Why You Need A Good Tag Line

They look simple enough; 15 minutes will save you 15%; the pause that refreshes; push button, get mortgage.  These tag lines are famous and I bet you can conjure up the product they support without too much thought. 

But, coming up with a really good tag line is harder, and more important, than you might think. The payoff for creating a simple, short, descriptive and effective tag line can be increased profits. 

So; what is the process?  What does it take to come up with a truly effective tag line? 

To start you’ll need to spend some time thinking about what your pharmacy does that makes it appealing to consumers.  That will help you identify your pharmacy’s Unique Selling Proposition, or what ad agency people call your, USP.

Knowing the core benefit of your pharmacy will help with everything else you do. For example, your ability to train your employees will improve because you’ll be able to tell them who you are and what you stand for.   Your ads, posters and other marketing materials will be better because you know, and can artfully communicate, your core attributes. 

Well, enough background; here are four things to consider when crafting an effective tag line:

1.      It needs to be simple.   Too often we get tied up in jargon or fancy words.  Make sure your tag line speaks to the needs, wants and emotions of your patients.  Allstate has done this well with…

          You’re In Good Hands

2.      It needs to be “yours”.  While this bit of “wisdom” may be a little overstated it makes an important point.  That being, if some other pharmacy can use your tag line then it is not really yours.  The tag line should speak to a distinctive consumer benefit that ties back to the product or services you provide.  M & M candies has done this well with their classic..

                                         They Melt In Your Mouth, Not In Your Hand

3.      Keep it short.  I love the story told of how at the close of a long letter Mark Twain apologized to the recipient by saying, “I would have written a shorter letter but I didn’t have time.”  Finding ways to say things in a clear concise manner is hard and it takes time; but it is important!  Papa John’s has done this well with…

Better ingredients, better pizza

4.      It needs to help describe a unique consumer benefit.  Your tag line should point out how your pharmacy is not just different, but better.  I like the old Burger King tag line…

Have It Your Way

Many years ago I was the director of marketing for an 80-location drug chain.  It was a combination of leased space grocery store and Walmart pharmacies combined with a dozen free standing traditional drug stores scattered across 4 states.  After a lot of thought we finally settled on this tag line….                               
 Helping You Feel Better

Our reasoning was that as a pharmacy our job was to help our customers feel better.  We did this by filling prescriptions that addressed health problems but we also did it by coming out from behind the counter to help customers find the right OTC product.  In our traditional stores we did it by selling gifts, cards, candy and other items.  And, we worked hard to call people by their name.  Each of these things, when done right, helped people feel better, brighten their day or lighten their load.   

Here’s hoping something here will help you think about your tag line and come up with a good one that will serve you well. 

Arizona Pharmacy Finds Creative Ways to Protect Employees Amid COVID-19

“The commitment to patient care can only be kept if a pharmacy also finds effective ways to protect the people who provide that care,” said Jason Dykstra, PharmD, the owner of Chino Valley Pharmacy in Arizona.

The independent pharmacy owner is taking his own advice to heart, finding several creative ways to help protect his staff members while serving patients. 

Dykstra’s first piece of advice is both most effective and simplest. 

“My team and I wash our hands -- a lot, and we have implemented a process of thoroughly cleaning the pharmacy on an hourly basis,” he said.

In addition, the pharmacy checks each team member’s temperature when they arrive at work. 

Unlike many independent pharmacies Dykstra has not yet adopted a closed-door policy, as he still wants to allow patients to walk into the pharmacy, talk with him or another staff member, and maintain the feeling of care and concern that has made Chino Valley Pharmacy successful.

“After all, providing good health care extends beyond the process of filling prescriptions, he said.

However, Dykstra said that keeping the doors open may change if the situation in the pharmacy’s rural community changes, but for now he thinks a “moderate and common-sense approach” is best. 

