MARKETING


gain news coverage, helps raise brand awareness, and gets your name out in the community. Focus on sending out news releases for programs that benefit your community, such as free vitamin programs and free health screenings. Additionally, send out news releases whenever you host an event at your pharmacy. News releases help get the word out to a larger audience and will attract local people to your store who aren’t already customers.


4. Partner with local businesses Partnering with local businesses for promotions and events is a great way to market your pharmacy and show your appreciation for your community. There are an unlimited number of ways to do this, including hosting a vaccination clinic at a nearby school or children’s after-school club. Have you ever thought of partnering with a local restaurant to offer their customers advice on healthy eating? Talk to your local gym as there are obvious partnership opportunities that go hand in glove. Partnering with other businesses allows you to build relationships within your community and gives you the opportunity to interact with people who may have never heard of you.


5. Build relationships with healthcare providers If you haven’t already, foster relationships with local doctors, dentists, nurses, and other healthcare providers in your community. Schedule time to have someone from your pharmacy visit their place of work, make introductions and share marketing materials that outline the services you offer. Referrals from other healthcare providers would be a powerful marketing tool and can help you generate new business.


6. Use your premises to promote your business


A few years back, pharmacy windows in towns and cities were the best free advertising well- known, huge nappy brands could ever wish for! Get them removed and use this superb space to promote your own business and services.


Is your business on a corner site with gable wall? If so, look at the opportunity to apply for planning for a large sign/advertising hoarding. Sell this space to relevant suppliers and/or use it to promote seasonal campaigns and services you offer.


Invest in some instore graphics and pull-up banners. Add a touch


of instore theatre and think about theming your store and window at key times such as Easter, Halloween and, of course, Christmas.


7. Capture data


When collecting data, you should aim to gather as much information as possible. At the first step, collecting the first name and email of a customer enables you to keep the individual up to date with your brand whilst also creating the foundations to learn more to adapt a personalised experience.


TIP NUMBER TWO: CONNECT YOUR SOCIAL


Most of you will have invested money in your websites and the purpose is to collect data to broaden your audience range and - of course - sell products. Social media allows you to interact with your customers creating a real time conversational brand voice and creates organic interaction, which often generate leads when the correct approach is being used. Connecting your social platforms to your website is crucial to capture customer data and align your marketing channels.


A CONVERSATIONAL APPROACH


Once you have gathered basic data such as a customer’s name or email address, it is then important to get to know the individual in a more specialised and personal manner. Conducting your email marketing with a conversational approach allows the recipient to feel relaxed and therefore more willing to provide value information that may help to customise their experience with your company.


Ask questions through surveys and questionnaires


Questionnaires are a great way to collect data from customers. They allow you to target specific fields that then allow you to categorise your audience and split them into groups. Gathering the preferences of each individual allows you to manage your marketing in a much more focused manner. Furthermore, it enables you to start using tools - such as segmentation - which will increase the success of your overall marketing strategy.


Creating a community Whether it be a profile, subscription, newsletter, or loyalty scheme, encouraging these movements enables you to capture valuable data. Making these forms visible on all social


platforms is essential, as it optimises the chances of your audience entering information that can create strong and successful marketing strategies.


Give to receive


Nobody enjoys spending their time doing something that doesn’t benefit them directly, so consider giving offers such as a discount code or a chance to win a product. This then encourages the individual to provide information and an opportunity for data capture, whilst their main focus remains on what they are receiving from the brand. This results in a ‘win-win’ situation.


Keep it short and sweet You don’t want your subject to feel that they are under attack. Collecting data should be subtle and informative if possible. Rather than trying to get to know your customer inside out within one day, try to get to know them over a period of time. Using automation tools you can gather all the details you may need and want to find out in a friendly and approachable manner, allowing your strategy to reflect that of a real time organic conversation.


Following these tips should enable you to gather sufficient data to implement tools, that allow you to provide, personal experiences to customers, whilst also maximising the success of your overall marketing.


Social media


Social media is a constantly evolving set of methods and technologies which allow people to interact, communicate and share ideas online.


The internet is a vital tool for any business. New technology and faster connection speeds mean more customers and businesses are connected than ever before.


Customers increasingly look to engage with businesses or brands online in multiple ways. They expect a variety of rich content including audio, video, blogs, online forums and social networking. Customers often want to build a relationship with the brand. This requires a two-way dialogue between the customer and the business.


Social media can be a great way to engage with customers, with relative ease and little cost. It can form an important part of your marketing strategy. Using social media for maximum benefit to your business, and overcoming the many challenges, requires careful thought and planning.


BRANDING: THE BASICS


The terms ‘brand’ and ‘branding’ can be integral to a business’ success - but what exactly do they mean? Does your business have a brand, and does it need one? Branding gets right to the core of your business’ values. It is about discovering and communicating the essence of your business and what it delivers to your customers.


Marketing is so much more than just sending out a customer ezine, mailing out a promo flyer, or advertising in the local newspaper. From researching your audience, to developing and analysing campaigns, marketing plays an integral role in the success of your independent pharmacy.


Marketing and promotions may not be your skill set as a pharmacist, but knowing tactics for spreading the word about your pharmacy will help you reach and retain your ideal customers.


Below is a step-by-step process that will teach you the basics of how to plan, launch, run, and analyze a marketing campaign for your pharmacy.


Step 1: Research


The first step to any successful marketing campaign involves doing research. The research phase is time consuming, but it will help set you up for success. There’s nothing worse than spending time and money on a campaign only to not have it produce minimal results without knowing why. Spending time doing initial research will help you avoid this and will save you time and money in the long run.


What research should be conducted?


Focus on identifying and learning as much as you can about your ‘ideal’ customer. Find out who they are, what they want, what they need and what their habits are like. Once you identify their pain points then you can help provide them with solutions. Additionally, network with other pharmacy owners and find out what types of marketing programs have worked for them. When it comes to marketing, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, and there is a wealth of information easily within reach.


STEP 2: DEFINE YOUR AUDIENCE The second step is getting to know your audience. Without a strong understanding of your target customer, you won’t be able to develop a remarkable marketing campaign that addresses his or her


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