Inside: Get in the spirit of summer and try these low-cost summer marketing ideas to get more new patients coming through your doors.
This summer, make your marketing and promotions relevant to the season, and as inexpensive for you as they are effective.
Summer provides a great opportunity to seek out new patients for your pharmacy. The warmer season allows you the opportunity to come up with creative approaches to get new patients to come to your business. And, not only are many summertime marketing options inexpensive, they’re also effective.
Here are five low-cost summer marketing ideas you can use to promote your pharmacy.
1. Loyal customer cookout
Host a cookout at your pharmacy as a “thank you” to your most loyal patients.
Advertise the cookout around your store, and send out invitations to patients who have been with you for five years or more. (Or whatever criteria you choose.) Rewarding loyalty will encourage patients to stick around for the perks, such as a summer cookout. Plus, a show of appreciation like this can enhance those positive feelings patients have for your pharmacy.
The cookout doesn’t have to be extravagant. Consider simply grilling hot dogs, and providing bags of chips and drinks in your pharmacy’s parking lot, or at a local park. Something small, that’s free for patients, will show your appreciation without breaking the bank.
2. Go to summer hot spots
A local farmers market, summer carnival or health fair is a great place to set up a booth for your pharmacy.
You can meet potential new patients, and increase awareness about the products and services your pharmacy offers.
Set up a table with information about your pharmacy, and consider handing out a free promotional gift, such as branded water bottles, to attract people to your table. Or, you could attend a back-to-school fair, and sign up kids to enroll in your pharmacy’s free kids vitamin program.
Attending these events is a great way to reach a large number of people, without spending a lot of money.
3. Donate your space
Consider letting a local neighborhood organization use your pharmacy’s parking lot for a summer fair, carnival or festival.
By simply donating the space, you can bring a whole new group of potential patients to your pharmacy and familiarize them with your product and service offerings.
Plus, donating your space will connect your business to your community. And, if the community organization is willing to put on the festival, but just needs the space, donating your parking lot is a great way to help out the neighborhood without spending a dime.
4. Volunteer in your community
Spend a day with your employees volunteering at a community event or charity fundraiser.
For example, offer to host or sponsor the water table at a 5k race, run the games at a school summer carnival or work the admission gate at a local arts and crafts fair.
Wear shirts with your pharmacy’s name and logo to promote your business. Doing so can subtly show people that you’re dedicated to helping your community. Spending just a few hours supporting a local cause or organization can raise awareness about your business without raising your marketing budget.
5. Make front-end promotions summer-specific
Instead of offering a general front-end promotion, make your pharmacy’s specials summer-specific.
For example, offer a buy-one-get-one-half-off deal on sunscreen, sunglasses or other common summer products.
Promoting summer discounts in your front end doesn’t have to be time-consuming or expensive. Post on your social media pages, add a blurb about the deal on your website and create flyers to stuff in pharmacy bags.
And, because these products are in high-demand during the summer months, it will be simple to boost sales on these hot ticket items, without putting a lot of expensive promotion behind the sale.
Consider doing one of these three summer promotions at your pharmacy to raise awareness about your business while attracting new patients.
