99 Ways Archives - Hamacher

45. Watch your traffic patterns

April 4, 2024November 19, 2015 by Megan Moyer

23. Stock new items – the right ones

April 4, 2024November 12, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Colleen Volheim for our 99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy series New items are critical to growing your business. Regularly adding new-to-market products to your assortment keeps your inventory and selection fresh, and gives customers the impression that you are a progressive store that keeps up with trends. When you’re … Read more

27. Price wisely against competition

April 4, 2024November 5, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Donna Boulieu for our 99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy series

Pricing wisely doesn’t mean pricing the lowest (which could equate to pricing yourself right out of business). A balance of lower margin competitively priced items, and higher margin less sensitive items is a strategy that can satisfy your customers and your bottom line. Even if you’re using a pricing program, an occasional review of what’s going on in your market area can help ensure you’re still on track. Before you venture out on your market review, prepare by thinking about and/or defining the following:

19. Develop a customer loyalty program

April 4, 2024October 26, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Colleen Volheim for our 99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy series

You have a variety of shoppers. You definitely want to keep them all coming back, and a loyalty program will help you do just that. To begin, you need to know who is shopping your store. Information you capture about your customers will help you develop a more meaningful loyalty program. Knowing customer shopping habits and preferences will help you develop rewards that they will value. You don’t want to provide a coupon or special promotion on something they would have no interest in. Sure, you may have school supplies left over, but you don’t want to necessarily use them as a customer reward just to get rid of them when you have a large percentage of customers that have no need for such items.

52. Encourage full-store shopping

April 4, 2024September 29, 2015 by Megan Moyer

57. Develop a healthcare information center

April 4, 2024September 21, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Cari Sass for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series

There are so many ways independent pharmacies can differentiate themselves from their competitors. We all know service is chief among them, which includes the personal relationships you can build with patients. You can strengthen relationships and build loyalty with new and current customers by providing healthcare information.

When you add a healthcare information center to your pharmacy, you become more than a store; you become a valued resource in your community. Providing literature with explanations, tips, recommendations, and educational content in a healthcare information center will show that you truly care about your patients’ health and well-being.

22. Implement planograms — part one

April 4, 2024September 11, 2015 by Megan Moyer

By Kyle Lentz for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series

This is part one of a two-part blog series covering how HRG builds their planograms and why it’s important for independent pharmacies to follow them to maximize profits.

Implementing planograms assures that you have the right mix of products, in the right positions, with the proper amount of facings to accurately fulfill the needs of most of your customers. When we say most, we typically mean 85-90% of the people shopping your pharmacy. There is so much behind-the-scenes work that goes into creating a planogram that you would be remiss if you didn’t take advantage of the six month process it takes to create your desired planogram size.

40. “Shop” the aisles

April 4, 2024September 1, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Tom Boyer for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series

As a business owner, it’s important you know your operation inside and out. That includes viewing your store through the eyes of your customers. Considering your customers’ perspective of your pharmacy can give you insights that can be helpful to improving their overall shopping experience.

You can start by asking yourself, “Would I shop this store?” Then ask your staff to shop the aisles and get their feedback. Here are a couple of things to check as you “shop” the aisles of your pharmacy.

12. Reward employees for spectacular customer service

April 4, 2024August 28, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Cari Sass for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series

Spectacular customer service has become a goal for many retailers. There are many shopping options out there, including similar stores, nearby locations, comparable prices, identical product offerings, not to mention your online competition. Your staff and how they interact with your customers may be that one difference that separates you from your competitors and drives consumers into your store time and again.

It makes my day when I receive excellent customer service. As a matter of fact, I often tell my family and friends when and where this occurred, hoping they go and experience it for themselves. There’s nothing better, easier, and less expensive than positive word-of-mouth advertising.

86. Have an open-house

April 4, 2024August 18, 2015 by Megan Moyer

by Megan Moyer for our “99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy” blog series

A great way to show appreciation for your customers as well as attract new ones to your store is to hold an open house. It can be as simple or elaborate as you’d like.

If you’re having an open house as a customer appreciation gesture, be sure to have food and beverages, and a giveaway or two. Suppliers may be willing to help you with free or deeply-discounted products to use for giveaways, or perhaps you can work out a mutually-beneficial arrangement with a local specialty company to make giveaways for a reasonable investment.