From our experience working with independent pharmacies, we’ve seen that the most successful stores have a deep understanding of the pharmacy customer journey. What exactly is the pharmacy customer journey, and how will this knowledge help you craft a pharmacy experience that efficiently guides your customers from first-time buyers to Loyal advocates?
What is the Pharmacy Customer Journey?
Every business has a customer journey, in which the customer:
- Discovers your business
- Considers making a purchase at your business
- Completes a purchase at your business
- Feels compelled to make future purchases at your business
When it comes to the customer journey for pharmacies, it’s important to understand that your product is not only the items you sell in your store. Your product is also the service you provide your customers.
People who visit a pharmacy are usually dealing with illness or some other type of health challenge, and they’re not exactly sure what to do or what they should buy to restore their health and happiness. They rely on your pharmacy’s guidance and expertise to solve their health problem.
With that in mind, let’s walk you through the pharmacy customer journey so you can identify areas where you can more effectively guide your customers through the sales process.
How Do Customers Discover Your Pharmacy?
People will not visit your pharmacy if they don’t know that your pharmacy exists, and that’s especially true if your store is located in an area that doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic.
Thanks to the internet, making your pharmacy visible is easier than ever. A website could be helpful for you because it allows you to highlight your products and services.
What’s more important is making sure that your pharmacy is visible on Google Maps. So many customers searching for a pharmacy online will use Google Maps to find a nearby store. Make sure that you create a Google Business profile for your store so you can pop up on your customers’ smartphones when they run a search.
Customers can leave reviews on your Google Business profile and on your Yelp page. This might be a scary prospect because it could open you up to negative reviews. Still, if you curate an amazing in-store experience, you could also get very positive reviews and generate strong word of mouth that compels customers to visit your pharmacy over competitors.
Having trouble collecting customer reviews? Offer an incentive to leave a review and advertise it using social media and strategically placed in-store signage.
Related Blog: How To Create a Great Pharmacy Experience
How Do Customers Shop at Your Pharmacy?
Unlike big box stores or online retailers, your pharmacy has an opportunity to dazzle your customers with an amazing in-store experience.
Having compassionate and knowledgeable staff that can assist your customers, answer their questions, and help them find the right product will transform your pharmacy into a wellness space that people can visit when they need personalized healthcare solutions.
Not everyone who visits a pharmacy is looking to make a purchase right away. Case-in-point: people who are shopping for mobility aids, such as canes, walkers, and rollators.
So many older adults are reluctant to purchase mobility aids because of the negative stigma surrounding them. It might take some time and effort by caregivers to make older adults more receptive to the idea of using them. That’s where your pharmacy comes in.
Some of our partner pharmacies at NOVA are launching test drive programs for walkers and rollators, in which caregivers can bring older adults into the pharmacy to try out different models. This is an effective way to show older adults that using mobility aids is not nearly as dreadful or cumbersome as they imagine, and it also gives them an opportunity to find a mobility aid that truly feels comfortable.
So, these customers might not make a purchase immediately, but a positive experience at your pharmacy could warm them up to the idea, and they’re more likely to make a future purchase.
Related Blog: The Benefits of Taking Your Mobility Walker for a Test Drive
How Does Your Pharmacy Stay Connected with Customers?
The pharmacy customer journey does not end once a customer makes a purchase. Ideally, you want them to keep coming back again and again whenever they have a healthcare problem that needs solving.
Having a compassionate and engaging in-store experience is the best way to build strong relationships with your customers and make them loyal to your pharmacy. But you can also keep connected with your customers by:
- Advertising new products and services
- Running sales and discounts
- Creating a loyalty program
- Offering servicing for mobility aids
Social media and email marketing are effective ways to keep your customers in the loop. NOVA equips all our SuperNOVA Certified retail partners with a digital marketing toolbox and content guide to help them boost their digital presence, educate and resonate with their community.
Related Blog: Human Relationships: The Best Marketing for Pharmacists
ReNOVAte Your Revenue with NOVA
We’ve helped many of our SuperNOVA dealers optimize their customer journey inside their pharmacy or medical supply store. Learn how you can ReNOVAte Your Revenue.
