The last thing you want to do as an independent pharmacy owner is tread water. For long-term success, you need to keep up with the competition. One great way to do that is to add one new revenue stream to your pharmacy.
Do you have a list of revenue ideas that you had written last year or even a month ago? If so, take a look and see what your main focus was. Did you want to enroll more patients in medication synchronization? Perhaps you were hoping to increase your medication therapy management (MTM) services? Maybe you didn’t write them down, but they’ve been in the back of your mind. Whatever the case, there’s a reason you had your focus set on specific goals.
It’s a new year, and with a new year comes opportunities. Revisit your priorities and goals and bring them to life in your pharmacy. Here’s how:
Increase your reach
Expand your service area within your pharmacy. No need to buy or build another store. Here are some ways you can increase revenue:
- Hire more drivers to deliver prescriptions and OTCs to a larger area.
- Look into opening a satellite location. Staff a site such as a clinic, at a school, college, office, or company.
- Provide telepharmacy services or build a customer community on social media.
Focus on testing and immunizations
Pharmacies are well positioned to provide these services. Set up your pharmacy as a center that offers multiple vaccines and tests such as COVID, flu, strep, MMR, chickenpox, shingles, tetanus, and so on.
Try out new clinical services
Find opportunities to provide new clinical services that are reimbursed by payers and needed by your community. Services you might offer include health coaching, mental health screening, or medication adherence programs. Find out what your community needs and develop the capabilities and processes needed.
Nutrient Depletion Counseling
As a pharmacist, you can provide important information about drug interactions and side effects when patients pick up their prescriptions. This can increase OTC sales of vitamins and supplements.
Focus on Health
Don’t just put your focus on disease. Instead, help your patients get and stay well. Does your pharmacy offer diabetes education? If so, add weight loss or smoking cessation programs.
Boost your Revenue with Supplements
Supplements help patients with a variety of things, such as sleep, vision, aging, and side effects from prescription medications. Learn about each supplement and who can benefit from them. You might even consider a private label.
Front-End Focus
On average, only about 10 percent of an independent pharmacy’s sales come from the front end. However, you may be able to boost sales with greater focus, creativity, and by increasing your marketing and offering products that appeal to your customers. Think of unique and profitable offerings. From fishing bait to fancy coffees, you can draw in customers by having a wide range of options.
Customer Loyalty Programs
You can keep your customers coming back month after month by rewarding those who repeatedly interact with a brand. The more they buy or interact with that brand, the more rewards they earn. You can also set up a referral program to attract new customers while rewarding your existing customers.
With these ideas in mind, pinpoint all of the possible opportunities your pharmacy could pursue. Rank them, and commit to starting one new revenue stream. At year’s end, assess the results and consider how you can improve and do it again.
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.
