I had a light bulb moment recently! Email marketing has stolen my heart for pharmacies regarding patient loyalty and increasing store visits. However, like anything email marketing needs a system and consistency, which I notice is a downfall for the industry. In the effort of transparency, I am going to share some easy to implement tips that you can use to drive further traffic into your pharmacy, and no, you don’t need a marketing degree to achieve this success!
Personalisation
This is something that stands out as a common mistake within the industry, because I do receive many emails from pharmacies (research or discounts you’ll never know 😉) and often I notice there is a lack of personalisation in the email copy. If you own more than one pharmacy, I cannot recommend enough to create email campaigns separately for each pharmacy. This is because every pharmacy has its own patient base and therefore will they engage with content that is only relevant to them. I am ten times more likely to unsubscribe from a brand when I am being sent so many emails about things that is not of interest to me!
Furthermore, your patient base is connected to your team and YOUR pharmacy not your sister store. Therefore, your email if personalised to your store and not the group, it’s more likely you’ll keep your pharmacy engaged. Spend time thinking about the key services you wish to promote and what health topics your patients need to learn most about, then create personalised copy from there.
If you’re a part of a banner group, I highly recommend reaching out to your marketing support team and set up at minimum a monthly email designed for your local pharmacy as a part of your email plan.
Consistency
This is very simple to implement, everyone loves a routine! In marketing, you shouldn’t be ad hoc with your email communication. You need to develop a system where you send email consistently to your pharmacy. To add weight to this argument I found a key statistic! According to Statista, 51% of consumers like receiving weekly branded email content. This proves that if your patients haven’t unsubscribed from your contact list, it means they want to hear from you.
This is a tactic we use at Peak, we aim to send weekly content to our database. In the past when things haven’t fallen to plan, we’ve had pharmacy owners comment and ask what has happened. So, that is proof in the pudding that our subscribers are programmed to receive our product and have underlining expectations of us. My recommendation is to commit to a minimum of one email every two weeks, and don't go overboard with more than two emails per week. Find that sweet spot and stick to it!
Call to Action
This is major oversight for many of the email I receive! That being, a strong call to action. Every marketing activity that you perform for your pharmacy must have the goal of driving more patients into your store. So, when sending an email, you should always have an action that patients can follow to engage your services. For example, if you send a flu vaccine email, ensure you have the booking link there. This is such an important metric and I promise when done well can improve the number of visits per year your patient has.
Furthermore, people are now conditioned to have everything at the fingertips, if they’re advised about something that want to act right now. People want to have the bookings available and able to organise a delivery at the click of a button. That is why Uber Eats and Health Engine do so well, they make it an easy process for their customers.
So, don't forget to include a strong call to action in your emails. Make it effortless for your patients to take the next step and watch your numbers grow!
In conclusion, email marketing for pharmacies is a game-changer when it comes to patient loyalty and store visits. By focusing on personalisation, consistency, and strong calls to action, you can create a powerful email strategy that engages your patients and drives them to act. Remember, each pharmacy has its unique patient base, so tailoring your emails is key. By implementing these simple tips, you'll see a significant boost in traffic to your pharmacy and build lasting relationships with your patients.
Lastly, here is our call to action (you had to know that was coming!) We have spots available to perform an email audit on three pharmacies email marketing and provide a report on how to improve their email efforts. The cost is $750 + GST (worth $1,250.)
To secure your pharmacy’s spot fill in the form below.
Written by Sarah Rendell, our Head of Marketing and Communications, who possesses over a decade of valuable experience assisting pharmacies and other businesses in developing effective local marketing plans that drive customer loyalty and revenue growth.