The pharmacy does limit the number of people in the pharmacy to no more than 5 at a time, via temporary signs placed at eye level on the front door. The signs also ask that customers maintain social distance while inside the pharmacy. Dykstra has taped large blue “X”s on the floor showing customers the preferred distance when standing in line to drop off or pick up or a prescription. 

To help keep staff members safe, the pharmacy is aggressively promoting the drive-up window. The pharmacy is very busy, often filling 600 or more scripts per day. So, to help keep up with the increased number of cars in line at the window the staff members use walkie-talkies. This allows a team member to approach cars in line and while staying a safe distance away talk with the person in the car to find out what they want. Then the staff member communicates the patient’s needs via the walkie-talkie to team members in the pharmacy who can start working on filling prescriptions. 

Dykstra said that this approach not only speeds up service but also helps with customer service, as patients can see that they are being taken care of, even if the wait is a bit longer. 

Meanwhile, the mental health and morale of the pharmacy team are of paramount concern. Staff education and developing a sense of teamwork is critical to maintaining a productive work environment.

Since opening the pharmacy in the summer of 2017, Dykstra has instituted a number of well-entrenched policies and procedures that he said are proving useful during this crisis.

The procedures, which he said seem to make dealing with this new and unusual situation a bit less stressful, include how to treat customers with respect and go above and beyond to ensure that patients understand and take their medications properly. 

In addition, Dykstra said that by paying attention to the media and working closely with his 2 major suppliers, Associated Pharmacies Inc and Cardinal Health, the pharmacy has not faced drug shortages and has been able to fill prescriptions for patients.

This includes those appropriately taking chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, and other drugs in high demand, because of reports of their possible application in treating COVID 19, he said.

Dykstra’s biggest piece of advice to other pharmacy owners is to pay close attention to local and national media reports, as well as social media, as doing so will provide a sense of what patients are hearing. 

Pharmacists should then filter all this through a sense of what they know as health care professionals and strive to find a balanced approach to caring for the community, patients, staff members, and themselves through common sense and planning ahead.

This article was originally published in Pharmacy Times, April 2020

So, Now What?

Here is an invitation for pharmacy owners to start thinking about how they will prepare for the post COVID world.

Pharmacy owners that come up with a good plan now, will find that going forward their practice will be more profitable and professionally rewarding.  And, while I am not smart enough to know what that plan looks like I do have a few suggestions. 

First, for decades one competitive advantage independent community pharmacies had was, delivery.  The problem, the pandemic has made delivery common.  True, most chain, grocery store and big box pharmacy delivery comes with a fee.  So, I propose that this provides you with an opportunity to rethink your delivery program.    

How?  By adopting a formal enrollment process.  Create one that ties into your loyalty program.  Educate people on the benefits of your program and establish some criteria for participation.  For example, have a brochure that lays out in clear terms the ways your program is better than the ones the chains offer.  This would include mentioning that your delivery person is a trained member of the pharmacy staff, not a contractor who knows nothing about your patient.  Let them know your delivery person comes with an iPad or smart phone and can instantly connect your patients with the pharmacy to answer questions and clarify any medication related issues. 

Perhaps the time has come to adopt a scheduled delivery process, not an on-demand or Domino’s Pizza format.  Maybe even have a map that shows various delivery zones and how the delivery area has been broken into specific times and days you cover each area.  And, perhaps you start legitimizing a modest charge.  This can be softened by letting current patients know that as part of your loyalty program they get one delivery per month free.  Or, hat as a valued long-time customer they get the first three or even six-months delivery under the new program for free.  The point is, your competitors are legitimizing a delivery fee so maybe now is your chance to migrate into a fee structure where you sell the benefits of a superior “personal” delivery service. 

Next, you may want to consider selling the benefits of being smaller.  This means you can provide a cleaner, safer shopping experience.   Create a flyer and window signs telling how you have adopted other sanitation practices.  Tout the benefits of your drive-thru or curbside services. Perhaps you even explain how having fewer people in your pharmacy than the chains mean it is a safer place to purchase their prescriptions and other healthcare products.    

