Whether you realize it or not, your five senses shape your perceptions. So do your patients’. As a retail business owner, you need to consider how your patients’ senses can influence how they view your business. Consider the sense of touch.
The emotional response generated by touch can be powerful. Think about how you buy a product. People often want to touch a product before they purchase it—whether it’s a new sweater or a piece of lumber. Doing so also often increases the likelihood that they will head to the counter and buy the product.
Touch can tell us a lot about a product, service or business. Potential homeowners will run their hands along countertops, open cabinet doors and check doorknobs before buying a house. As well, you’ll likely want to try a lotion before committing to it.
When you engage your customers’ sense of touch at your pharmacy, you can encourage them to stay in your store longer and possibly buy more. Give your business a boost by positively marketing to your customers’ sense of touch. Here’s how.
A touch-friendly front end
Your physical pharmacy can say a lot about your business. What does your patients’ sense of touch tell them about your pharmacy?
Make your pharmacy’s front end touch-friendly. Position OTC products so patients can easily grab them. Don’t let any barriers, like boxes in the aisles or glass cases, get in the way of handling.
Put front end products out in the open and allow sampling. Designate certain lotions and other cosmetics as samples, if you carry them. A customer who spends 10 minutes sampling various products will feel more obligated to make a purchase. Customers also feel better about making a purchase when they’ve had a chance to test it out.
A positive atmosphere
You can also engage your patients’ sense of touch in a positive way by creating a comfortable atmosphere. Consider your waiting area. When patients have to wait for their prescriptions to be filled, they’ll feel more positively about your pharmacy if they do so in a cushioned chair. Also, provide patients with magazines and books to read (and touch).
Offering patients these comforts will encourage them to wait for their prescriptions instead of coming back later. When they stay in your store longer they may also head to your front end and purchase a few items that they wouldn’t have otherwise.
Marketing to the Senses Series
Learn more about each of the five senses and how they can improve your pharmacy marketing in our article series.
What Do the 5 Senses Have to Do With Marketing Your Pharmacy?
What Does the Sense of Sight Have to Do With Marketing Your Pharmacy?
What Does the Sense of Smell Have to Do With Marketing Your Pharmacy?
What Does the Sense of Taste Have to Do With Marketing Your Pharmacy?
What Does the Sense of Hearing Have to Do With Marketing Your Pharmacy?
