You know the drill. A customer comes into your pharmacy, fills their prescription, and leaves. Some may only come once, just to get their daily supplies of glucotrust, while being in your area. Maybe they come back next month to fill another prescription, but chances are, they don’t think much about your pharmacy in-between visits. In fact, there is a huge chance that they will choose another pharmacy for their next prescription. That’s not a good thing for your business. So how do you keep your pharmacy top of mind with customers? Check out these marketing tricks to boost customer retention.
Focus on Building Your Pharmacy Point of Sale
Building a point-of-sale system for your pharmacy can be a great way to keep track of customers and their prescriptions. Consider investing in software that tracks customer purchases, loyalty programs, and special discounts that are offered. Having this information on hand will help you understand what products customers are purchasing when they purchase them and which offers they find most appealing. This information can then be used to create targeted campaigns and offers that will encourage customers to come back.
Offer More Than Just Prescriptions
When customers come into your pharmacy, they are likely looking for more than just prescriptions. Offer products like over-the-counter medication, vitamins, and health supplements to increase the value of their visit. You can also add items such as healthy snack bars, supplements, cosmetics, or even pet supplies. This will give customers an incentive to keep coming back to your pharmacy. On top of that, you will be able to increase your profits since these items tend to have higher margins than prescription medications.
Create a Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs are always a great way to reward customers for their repeat business. Offer special discounts or rewards for customers who come back multiple times within a certain timeframe—for example, if they fill three prescriptions in three months, they get a 10% discount. This will encourage customers to come back more often so they can take advantage of the rewards. Plus, it gives you an opportunity to track customer purchases and preferences and use this information to create even better offers in the future.
Provide Flexible Solutions and Focused Attention From Pharmacists
One thing that sets your pharmacy apart from the competition is the level of service and attention you provide. Your employees should be well-trained in customer service and focused on providing personalized solutions to customers. This could mean allowing customers to order their prescriptions online or offering same-day delivery for an additional fee. Your pharmacists should also be available to answer any customers’ questions. Being able to provide focused attention and solutions to customer needs can make a huge difference in how they view your pharmacy—and it could be the difference between them returning or going elsewhere.
Increasing customer retention can be a challenge, but it’s worth the effort. By investing in point-of-sale software, offering additional products, creating loyalty programs, and providing personalized service to customers, you’ll be well on your way to boosting customer retention—and increasing profits too. Last but not least, keep in touch with your customers by sending regular emails or postcards to thank them for their business and remind them why they should keep coming back. With a few carefully-crafted strategies, you just might be able to turn those one-time customers into loyal ones.