Most of you have adopted some sort of Plexiglas shield at your drop-off, pick-up and cash register areas.  If they are less than professionally done, find a way to make them more impressive. 

One area I’d suggest you ponder is that of a dress code.  Having your staff in clean, logo’d and professional looking attire will be more important as you build on the idea that your pharmacy is clean and safe.  It should be easy for anyone coming into your pharmacy to know who is working there.  This does not have to mean shirts and ties or smocks or lab coats.  Vests, logo’d polo shirts, scrubs, or smocks are my personal preference.  Do what ever you think is best for your image and style, but don’t simply let what you have always done be continued without making a conscious decision on your dress code. 

Finally, and this is critical.  People have come to expect change and this makes it easier than ever to make changes.  So, now is the time to make your plans for adding new, more and better clinical services.  Point-of-care testing for strep, flu, COVID antibodies and even incorporating pharmacogenetic testing is wide open. 

Other clinical services have a long history of being provided in pharmacies, such as A1c or lipid testing.  Drug nutrient depletion programs and nutraceutical products, particularly those with documented ability to boost immunity will be more acceptable now than ever.  And, the good news is, many of these services on sold on a cash basis.  No PBM involved!                                              

Now is the time for you to plan ahead and answer the question – So, now what?   

Pick-to-Light Will Call System Pays For Itself With Improved Cash Flow

I met Mark Vogler, R.Ph. in the spring of 2016 as part of one of my many pharmacy road trips.  I was impressed with what a passionate clinician and astute businessman he was back then.  I just got of the phone with him, and am even more impressed as he shared with me why he had invested in a pick-to-light will-call management system. 

Vogler is the owner of Martin-Tipton Pharmacy in Amarillo, TX.  It is a high-volume pharmacy, doing about twice as many prescriptions per day as the national average.  Much of this is due to Vogler being the type of guy who goes out and looks for better ways to meet the medication needs of his community.  In addition to traditional dispensing the pharmacy works with mental health clinics, assisted living facilities and provides medication services to an AIDS support group. 

But what brought us together was a conversation on why he had recently invested thousands of dollars in the scripClip™ LED supported will-call system.  Here is his short answer, “I was tired of looking unprofessional when patients came in for their scripts and we couldn’t immediately find them.” 

And here is what blew me away.  I asked how often that happened and he said, about 2 or 3 times a week.  That number jumped out at me as being low compared to other pharmacies I have interviewed on behalf of PerceptiMed, the company that developed scripClip.  I had done a survey for the company a couple months earlier and spoke with pharmacists who told me they had trouble finding scripts “a couple times a day” and didn’t seem to think it was anything to worry about. 

It got a bit more interesting when he talked about being in an ethnically diverse part of town and the complications that come from hard to pronounce and spell names.  He told me how his staff works hard to place filled scrips in alphabetical order but that just doesn’t always seem to work.  Now he says, with the pick-to-light system they simply put filled prescriptions on the will-call rack randomly. Then they retrieve them by asking patients for their birthdate and entering that into the POS.  The result, the right bag lights up and is retrieved quickly. 

Vogler says the system works exceptionally well, and he is pleased with the fact that it does exactly what he expected when he purchased it.  But then he adds, since installing the system he has found that it pays for itself in an unanticipated way. 

Vogler says the process of identify the precise bag for a person who has not picked up a filled script is much easier with scripClip.  Vogler says that by asking the system to “light-up” scripts filled but not picked up after 5 days his staff can simply walk the will-call area and retrieve those scripts.  Then they call – yes, they make a personal phone call – to those people, find out what the issue is and encourage them to come get their medicine.  

