For community pharmacists who want to make their difference in their communities and a healthy living in the process, the window of opportunity is still open but closing fast. Why? Because your competitors could capitalize on these opportunities before you do, and establish- or cement- themselves as the health destination.

There are three kinds of pharmacies in the race to survive now.

1. The drug store or ‘big box’. You provide products to customers and fill scripts but your customers don’t know your name and you don’t know theirs. You’re ok with that because your business is successful and profitable.
2. The go getter who aims to be nimble in any market conditions. You’re investing in new equipment, skills, products and services and have been for a while now. You’re clawing back the ground that you started to lose and the future looks reasonable bright.
3. The community pharmacy who started full of passion to make your difference in your community but over the golden years, became complacent and too relaxed. Now the golden years of your pharmacy are finished, yet you’re still running the same model of 80/20 dispensary. Price disclosure and growing competition is eroding your customer base and your business, day by day. You know you’re in trouble but you’re not sure what to do about it. You care about your patients, what’s left of them, and you refuse to compromise your professional standards. Nor should you.
If you fall into category 1 or 2, good luck to you! Pharmacy owners of the category 3 variety, let me help you out.

You need to commit to making changes in yourself, your staff and your environment. To find out what you need to do and then actually do it.

Many pharmacy owners have been too busy or not sure where to start. Well, here’s the answer: your staff and your customers are the key to your financial success and service to your community now, not the medicines you dispense.

So, do you know how to create and build rapport with your staff? Do you know how to motivate or reinvigorate them so they want to make their difference and genuinely help customers (and your bottom line, as a result)? Does your staff know how to build a relationship quickly with a customer and become their trusted health advisor? Do they care anymore? Do you know how to get them to care? And no, it’s not about paying them more.

The solution:

• Engagement of you, the pharmacy owner with your staff
• Engagement with your community
• Engagement of your staff with customers.

There are still some solid opportunities for profit growth available, including:

• Front of shop sales as a result of providing additional medical or para medical services
• Partnering with aged care facilities to provide services and advice in situ to residents thus increasing sales
• Niching your products and services

How to do capitalise on the opportunities? Coaching, mentoring, workshops and webinars are all options for education of you and your staff. Then it’s about taking action.