5 Strategies All Successful Pharmacies Use in Building a Profitable Business

The aspiration driving your decision to venture into the pharmacy business is to establish a “profitable business.” When it comes to building a pharmacy business that generates profit, the most challenging aspect for many business owners is understanding precisely what steps to take to achieve their goals. Running a pharmacy can be demanding due to the extensive hours and hard work required, but that’s par for the course.

Merely possessing a strong pharmaceutical knowledge base is insufficient for effectively managing a pharmacy business. Here are a couple of factors that can contribute to the continued relevance of your business:

Introduction

Customers are likely to return to your pharmacy for the following reasons:

1. A charming, friendly, and knowledgeable staff that offers quality service.
2. Maintaining a well-stocked inventory.
3. Keeping records of customers and their recurring medications, and reminding them to refill their prescriptions on a monthly basis.
4. Providing attractive discounts compared to competitors.

Brand

While the primary purpose of your business is to provide pharmaceutical products or services to your clients, it’s crucial to ask yourself what sets your business apart from the numerous other pharmacies in your vicinity. Brands leverage their image and reputation to attract customers, shape their opinions, and persuade them to believe that the brand possesses exceptional qualities.

Here’s how brands are built:

1. Advertising.
2. Established pharmacy outlets naturally gain recognition and client trust over time.
3. Pharmacies can utilize social media and other online platforms to foster a sense of community and belonging, thereby enhancing customers’ connection to the brand and their likelihood of supporting it.

Price

The pricing and bundling of your products significantly impact your pharmacy business. Pricing varies depending on your location and the type of business you operate, such as being a wholesaler or a retailer.

A wholesaler typically offers lower prices but sells products in bulk, while a retailer may have slightly higher prices but sells in smaller quantities.

Price, like money, communicates and influences perceptions. Customers associate higher prices with better quality. This is why some customers may choose a branded drug over a generic one, even though both have similar efficacy, simply because of the price difference.

Clients might select a more expensive pharmacy assuming that the services provided are top-notch. Therefore, avoid setting high prices while delivering mediocre services. Similarly, don’t underprice your products just to compete; understand the value you offer.

Price impacts the customer’s experience with a service. The price of a service shapes the expectations, perceptions, and overall experience of the prospect or client. Remember, don’t overprice your products arbitrarily; ensure that customers derive value from their purchase.

Presentation

As previously mentioned, price communicates expectations to customers. Your presentation consists of cues from which people draw conclusions.

What message are you conveying to your customers regarding what they should expect from your business?

A pleasant ambiance can attract customers. This encompasses aspects such as the attire of your staff, the design and arrangement of your pharmacy, and how you package your medicines. Clean and well-stocked shelves, along with neatly arranged items, make a significant impact. Even something as simple as well-labeled medicine can go a long way in creating a memorable experience for your clients.

To enhance your service, make it more appealing. Appearance not only attracts but also transforms our experiences.

Relationships

How can we make people feel better?

Do you maintain good relationships with your staff, suppliers, and valued customers? Do you reach out to loyal customers to show appreciation through discounts, promotions, or simply to check on their well-being?

Business is fundamentally about people. Our success lies not only in making money but also in experiencing the immense satisfaction that comes from serving others. A service truly succeeds when it significantly improves the lives of those it serves.

The pharmaceutical technologist or pharmacist who returns a phone call conveys that the client matters and that the relationship is important. To the customer, the connection matters more than the price of the medicines.

Fortress

These are elements that fortify your business and shield it from external influences.

Ensure that your business is properly registered with the necessary paperwork, and that your staff is qualified to run the operations.

Keep your promises and maintain consistency. If you state that you are open from 8 am to 8 pm, adhere to those hours. Ensure that your inventory is consistently well-stocked.

Safeguard your business against internal and external theft.

Offer one or two products that you can exclusively market and sell as your own.

By following these guidelines, you can establish a profitable and enduring pharmacy business.