He says the personal call, done by staff members with access to a patient’s full profile helps him provide exceptional customer service.  Then he says, they repeat the process at 10 days and return items to stock and reverse third-party claims.  Being able to perform both tasks so quickly has helped reduce abandoned scrips and improve inventory turns and cash-flow.  He says scripClip has allowed him to reduce the number of bags in his will-call bin from 400 to 300.  These two metrics alone, he says, more than justify the cost of the system. 

Finally, he says, “The flashing lights just look nice.” 

The Pharmacy Marketing Mandate

Most independent community pharmacies retain the services of a lawyer and accountant.  The reason, legal and accounting functions are important, complicated and most pharmacists do not have the skill, nor the time, to perform these critical tasks.

With so many pharmacies adding new services such as; immunizations, medication synchronization, convenience packaging, etc. I’d argue the time has come for pharmacy owners to add a marketing professional to the list of needed experts.

The reason, most consumers do not understand the need for these new services.  And, some of the ways I have seen independent pharmacy owners try to promote them is counterproductive.  For example, I see web sites that say the pharmacy does compounding, MTM, or drug nutrient depletion.  How is a consumer supposed to know what those words or acronyms mean, never mind wanting them bad enough to pay for them? 

As a pharmacist you have spent countless hours in formal training to make sure you understand the chemical composition of medications, how the body absorbs them and what other medication can do to disrupt their positive effects.  You have been schooled in the technical aspects of dispensing.  You understand the critical importance of doing things right, every time.  That is a powerful and valuable skill which I am glad you have.   

As a pharmacy owner or manager, you are faced with two marketing problems; first you need to carefully determine what new services you can profitably provide.  Second, once you decide on that you need to find cost-effective ways to build demand for these new services.  

Wholesalers, buying groups, technology providers have been urging you to make changes to your practice for years.  Phrases like, “practice at the top of your licenses,” are commonly repeated.  That is good advice but it overlooks the most important practice challenge.  Most pharmacists do not know how, nor do they want to become sales people.    

So, what’s the answer?  Well, at least one path to success is for your pharmacy to hire, or retain, a marketing professional.  This pattern for success was carefully crafted years ago by The Professional Compounding Centers of America (PCCA).  One key to success in compounding is having someone call on doctors and explain the benefits of compounded medications.  Likewise, you need to build demand for the new services you hope to profitably provide.    

Doing this requires time and the ability to persuade.  The good news is that if you don’t have the time or the ability to sell, you can buy it. Yes, it costs money, money that is hard to come by with reduced reimbursement, claw backs and egregious audit practices.  But, the solution to most of these third-party caused profit problems is adding these new services to your practice, and charging for them!  If done properly you can find ways to make these changes and see them paying for themselves in a relatively short period of time. 

That is why I call this essay, the Marketing Mandate. For most pharmacy owners doing this on your own is just not an option.  And for those that have the ability to do "marketing" I wonder if you will ever really get around to it.   

Most wholesalers and buying groups have well developed programs for providing these kinds of services.  But for those who choose not to use  these partners, for any number of reasons, I am aware of a few companies that specialize in independent community pharmacy marketing.  If you'd like a recommendation just let me know.  

And, I'd know you what you think, on marketing, or any other retail pharmacy topic. 

            Complaints, kudos, questions; you can reach me at:  BFKneeland@gmail.com                                              

El Monte Pharmacy Improves Customer Service With Hi-Tech Will-Call System

Ken Thai, PharmD., owns a very busy pharmacy.  It is located in El Monte, a densely populated suburb of Los Angeles.  El Monte Pharmacy fills three or four times as many prescriptions per day as the average independent.   

I first met Thai in Las Vegas in 2016 just after he was interviewed by a senior AmerisourceBergen executive.  During the interview he was asked to share some of things he does to run a profitable pharmacy with the 4000 attendees of the wholesaler’s Annual Trade Show.  He impressed me as being an innovator, articulate – and, as a no-nonsense guy. 

One of the remarkable things Thai has done is start a new pharmacy franchise program, operating under the name; 986 Pharmacy (98.6 is normal body temperature).  The franchise program has 15 locations in California, Nevada and Texas. 

