Pharm Fresh Media’s mission is to help independent pharmacies grow and achieve their full potential and our part of the success formula is through comprehensive marketing services. Our firm has been in business for over 15 years. During this time, we have learned so much and we recently finished a comprehensive review and upgrade of our services.
We are excited to share our knowledge and suggestions and have created an email campaign highlighting “best practices” of what we see as effective marketing strategies and tactics. We’ve had such great feedback that we summarized the 10 Steps to reshare with everyone on our blog:
Step 1: Make the Commitment — Marketing is not a single direct mail campaign or a few posts on social media without many followers. Developing a long-term strategy to establish brand awareness will drive success of your independent pharmacy and deliver results long term. Make a commitment to doing this the right way, not an “on/off” approach.
Step 2: Have an (Awesome) Website — Having a modern, functional website is so important for many reasons. If you do not have a site or it’s not professionally done, it can have a negative impact on your brand. Your site is often the first point of contact for potential patients looking for your services, available 24/7 providing information about your hours and location. It’s an essential tool! The good news here is that building a state-of-the-art website is easy and Pharm Fresh can help.
Step 3: Optimize Your Digital Listings — Establish your brand as strongly, as visibly, and as easily to find as possible “online”. At the very least your pharmacy should have a Google Business Profile and be listed with Bing, Facebook, and Apple Business Connect. This is not always an easy undertaking, and it requires ongoing effort. Let Pharm Fresh Media help by claiming, verifying, and securing your listings on these search engines to increase your local awareness and credibility to maximize your online and store traffic and purchases.
Step 4: Increase Online Reviews — Online reviews are critical for independent pharmacies, especially when you’re competing against the brand recognition of large chain pharmacies. Reviews are a crucial way for you to gain trust with potential patients, get increased visibility, get valuable customer feedback, and maintain your reputation with your community.
Step 5: Utilize Direct Mail — Build connections and awareness in your community through consistent marketing to your community by sharing pharmacy-related messaging through direct mail. A physical representation promoting your brand and services is a great way to stay top-of-mind and increase the likelihood of people remembering your pharmacy and driving new patients to your door.
Step 6: Respond to Reviews — We mentioned in an earlier post that every independent pharmacy should create, develop, and maintain an online review program. Responding to reviews is equally important showing patients that their feedback is valued and that your pharmacy is actively listening and addressing concerns. This will help build loyalty and engagement and is a critical aspect of managing your reputation.
Step 7: Take Advantage of Google Analytics — One of the foundational tools every pharmacy should use is Google Analytics (GA). GA allows you to see how many people are visiting your website, where they come from, what message they responded to, what type of device they are using, what pages on your site they like (and don’t like), and much more. By leveraging this data, your pharmacy can optimize your website and marketing strategies to drive growth and increase revenue.
Step 8: Combine Direct Mail with Digital — There is ample data that shows that prospective patients often do not become patients until they have heard from you and seen your brand multiple times. Some data suggests that the average “first conversion” is after 9 different messages have been received. Turn a single mail piece into numerous impressions to the same audience by “re-targeting” across social media and Google. Adding digital allows us to maximize the exposure of your mailing, with messaging across multiple platforms before, during, and after the mail piece is received.
Step 9: Use QR Codes — QR codes can be an effective part of your marketing strategy and can be used in several ways. It shows that you are a progressive and modern pharmacy and allows you to capture great data about a patient and prospects. They have many great uses like directing patients to your website, discount codes at checkout, or as a link to review sites to collect feedback.
Step 10: Be Nimble & Agile — Changes in business, marketing and technology over the past decade have given independent pharmacies unbelievable tools and resources that have either 1) never existed before, or 2) were available only for the larger big-box companies with tons of cash and strong balance sheets. Today independent pharmacies like yours have an advantage. Your biggest is the ability to be dynamic and to develop authentic, personal relationships with your patients. Leveraging technology and best practices allows you to be nimble and agile—and win.
The best news of all? You do not need to do this with your internal resources, we do it all (or almost all) for you. Pharm Fresh can design, manage, and execute your marketing strategy with our new solution, Pharm Fresh Accelerate, giving you time back to concentrate on achieving long-term success for your pharmacy.
Our goal is to help you succeed. Click here to set up some time to connect with us.
