The New Year is the perfect time for a fresh start.
You’re probably making a long list of New Year’s resolutions for your personal life, but you should also make resolutions for your business.
Even if you had your best year ever.
Resolutions are about improvement. If you succeeded this year, think about how can increase your success in the coming year.
What do you need to do to increase your revenue and your bottom line?
Or, maybe your business stayed pretty much the same this year. Then, think about how you can grow next year.
The New Year is a chance to rethink your pharmacy business and to make sure you adapt to the industry and advance your business.
That’s why we’re offering this blog series of New Year’s resolutions ideas to take your pharmacy business to the next level. And we’re starting with the front end.
5 Steps to Refresh Your Pharmacy’s Front End in the New Year
When’s the last time you took a long look at your front-end arrangement? How about your merchandise?
A stale front end means stale sales.
Generate more revenue in the New Year with a front-end makeover.
Try these fresh strategies to refresh your pharmacy’s front end this year.
Step 1: Clean
Refresh your front end with a good cleaning.
Patients are more likely to enter—and linger—in a store that looks clean, warm and inviting.
One-half of consumers avoid businesses because they look dirty from the outside and one-third leave businesses because they aren’t clean enough.
Of course, you already clean your front end regularly, but make the New Year a time to deep clean. So you can get to those surfaces you never had time for during the hustle and bustle of the workday.
Deep clean these often-neglected places to start the year off fresh:
- Awnings
- Ceiling
- Doors
- Entryway
- Floor corners
- Light fixtures
- Shelves
- Signs
- Trim
- Walls
- Windows
Your patients may not notice each of these improvements. But the improvements will give patients an overall pleasant impression every time they visit your pharmacy.
Step 2: Replace
While some things need cleaning, you need to revamp others.
Make sure to fix or update anything that looks worn, broken or outdated.
For example, are your entryway rugs frayed or torn? Or, are your floors stained beyond cleaning?
Don’t make duct taping a fix. Invest in new replacements.
Your patients will appreciate it and your business will benefit.
Step 3: Re-design
Every part of your front-end design influences how patients view your business. From the décor to the lighting to the paint colors.
The truth is that when some patients hear the words “community pharmacy,” they think outdated and out-of-touch. Don’t confirm those opinions with a stale front-end design that hasn’t been updated in 20 years.
Evaluate your front-end design to see what you need to update. Or, if you need to re-imagine it completely.
Start with what patients see first: your storefront.
In one study, 60 percent of consumers said they decided not to go into a store because of how it looked from the outside.
Do you need a new pharmacy sign that’s more appealing or visible? Or, maybe you need to add more lighting to make your storefront easy-to-see?
Design features that patients want:
- Attractive displays
- Bright lighting
- Modern décor
- Music
- Open spaces
- Pleasant aromas
- Wide aisles
Step 4: Re-arrange
Your front-end arrangement affects the way your patients shop.
The best arrangement gets the most patients to see and buy your pharmacy’s front-end products.
Start this year’s front-end arrangement by making sure shoppers can easily find what they’re looking for.
One study found that half of consumers wouldn’t return to a store if they couldn’t find what they wanted. Use a logical arrangement with clear signage.
Proven front-end arrangement strategies to try this year:
Place high-margin products on the right
Ninety percent of people turn right when they walk into a store.
Place shopping carts or baskets in the front
Shoppers buy five to 10 times more if they have a shopping basket in their hands.
Place essential items in the back
Make shoppers discover your other products to get to the one they want.
Place the most-profitable items at eye-level
The prime spot for profitable products is 34 to 54 inches from the floor, where shoppers see them most easily.
Optimize shelving
The front row should always be full on your shelves, with the front of products facing the shopper.
Step 5: Re-merchandise
Now’s the time to revisit your front-end sales data to make sure you’re maximizing your merchandise.
Find out which products sold well and which products flopped this year.
Use your pharmacy’s sales data for the most relevant insights.
You can also find front-end data to optimize your merchandise from:
- Retail specialists, like Hamacher Resource Group
- Primary wholesaler
- Competitors, like big box stores and national chains. (They have specialists dedicated solely to front-end merchandising. A peek at their arrangements can give you essential insights.)
Armed with last year’s data, replace low turnover, low-margin products with new, profitable products this year.
Also consider adding a brand new niche offering in your front end, like women’s health, travel, and natural or local products.
With these New Year’s resolutions to refresh your front end, you’ll take your business to the next level.
Follow the Blog Series
Get ready to improve your pharmacy in the New Year. Follow along as we discuss a new pharmacy New Year’s resolution every week.
Pharmacy New Year’s Resolutions Part 1: Refresh Your Front End
Pharmacy New Year’s Resolutions Part 2: Expand Your Patient Base
Pharmacy New Year’s Resolutions Part 3: Become an Advocate for Independent Pharmacy
Pharmacy New Year’s Resolutions Part 4: Improve Your Profit Margins
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