Your patients are the core of your pharmacy. Without them, you wouldn’t be where you are today. But there comes a time when you need to draw in a few more to stay afloat. While there are numerous marketing strategies to choose from, some can be expensive. Listed below are several lower-cost, unique strategies that are guaranteed to bring new patients through your door.
It’s always exciting to see new faces enter your pharmacy. Patients are what make or break a pharmacy. So, why not find ways to invite them in? While there are numerous marketing strategies out there, they don’t all work for brick-and-mortar stores like yours. So, here are some guaranteed strategies that won’t break the bank and will help you bring in new patients to your pharmacy.
Offer something exciting.
Do you think that your patients won’t be interested if you offer something different? If so, that’s not true. Offer something that’s unique and exciting, and you’ll pique their curiosity and they’ll readily visit your pharmacy to see what you’re offering.
Sell niche supplements in your store, such as CBD products with a higher concentration of CBN that promotes relaxation and sleep. Find one that offers a money-back guarantee and offer it risk free to your patients. This CBD product is special because it’s guaranteed to work the first night. If it doesn’t, there’s a 100% money-back guarantee.
Another great product you can offer in your pharmacy is a new, natural supplement that helps out with the body’s nitric oxide level. Nitric oxide levels can be measured in parts per billion (ppb) and can indicate inflammation in the airways. For adults, higher-than-normal levels are more than 40ppb. For children and adolescents, higher-than-normal levels are more than 25 ppb. The test can help diagnose and manage asthma. It can also differentiate asthma from other similar conditions.
Dispense prescriptions for hospice patients.
This work can be gratifying. It may seem as though it wouldn’t help your pharmacy much, but you’d be surprised. Hospice prescriptions are worth going after if you’d like to grow your pharmacy, and this is why:
- You get new patients almost daily, and be exposed to new families who live in your community and don’t know you.
- You become known in the medical community, especially with nurses who work in hospice. They often work for local doctors and hospitals.
- Nearly every doctor who’s not a specialist will have a patient who goes on hospice. You’ll be introduced to new prescribers when they call in hospice prescriptions to your pharmacy.
Hospice is a great way to get paid to market your pharmacy. You won’t get rich from it, but you’ll make a small profit as well as a lot more exposure in your community.
Introduce yourself to local plastic surgeons.
Plastic surgeons are always busy with patients. That’s why working closely with one can keep you busy with a constant stream of new patients in your pharmacy. Plastic-surgery patients always require both OTC medications and a prescriptions in order to get the best from their surgery. However, surgeons are very particular about what their patients take. By keeping their preferred products in stock and ready for their patients, you can fill that need.
What you need to know:
- The prescriptions are often cash revenue to your pharmacy.
- A lot of surgeons include the cost of medications in their surgery price to promote an all-in-one price. However, some prescriptions may be billed to a patient’s insurance as well.
Your independent pharmacy is the best place for surgeons’ patients to experience the highest level of service. What’s more, these patients will most likely become regulars as they see how professional you and your staff are and wonderfully you treated them.
Consider Bounce-Back Coupons.
These types of coupons are only good in-store and typically refer to being valid on the patient’s next visit. They can work wonders for your pharmacy. Use them for repeat business and also to pass out to prescribers and other local businesses to help drive people to the pharmacy for the first time.
Your bounce-back coupons don’t always have to be monetary. Pass them out to local pediatricians and urgent care centers for free prescription or OTC medication flavoring. The flavoring can bring a lot of new patients into your pharmacy.
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 run 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 warehouse 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.
