. It is composed of 6 parts:

• Products and services that you sell.
• Markets you serve, and how you serve them.
• Type of people that you want in your organization as team members, and concepts about how they can be rewarded for creating excellence.
• Your core area of competence, which is the way that you will carry out your mission. This will include your core values and your core purpose, which are the basis on which you are driven to become different, and superior in your field.
• How you will relate to the community.
• What are your future expectations, as expressed in goals, for 1 to 3 years in the future (and beyond)?

3. It’s all about marketing. Marketing is the only element of your business that can create true success. And any old marketing simply will not do. The real secret to getting where you want to go is to use 'strategic marketing.' This type of marketing gets you direct and measurable results, and does so very quickly. At the same time, it builds your brand.

Your total marketing plan should include both online and offline marketing. Your online marketing should be built around a website. And your website should be a very vibrant component of your total marketing machine. It should be the lynchpin; therefore, it should be carefully worded so that it produces measurable business.

Your offline marketing can produce results through a highly informative insert in the newspaper. It should also include products and prices, especially limited time offerings to get people through the doors. However, the focal point of your offline marketing should be in the form of direct mail to the higher income elements of the population that surrounds you.

All of your marketing should be about unusual ways that you can help people feel better, live longer, and enjoy those added golden years. When you base these offerings on nutraceutical supplements, for examplle, you differentiate yourself, attract more business, and commence to develop significantly more wealth in your pharmacy.

Organizing around these 3 principles is your key to success.

The Pharmacy Sage can be reached at (518) 346-7021 or thepharmacysage@rxresultsnow.com