If you want your pharmacy to compete with national chain pharmacies, big box pharmacies, mail order pharmacies and other independents, you need the right tools.
Without these tools, you risk losing patients and revenue. And, your business could potentially fall behind your competition.
Here’s a look at the essential tools your pharmacy needs to compete to its fullest capacity.
1. Information about your market
It’s hard to compete for new patients if you don’t know what potential new patients need—or want—from a pharmacy.
Research your community. Learn your area’s demographics. Find out what illnesses are common in your community, and then develop a selection of services and products to address those needs.
Without this information, your pharmacy won’t be able to compete with national chain and big box pharmacies that devote money and time to researching their market.
Find resources you can use to uncover information about your community.
2. Well stocked, quality products
Even if your pharmacy can’t compete with the front-end selection of national chain and big box pharmacies, you still need to stock the products patients are looking for.
Running out of front-end essentials encourages patients to go to your competition, especially to big box pharmacies that stock plenty of each item and have a large selection of products.
Stock the products and brands your patients want by asking them what they’re looking for. Then, keep your front end well stocked with those items. It doesn’t hurt to keep your product displays fresh by regularly stocking new or seasonal products, either.
Also, consider asking your staff members to test products. Then, stock only the most popular ones based on their reviews. Plus, they’ll be able to recommend products based on personal experience.
Find out more about making the most of your front end.
3. A niche
Whether it’s immunizations, pet prescriptions, sports nutrition or compounding, having a niche will set your pharmacy apart from the competition.
Niche services also attract special groups of patients, such as patients with diabetes or HIV. Specializing in an area can give you an edge over your competition for those patients.
Find a niche that will work for your pharmacy.
4. Confidence in your business
When you have confidence in your products, services and staff, patients will have confidence in your pharmacy, too.
Having confidence gives you the ability to make a compelling and convincing argument about why your pharmacy is better than the competition.
And, confidence will put your patients at ease at your pharmacy.
Boost patients’ confidence in your pharmacy with these tips.
5. A strong brand identity
A strong brand can help patients distinguish between your pharmacy and the competition.
A brand is more than your logo or your pharmacy’s name. A brand reflects how your patients perceive your pharmacy, and having a strong sense of what your brand is can guide everything from your pharmacy’s promotions to your front-end product selection.
Learn how to build your pharmacy’s brand by developing consisting branding elements.
5. An excellent staff
To compete, you must equip your pharmacy with capable pharmacists, pharmacy techs and clerks.
Having a strong staff that you can trust and rely on allows you to work on big-picture problems while your staff handles the day-to-day operations.
This means your pharmacy will be operating efficiently and you’ll be more competitive.
Build a strong pharmacy team by hiring outstanding candidates.
6. A web presence
To compete in today’s environment, your pharmacy has to have a strong online presence.
At a minimum, you should have—and maintain—a quality website and a Facebook page.
An active web presence makes it easier for patients to find your pharmacy online, which is the first step to getting new patients in your pharmacy’s doors.
Be more competitive by building your pharmacy’s online presence.
7. New technology
Staying up-to-date with the latest technology is essential to competing.
Some technology, such as your point-of-sale system, needs to be updated so you can accept chip cards, the latest effort to secure credit card payments. Other technology upgrades, such as a robotic dispensing system, can help your pharmacy perform at peak efficiency.
And it’s important keep up with the latest technology tools that can improve patient health, such as mobile apps and needle-free flu vaccinations, so you can give patients a cutting-edge pharmacy experience.
8. Goals
Setting goals for your business, your patients and your staff can help you track your progress and measure your competitiveness.
Goals for number of scripts filled, total number of patients, or front-end sales should target areas where you think you can compete—and beat—other pharmacies. Helping patients reach their goals can also boost your reputation as a health care provider, which can help attract patients to your pharmacy instead of to the competition.
Check out this guide for pharmacy goal setting.
9. Convenient prescription pickup
A delivery program or a curbside pickup option can help your pharmacy compete with big box pharmacies that offer a drive-thru.
Alternative pickup options that allow patients to stay in their car or that deliver prescriptions to a patient’s doorstep can give you a competitive edge over pharmacies that don’t have these options.
