pharmacy’s turn around time is the same day, you better believe I have full confidence that the patient they send will indeed receive their prescription same day. Include staff members in on your marketing plans. Take the time to brief them on the products you’re featuring therefore they can act as additional advocates to your cause. When a new physician office calls, have your staff set an appointment for you or get the name of the right contact person in that office of whom to speak with when making a cold call. This action will give you a great head start and save you valuable time. Busy staff? Create a call sheet you can leave by their workstation. The staff can jot down this information and share with you at a later time when it’s more convenient. Reach out and connect. At least once a week I do lunch for my staff. It gives us time to relax and shows them how much I value what they do for me as a marketer. 4. A Follow-Up Program. Feedback is what allows you to continue to adapt and grow. Whether it is positive or negative, it’s very important you are receiving it. How is your pharmacy currently collecting feedback? A couple years ago I implemented a new patient follow program. A colleague had one at her pharmacy and suggested it to me. Right away, I saw results. Increased refill rates, medication compliance and physician communication. We call all new patients to address any questions, find out how the prescription is working and let them know a pharmacist is always available to speak with them. The majority of our patients are very happy to receive a call and compliment on our customer service efforts. Currently, my pharmacy has a full-time employee who runs my follow-up program. Not in the budget yet? That’s OK. Create a schedule and designate some time each day to make the calls. Between you and your staff members working together, the calls will get made! We log the feedback into an excel spreadsheet. Now you have excellent marketing resource to review with your physicians. IMPORTANT! And when logging any patient information always follow HIPPA! 14 Fall 2014 | IACPRx.org 5. Education. Knowledge is power. Yes, you have heard that many, many times before, but I’m going to say it again because it’s a fact. The more knowledge you possess, the more prescriptions you will see coming in. I stand behind this 110%. Today 90% of our business is based on relationships, you may have a few offices sending because you’re local, but because competition is everywhere in today’s marketing culture, relationships trump all. People like working with people whom they know and trust. Honestly if you don’t know your product don’t bother going out that day. I know that sounds harsh, but physicians went to school for years, they can sense when someone is unprepared. If you go in confident and as an expert on your product/service you will earn their respect and be on your way to developing a great relationship. Where do you go for resources? First and foremost your pharmacist is an excellent resource! Next check with your chemical companies for case studies and any informational pieces on products, some even offer free webinars. Obviously the Internet is a viable source, but make sure you are pulling credible information. The time you invest in developing your education will only make you a stronger marketer in the long run! Always remember quality over quantity! Did these “must haves” spark any inspiration? If these are practices you already have implemented into your marketing, touché! Let this piece reinforce the direction you have taken. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was any business for that matter. I can tell you from first-hand experience; a few “must haves” were what got me on my way to success! Lauren Onsa is the Vice President of Compounding Operations at Clinical Compound Pharmacy in Naples, Fla. Lauren received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Relations from the University of Dayton. She was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. Lauren is a speaker for educational programs within pharmacy marketing and innovations within the field of Compounding. She is a member of IACP and serves on the communications and educational committees. She is also a Charter Marketing Member of the ACA.
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