Once you get new patients into your pharmacy, how do you get them to come back?
Repeat customers are the foundation of small businesses. According to SumAll, a New York-based analytics company, most small businesses get 25 to 40 percent of their total revenue from stable business.
Small businesses with great customer loyalty fare better than those that rely on constantly getting new, one-time customers. SumAll found that businesses with repeat customers representing 40 percent or more of their total client base generated 47 percent more revenue than businesses with only 10 percent of customers returning. Repeat customers also spend, on average, 2.6 times more than one-time customers, according to SumAll.
To grow your business, you need to grow your base of loyal, repeat patients. Here are five ideas to turn one-time patients, into loyal patients who will return to your pharmacy for years.
1. Collect information
Collect contact information from new patients who come in. Gathering this information is a great way to build your contact list, and it helps you share information with them about future promotions or services they might be interested in. For example, if you get a flood of new patients during a vitamin sale, collect their email addresses and send them an email the next time you have a promotion on a similar product. This way, you can contact patients about products you already know they’re interested in.
2. Promote your loyalty program
Incentivize new patients to sign up for your loyalty rewards program by offering an additional discount or by entering names into a drawing. When they sign up, you’ll get the patient’s contact information, and new patients will get the benefits of your loyalty program. The chance to earn rewards or discounts is a powerful incentive and it can help turn a one-time patient into a repeat patient.
3. Highlight other discounts
When new patients come in, let them know about the products and services your pharmacy offers, and why they make your pharmacy stand out. For example, take the opportunity to show patients that the over-the-counter pain reliever they’ve been buying at the big box stores is actually cheaper at your pharmacy. Or, if they come in to pick up a prescription, let them know you do flu shots.
4. Push items that promote repeat purchases
When selecting front-end items to promote to first-time patients, try to push items that encourage repeat purchases. Items that need to be replenished on a monthly or weekly basis, like vitamins or probiotics, encourage repeat business more than one-time purchases, so try to be strategic about what items you promote or recommend to new patients. Once patients run out, they’ll hopefully come back to your pharmacy for their next month’s supply.
5. Connect personally
Invest your time and energy in these patients once you get them in the store. Earn their repeat business and make a personal connection by listening, learning their names and sharing information about yourself and your pharmacy. New patients will appreciate the extra effort when you step out from behind the counter. Personal connections are a highlight of independent community pharmacies, so make sure new patients get that one-on-one care, and hopefully they’ll be back for more.
