Growing your pharmacy requires bringing in new patients, but it can be difficult to know where to start.
There are many different opportunities available for you to advertise and promote your independent community pharmacy. But finding the right approach for your pharmacy requires balance. You have to balance between what you’re willing to give, whether that’s the cost of the promotion or the time it requires, and what your pharmacy is going to get.
Check out these suggestions for what to give in order to get new patients in your pharmacy.
1. Give advice.
Patients appreciate one-on-one advice from their local pharmacist. It’s not something they always receive at big box store and national chain pharmacies. Go a step further than just providing consultations. Hand out free health tips and information with every prescription. Tailor the tips to the time of year, such as tips on how to cope with allergies in the spring and advice on preventing colds in the winter.
Get more engagement.
When your patients talk about or share the free advice you gave them, it creates word-of-mouth about your pharmacy. You’ll engage not only with your current patients, but also with potential patients in their close networks of friends and family.
2. Give discounts.
Offering front-end coupons to new patients is a great way to get people in the door. Provide a discount off your front end to entice new patients to check out everything you have to offer. Target new patients by sending a mailer to residents who recently moved to the area or by posting the coupon on Facebook and encouraging your fans to share it with their friends.
Get more foot traffic.
The incentive of a deal can be a powerful motivator to get new patients in your pharmacy. When you get new patients in your store, they’ll browse your front end and you’ll also have an opportunity to tell them about the other products and services your pharmacy offers.
3. Give support.
Support your community and it will support you back. Sponsor a local sports team or just attend a game. Go to the community theatre production or volunteer your time at a local charity event, health fair or fundraiser. When you give your time, it will show your community how much you—and your pharmacy—care.
Get access to new patients.
If you make an impression on a few people during one of the community events you participate in, it can help spread your pharmacy’s name to potential new patients.
4. Give opportunities.
For some patients, all they need to switch to your pharmacy is an opportunity. Getting patients to switch might be as simple as presenting them with the option to have their script sent to your pharmacy. And what better time to do that than when the script is written? Make connections with your local physicians, so they’re more likely to recommend your pharmacy to their patients.
Get referrals.
The offer to have a script sent to your pharmacy can spur patients to switch their prescriptions, especially if it comes with a recommendation from their physician. This also creates an opportunity to build relationships with your local physicians. Be sure to tell local physicians how you and your pharmacy can work together with them to improve patients’ health.
5. Give excellent service.
Even if you know your pharmacy provides excellent customer service, there’s always room for improvement. Take the time to seek feedback from your patients about the quality of their experience and how you can improve it.
Gain a positive reputation.
Word-of-mouth works best when patients have stories about wonderful service to share with their friends and family. Providing great service gives your pharmacy a stellar reputation and will make your current patients more likely to endorse your pharmacy to others. Additionally, it will keep your current patients coming back to your pharmacy for all their health needs.
