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The Profit Vault June 2023
Profit From a Pain-Free Referral Program
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Enhance Your Marketing Tactics Not every pharmacy owner can be a marketing master, and that’s okay. When it comes to promoting your pharmacy, you simply need to discover the strategies that work for you (and won’t cost a fortune). I promise a snooze-inducing TV commercial is not the key to your success. So, what’s a pain-free way to promote your pharmacy while saving the most money possible? A well-planned yet simple referral program solves your low- maintenance marketing needs. I’m telling you from experience that a referral program can generate more business than you think. When I implemented one for my pharmacy, I welcomed over 400 new patients a month for 18 months in a row. Unfathomable? Well, you better believe it and start taking notes. I first created my unique patient referral program when I found myself beyond pissed off at my cable company (we’ve all been there). I got my hopes up after seeing an advertisement for a stellar budget package, only for the company to tell me this deal only applied to new customers. Wait a minute. Aren’t I the customer that has proven my loyalty? Where the hell is my deal? I realized that longtime
customers are the ones who need to be rewarded to keep client satisfaction high and lead to recommendations. When I worked for a chain pharmacy, I saw countless one-time customers come in for a first-time discount only to transfer their prescriptions to another pharmacy weeks later. First-time deals are a recipe for serial pharmacy hoppers looking to rake in savings. I wanted to find a way to satisfy loyal customers, generate new patients, and promote word-of-mouth marketing. As a result, I created a different referral program that rewards a customer who brings a new patient to my pharmacy. The patient who gets the benefits is the one who makes the referral, not the new patient. Not only was I turning current patients into my own personal marketers, but I was also ensuring they felt appreciated and wowed by my pharmacy’s dedication to customer satisfaction. Unlike costly TV ads, radio commercials, or print publicity, this referral program would only cost me money if it worked (AKA brought me a new patient). If it doesn’t work, no money is wasted! Are you ready to learn how you can implement a successful referral program? Step 1: Determine Reward Amount Before anything else, you need to determine the referral reward amount. I usually recommend a $20 credit, but this can differ depending on your budget. This is up to you! Ask yourself: “What is a new patient worth to my pharmacy?” Step 2: Guidelines and Logistics Time to set out the rules! Keep the guidelines simple, as you don’t want to create too many barriers that’ll deter your customers from participating. Simplicity means more people will participate!
I prefer no cards or forms, just simple word of mouth. Step 3: Tracking Traction Now, you should keep track of all new referrals and how much is being spent/ earned. Some vital information to note includes patient names, credit amounts,
who referred, top referrals, etc. Step 4: Train Your Team
While you may have a perfect program on paper, your team is the one who will be promoting it and should be properly trained before you launch. Ensure your team become experts and are excited to share the news. One way to get them pumped is by letting them be eligible for store credit for bringing in new patients they refer! Step 5: Promote! After you finish all the previous steps, it’s time to yell from the rooftops. Tell every customer who walks in, create bag stuffers and signage, and post on social media. Do whatever you can to spread the word! The patient referral program is just a slice of DiversifyRx’s Marketing Pillar, one of our Six Pharmacy Profit Pillars. All pillars are crucial for a thriving pharmacy. You can perfect your referral program by accessing all our referral templates, tracking tools,
team meeting outlines, and additional resources. Scan our QR code to discover everything you need to get patients to spread the word!
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SUBJECT LINES MATTER Improve the Impact of Your Email Marketing
No. 2: Spark urgency. Customers are most likely to open an email within 24 hours of receiving it. After that, they will likely assume it’s irrelevant or forget about it. So, you
You spend valuable time and money on your email marketing, but your efforts will go to waste if your customers don’t open your messages. Your open rate is one of the most critical email metrics, and the single best way to improve yours is by writing compelling subject lines that make your customers want to click. So, how do you spark curiosity and stay out of the spam folder? A 2019 study by market research group Radicati found that the average person receives 96 emails daily, and your business is hardly the only one trying to convince them to buy something. Your customers will likely spend only seconds deciding whether to open your email, delete it, or report it as spam. You must capture their attention quickly and give them a reason to click. Writing the perfect subject line isn’t easy. What works for one industry or demographic may not work for another. But you should always try to follow three simple rules. No. 1: Keep it short. Email platforms will only display so many characters of your subject line before cutting it off. Therefore, a long subject line is inadvertently ensuring your message gets lost. Further, your customers quickly decide what they will open and discard. They’re more likely to delete your message if it seems confusing or complicated, so make it bite-size and easy to digest. Experts recommend you keep your subject lines to 60 characters or less.
want to use language that inspires them to read it immediately. At the same time, be careful of overusing all-caps and exclamation points; these are hallmark signs of spam, and your customers could mistake it as such. Further, if every email announces itself as your customer’s “last chance,” you’ll lose trust, and people will tune out. No. 3: Be specific. Research indicates that people are more likely to open personalized subject lines. So, when possible, address your customers directly with their name or the word “you.” Further, teasing information is risky and can leave people unmotivated to open the email and learn more. Provide details like the specific product or service on sale or how many hours or days an offer will last. For example, more people will find “Only 48 hours left in our sale” compelling than “Our sale ends soon.” Learning to craft effective headlines won’t happen overnight, so give yourself time and room to make mistakes. One of your best resources is A/B testing: You develop two subject lines, send them to different customers, and then compare their performance. You’ll find what drives your customers to click by monitoring your metrics and adapting your approach.
How Your Competition Can Send You New Patients TURN YOUR PHARMACY INTO A REFERRAL GENERATING MACHINE
You know better than anyone that independent pharmacies do more than chains. Unlike chains, independent pharmacies can compound custom medications or offer certain vaccines that many drugstores don’t. While you may know what makes your pharmacy awesome, many people don’t. So, how can you steer these patients in your direction? Well, you’ve got to start with chain pharmacies first.