Plus, these options can attract new patients to your pharmacy, such as elderly patients or patients with kids, who might not want to leave their car to get a prescription.
10. A network of health care professionals
Establishing a supportive network of health care professionals in your area can help you compete. These contacts can refer patients to your pharmacy, and can serve as a source of information if you have questions.
Networking with other pharmacists through a national or state pharmacy association can help you stay up-to-date with the latest industry advancements, and you can use these organizations to crowdsource solutions to problems you might be having.
11. A loyalty rewards program
Rewarding patients for their purchases and their loyalty is a must if your pharmacy wants to compete.
A loyalty rewards program encourages repeat purchases and rewards patients for coming back to your pharmacy. Plus, these programs are standard at most big box pharmacies, so your pharmacy needs to offer something similar to compete.
Learn how to select the best loyalty rewards program for your pharmacy.
12. Tracking capabilities
To compete, you need to know what business metrics to measure and track.
By examining the right metrics, you can identify waste and pinpoint areas where your pharmacy business can improve. Making small changes to improve your scores on the right metrics can make your business more efficient and more competitive.
Use this breakdown to see all of the business metrics you should be tracking in your pharmacy.
13. Community support
Support from your community can make or break your pharmacy. Community relationships can bring more patients into your pharmacy and allies in the community can help spread word-of-mouth about your business.
Lean how to develop a network of valuable community partnerships for your pharmacy.
14. Good buying practices
Getting the best deal from your wholesalers is essential to being able to compete on a key point—price.
The best buying practices start with good relationships with your wholesalers. Regularly evaluate your relationships with your pharmacy’s wholesalers to make sure you’re getting the best price possible. Be ready to switch to another if they’re not meeting your pharmacy’s needs.
By joining a group purchasing organization like ProfitGuard®, your pharmacy gains purchasing power and negotiation expertise to get better rates from wholesalers. ProfitGuard also provides proprietary purchasing tools that maximize wholesaler rebates and item-by-item savings automatically. ProfitGuard members have averaged between $70,800 and $212,400 in annual savings on their cost of goods.
“It’s the industry game changer for the independent pharmacy owner or operator,” says Huy Duong, owner of Dale’s Pharmacy in Colorado. “There’s nothing out there like it on the market.”
In the case that your primary wholesaler doesn’t have what you need, you’ll need a reliable secondary supplier waiting in the wings.
BuyLine®, an NABP-accredited secondary supplier, offers a full line of brands, generics, OTCs, and controls at the lowest prices in the secondary market. In addition to having low list prices, BuyLine also rewards purchases with cash rebates and significant discounts on brands. Earn up to an additional 10% cash rebate on generics and up to WAC -4% on brand.
With online ordering and next-day shipping options, shopping with BuyLine is quick and convenient. There are absolutely no commitments with BuyLine — no fees, no contracts.
15. Compliance policies
To operate at peak competitive capacity, you can’t constantly be putting out fires. This means your pharmacy needs policies and procedures that will prevent problems form arising.
Start by making sure your pharmacy is compliant with all of the relevant regulations including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). Putting these policies in place before an issue arises will save you time and stress. Plus, with these concerns out of the way, you can focus on innovating and competing.
If you need to institute these changes in your pharmacy, but you’re not sure how to start, check out these tips for successfully and smoothly implementing change in your pharmacy.
16. Excellent customer experience
Going above and beyond what is expected, and providing every patient with a memorable customer experience is key to competing.
Providing a top-notch experience gives you an edge over big box pharmacies that might not take the time to get to know patients. An excellent customer experience is something patients have likely come to expect from your independent community pharmacy.
Create an outstanding patient experience in your pharmacy.
17. Benefits for cash-paying patients
Cash-paying patients are a good source of revenue and are essential to staying competitive.
Provide services that are cash-only, such as compounding. Doing so will provide your pharmacy with additional revenue streams.
Compete to your fullest by implementing some—or all—of these essentials.
A Member-Owned Company Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy-side of their business. Founded and owned by pharmacists, PBA Health serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, wholesaler contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, and more.
An HDA member, PBA Health operates its own NABP-accredited secondary wholesaler with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products — offering the lowest prices in the secondary market.
