by Jenny Kosek

I’ve been taking the same route to work for the past four years. I drive on a busy street, popular with drivers looking to avoid the congestion on highways. Still, there’s a particular stretch of this road that can be prone to some back-ups, and I was stuck in one such delay yesterday as I have been many times before.

But yesterday was the first time I noticed an independent pharmacy in the strip mall I was stopped in front of.

The pharmacy’s name was listed at the bottom of the larger sign in front of the strip mall that listed all of the businesses contained therein, and on the front of the pharmacy’s slot in the mall was simply the word PHARMACY. And…that was it. Other businesses in the strip had taken advantage of their position to put out sandwich boards or banners, but the pharmacy was nearly invisible and completely forgettable to passersby.

It took me four years to find my local independent pharmacy.

When I got home, I put myself in the place of someone new to our town. Suppose, on their first night in their new home, a young couple found themselves with a feverish toddler on their hands and baby aspirin packed in God-only-knows what box. Imagining their situation, I googled “pharmacy-our town”. And this pharmacy didn’t even come up. No website. No reviews. No social media presence.

The “drive until we find one” method of locating a business is a thing of the past. Your pharmacy either needs to be online, or be actively pursuing and attracting shoppers in your community. Can you afford to wait four years for new customers to find you otherwise?