When a major chain drugstore has to tell a patient they can’t fill their prescription, where do they recommend the patient go? Likely, they tell the patient to figure it out or just say the name of the closest pharmacy. But you can change that! Despite these chain pharmacies being your competition, you can work with them to lead more patients through your front doors. How? Bribe them! Okay, maybe not bribing in the traditional sense, but sweeten the deal with some sugary treats and make the referral as simple as possible. I recommend giving them coupon books with your pharmacy’s information so staff can easily share it with their patients. Leverage the inevitable opportunity of a patient needing a custom prescription and ensure your pharmacy becomes the standard referral location. Simply communicate with these non- compounding pharmacies and let them know you have easy-to-use coupon books
with information ready for them to share. Bring some sweet treats for the staff when you drop off the coupon book, and tell them that when they use the entire coupon book and need a new one, you’ll bring them lunch! You’d be surprised how easily free food persuades people. We recommend printing the coupons on brightly colored paper, and each coupon book should have about 20 tear-off sheets so the staff isn’t overwhelmed. This conservative number also allows you to stay in touch more often whenever they need a new coupon book. DiversifyRx offers countless templates, including one for referral coupon books! These bounce back coupon books are just one simple way to generate new patients with minimal effort. The chain drugstore does all the heavy lifting for you. Utilize our Canva coupon book template by scanning the QR code on this newsletter!
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Leaving It All Behind to Start Again From Owning to Coaching to Pharmacy Badass!
In 2020, I decided to work for an independent niche product secondary wholesaler. I had never seen behind the curtain of pharmacy wholesale, so it was an eye-opening experience and fundamentally changed the way I look at buying prescriptions. Despite gaining plenty of knowledge, it still didn’t feel like the right place for me longterm. I needed to return to what I did best, helping pharmacy owners build a legacy with their pharmacies. I didn’t know how I was going to do this. I applied for new jobs, but nothing seemed to feel right! Here’s what I did know: I love helping pharmacy owners, and I knew God gave me the peculiar gift of making them profitable. While I enjoyed working with my previous employers, our values didn’t align. I needed to go rogue . I had to make my own company to help other pharmacy owners in the ways I knew actually worked. Having dove back into pharmacy ownership in 2018 with several
pharmacies across many states, I knew what worked. I had a proven profit road map that other pharmacy owners could use in their pharmacies. Finally, I created Pharmacy Badass University — a membership for pharmacy owners to become pharmacy badasses . Ultimately, to thrive in today’s world, you can’t just have a good pharmacy that minimally helps patients. A thriving, profitable owner must excel at business and pharmacy. This became the core of Pharmacy Badass University! Independent pharmacies are where patients can get the best care possible, and our communities deserve the best care available. But if pharmacies aren’t profitable, they can’t stay open to help the community. So, it’s time to make a change to make a difference! If you continue your journey with DiversifyRx, I promise you will see the results you need to have your pharmacy flourishing.
I did everything right and everything wrong with my first pharmacy.
In 2005, I started my own pharmacy, which gave me experience that I build on to this day. Even though I sold my store in 2012, it was just the beginning of my career and passion for independent pharmacy. After starting, building, and selling my independent pharmacy, I went to work for a large pharmacy coaching company to help other owners grow their pharmacies. I helped thousands of people while cementing my understanding of successful business practices. Of course, the time came when I grew out of my role and was ready to move on.
HAVE A LAUGH
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417 Ravenaux Dr. Southlake, TX 76092 561-379-7750 DiversifyRx.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
Go-To Guide to Generate Referrals
2 Why Your Email Marketing Subject Lines Matter 2 Make Chain Pharmacies Turn to You 3 The Journey to Pharmacy Badass University 3 Have a Laugh + Take A Break 4 Rebranding: Are You ‘Starry’-Eyed?
Rebranding the Right Way DON’T BE ‘STARRY’-EYED ABOUT YOUR STRATEGY
In early 2023, Pepsi shocked the public by rebranding its lemon-lime soda Sierra Mist as Starry. The move has raised eyebrows and spawned jokes. Rebranding is always tricky and can open you up to the wrong kind of attention. So, if you’re considering it for your pharmacy, how do you ensure you get the right reactions? Companies rebrand for many reasons. Many do so after flagging sales to revitalize interest or reach a new market. Others rebrand to reflect a significant change in the business, like a shift in products or services. If you add compounding or a functional wellness clinic, it may be a good idea to rebrand somehow.
your pharmacy’s identity and overall strategy for the future.
Since rebranding is a big undertaking, every pharmacy owner should evaluate their reasons for wanting to rebrand before making the leap. Simply “feeling” like it’s time for a change is insufficient. Ask what you hope to accomplish, then consider whether you need to rebrand to achieve it. Your brand may just need a “facelift” with a tweaked logo, new company colors, or a refreshed social media presence. If you’re committed to rebranding, do it with clear eyes and an awareness of how your efforts could go wrong. One famous example was Tropicana (also owned by PepsiCo) in 2009. The company replaced its instantly recognizable image of a straw in an orange with a generic picture of a
glass of orange juice. Consumers felt it cheapened the product — and some even had trouble finding it. Tropicana quickly switched back to its old packaging, but it was a $50 million mistake. Rebranding is a balancing act between refreshing your image and retaining the elements that made your pharmacy successful in the first place. Pharmacy owners should know it’s essential to understand their current customer base and target market. Otherwise, you could alienate both — and all your money, time, and effort could fall flat.
Rebranding can be a new company name, updated logo, or website. It’s about
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