Why, hello!
It’s Sarah, I am back from my hiatus from the Peak Family. I am so grateful to have spent the last eight months with my beautiful little baby boy, Harry!
Whilst navigating being a first-time mum, I relied heavily on pharmacies A LOT. I never forget the feeling of leaving the hospital with bubs in tow, realising that I am suddenly responsible for keeping this little possum alive. That overwhelming thought of oh no, what now!?! Therefore, as any new parent does, I began to Google who is in my local area will help me with this important task. The number one tip I read was finding a baby health nurse, local GP, and knowing the different pharmacies in your immediate area (with their opening times). So, I did just that.
In my first few weeks of motherhood, I realised how important the research above was. I felt as though I was doing a crash course about baby health. To adjust to this new normal, I reached out to my healthcare support unit quite regularly. Which brings me to why I am writing this blog! Even when I was changing nappies and avoiding spit up, I was thinking about pharmacy marketing 😉
One night my anxiety had risen to an all-time high regarding Harry’s tummy (to which I discovered that a pharmacy might be able to help with some drops) and decided to head to my local pharmacy. I waited for hubby to come home, and I jumped in the car to go for a quick chat. I had been visiting a pharmacy that was close to home where I did my food shopping and was planning to swing by there.
However, on the way I pass two other pharmacies and one of those pharmacies has a huge sign advertising that they are baby health experts. On this drive the sign caught my eye and I impulsively parked in front of the pharmacy and ran inside to chat. I thought that since this was a clear service offering for the pharmacy that they would be able to answer my questions.
So, I hurried inside (looking beautiful I assume with not having washed my hair for days #mumlife) and quickly requested the drops I was after. I explained what was happening and why I saw the need for the drops, the Pharmacist knew of the drops and grabbed them for me but when I started asking more questions, I was met with a puzzling response. They responded with “Sorry I don’t know much about baby’s health.” Now for a mum who was at her wit’s end, this wasn’t the response I was looking for.
As a customer, I was relying on the expert advice of the pharmacy on how to help with my baby. Their huge advertisement was what pulled me in! Now upon reflection I assumed this team member was new or quite frankly just wasn’t across baby health (they had other services boldly advertised). Where they went wrong was not offering a solution to their gap in knowledge.
They could have researched a little further (they would have a better understanding of the drop’s ingredients and treatment than me), asked another team member or recommended I seek advice from my GP before giving them to Harry. Instead, they left me with the impression that perhaps this pharmacy wasn’t baby health experts, there was such finality in their answer. I left and drove down to the original pharmacy (who also advertises baby health) and received the advice I was seeking.
As pharmacies you can advertise everything and anything that a pharmacy can offer. I see some pharmacies list every single service under the sun on their website and storefront. However, I believe in today’s climate this just isn’t sustainable or valuable to your business.
A successful pharmacy creates their service offering and products based on where their expertise lies. To build customer loyalty and increased foot traffic, you must not only walk the walk but talk the talk.
So, I pose this challenge to you all! Do a marketing audit on your pharmacy and look at what you’re advertising to prospective customers. Is your customer experience exactly what you’re preaching?
I cannot stress the importance of this, because when a customer has a positive experience, they can become a promoter for your pharmacy. Post my trip to the pharmacy for Harry’s tummy issues, I had a mother’s group catch up. Some of the mum’s expressed similar concerns with their bubs. I then happily referred them to the pharmacy that gave me expert advice.
My mother’s group consists of 10 mothers who all live locally. Not to mention the baby health nurse was in the chat who works with multiple mother’s groups on a weekly basis. This created a chain reaction for this pharmacy off just one positive customer experience.
The way you present your pharmacy has impact and that’s why it’s vital to have a well-considered marketing strategy. Please do not advertise anything your team isn’t well versed on.
Furthermore, your pharmacy may be chugging along well without a clear strategy but imagine the evolution your pharmacy could have if you did! Can you say no to increased customer numbers and foot traffic? I most certainly don’t think so.
I am happy to be back and have so many new ideas to share with you all!