5 Tips for Independent Pharmacy Owners to Grow Profits Using No-Cost to Low-Cost Marketing

If you’re doing any advertising at all, perhaps you’re seeing little-to-no results. There’s a reason for that: your messages are not memorable.

If you’re using discount coupons, severe markdowns, even for a day or two, they, too, may be falling on deaf ears. Again, there’s a reason. You’re not informing and educating your patients so that the discount becomes meaningful. In other words, your readers and viewers need to fully well recognize the real value of whatever you’re offering. You need to answer the question “what’s in it for me?”

If the above causes you to throw up your hands in frustration, despair not. Big results from no-cost marketing is available.

The entire premise here is that it is 5 times easier and 5 times less expensive to get your current patients to spend another dollar, than it is to get a newcomer to spend money.

Both are needed; however, your current patients will make you richer faster, because they admire—even adore you—for what you do for them already.

Here are the 5 tips that can most easily and quickly send your profits soaring:

• Become an expert in chronic diseases. Then very aptly market that fact in ways that show each reader benefits of what offer from his or her viewpoint. Cause them to come running to your pharmacy to purchase specific products because each product will alleviate a certain ache, pain, or other discomfort that the individual has.
• Capture the name, address, etc. of each patient purchasing a new nutraceutical.
• Phone each new patient and ask about how that product is performing, and whether he or she is in protocol. In addition to making certain that each patient is in compliance, this call puts a WOW factor into the relationship. Such phone calls result in patients initiating more word-of-mouth advertising about you, especially at social events. When handled properly, you remain within HIPPA regulations.
• Send a monthly Wellness Newsletter. Make certain it informs and educates in beneficial ways. Include prices.
• Add some vigor to keeping in touch with your most profitable patients. Email or phone the top 20% most profitable patients an extra time each month re: her particular malady. Phone or email your top 2% weekly pertaining to whatever ails them.

It all starts with your having the right business model. It’s also based on the fact that you can make good money without a big marketing budget. You simply have to apply some sweat-equity to make it work really well.

The Pharmacy Sage can be reached at thepharmacysage@rxresultsnow.com.