by Jen Johnston No matter how hard you try, you cannot mold your customers to fit your business. Don’t give them what you *think* they want, or what *you* think is “best for them.” You must find out what they want and adjust your business accordingly. This is called having a “customer orientation.” It’s easy … Read More
retail
19. Develop a customer loyalty program
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 … Read More
Look at that face!
by Dave Wendland From a shopper’s point of view, a product is never seen alone and never in great detail. Given their distance from shelves and the fact that products are arranged in straight rows, it creates a blur of similar-looking shapes, sizes, colors, and products. It’s not until a product grabs a shopper’s attention that … Read More
51. Find a new market niche
by Julie Massey for our 99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy series With competition an ever-present threat, you always have to re-assess your business and your position in your community. Knowing where your strengths and weaknesses lie in comparison to your local competitors will help you focus on areas where you … Read More
31. Remove slow-moving items from inventory
by Colleen Volheim for our 99 Ways to Make a Positive Difference in Your Pharmacy series There will always be a few products that just don’t move in your store, for any number of reasons. Naturally, if they consistently don’t sell, you’ll want to remove them from inventory, but oftentimes an item might just experience … Read More
Reach out to your surrounding neighbors with a personal letter
by Jen Johnston Recently, I moved to a neighborhood with an independent pharmacy that I can walk to. It’s the neighborhood my husband grew up in. This independent pharmacy has been part of the community as far back as he can remember. I LOVE that we can walk to it. I LOVE that they already … Read More
Marketing 101 for Pharmacy Owners
by Jen Johnston Marketing is more than selling. It’s not catchy slogans, costly advertising, and gimmicks. It’s not enticing people to do something they don’t want to do. Instead, it’s a way of thinking. It’s an approach to business that puts customers in the spotlight. Marketing is also a way of doing. It’s a living, … Read More
22. Implement planograms — part one
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 … Read More
Connect With Who Really Shops Your Store
by Dave Wendland, Vice President, Hamacher Resource Group, as seen in Insight Magazine, July 2015, pages 14-15, and on QS/1.com. In October 2014, an article by Hamacher Resource Group entitled “The Power of Profiling” appeared in Insight. That editorial highlighted five shopper types from a 2013 study: Independent Pharmacy Shoppers: Who, What, and Why? … Read More
Dear well-known mass chain store
by Jen Johnston I have a bone to pick with you. I can’t find what I need on your website, but I know you carry it. As a little background for you, my 3-year-old son was diagnosed with celiac disease in the last six months. That is an autoimmune condition where he cannot consume any … Read More