As an innovator he is among the first to have invested in the scripClip LED light supported will-call bin system.  He says he was “in the market” for a way to improve the look and feel of the will-call  area. But, up to that time the systems he had looked at were too expensive; and, installing them also required expensive re-arranging of the prescription pick-up area. 

Then he says, in 2017, while attending his wholesaler’s trade show he met with the people in the PerceptiMed booth where he was introduced to the scripClip system. Thai says, “It just impressed me as a creative and cost-effective solution to a long-standing problem.”

When pressed for more detail, Thai says, he is hard pressed to come up with superlatives.  Frankly he says, “The system is pretty straight forward.  The LED light lights-up in the handle of the patient’s bag, my clerks can see and quickly retrieve the right bag and give it to the right patient. scripClip just does what it is supposed to do.”   

When asked how he could justify spending money on new technology as margins continue to shrink, Thai responded in a manner that surprised me.  Noting the fact that despite the pharmacy teams’ best efforts there are too many times when locating a prescription proves difficult, so he says, cost justification is easy as, “Upsetting patients costs far more than scripClip does.”

Providing a little more detail, he ads that dwindling margins mean he needs to be more efficient and, he says scripClip makes retrieving prescriptions faster, and safer.  Then, he says, one other cost benefit is the ability to, at the tap of a button, locate all the prescriptions not picked up, based on a time frame he specifies, and return them to stock.

As one final note. Thai says that with all the technology he uses that scripClip, with its multi-colored flashing lights, is the only one that his patients really see.  All in all, he says, scripClip has been a positive addition to his pharmacy and he’d be happy to suggest other pharmacy owners take a serious look to see if it would be right for them.

Learn more about scripClip at;  www.perceptimed.com

comments, suggestion, ideas for content email me at; BFKneeland@gmail.com

Read more of my posts at;     https://kneelandsnotes.blogspot.com/

The Benefits of Having A Formal Community Relations Program

If you’d like to dramatically increase the number of new customer referrals you get you may want to consider implementing a formal community relations program. 

One way to start would be to find a person on your staff that is personable and trustworthy and ask them if they are interested taking the lead in a new initiative you are considering.  I would suggest you not position this as a promotion but as an interesting new job related task that will let them get out of the store for a few hours each week.  The idea would be to have this person make personal visits to key people and organizations in your area each week.  Having a pharmacy technician do this, wearing a smock, shirt, blouse or scrubs with the pharmacy logo on it is also recommended. You want this person to immediately stand out as coming from your pharmacy when they enter.  They also need to have business cards they can hand out were ever they go.

In the short run you are simply looking for increased positive awareness with healthcare professionals, organizations and retailers in your immediate trade area. As this newly appointed person gets out and meets with other businesses and organization you should be thinking of logical and appropriate ways you can collaborate on some inexpensive, appropriate and mutually beneficial project or idea.

Danny Cottrell, R.Ph. owns Medical Center Pharmacy in Brewton, AL.  During an interview Danny told me about a school district program he supports called BEAM – Brewton Elementary and Me.  Cottrell says, “It involves several things but my part is to set-up a small store in the school auditorium every nine weeks and the kids bring a ticket if they qualify for a prize. I usually provide dollar or two items like yoyos, cars, berets, etc. This has been beneficial to me in that I seem to get all the teachers business as well as a few parents and the students are incented to perform better socially and educationally.”

I have had success working on behalf of pharmacies by working with day care centers.  I visited them at the request of the pharmacy owner with a basket of private label products; hand lotion, non-aspirin pain relievers, etc. During the first visit all I did was meet the staff, give them the basket of private label products and let them know of a few features of the pharmacy. 

On the next visit, about a month later, I took in specially designed wallet size ID cards that entitled staff members to a 20% discount on private label items.  On the next visit I gave them cards they could put in the parent’s in-box for each child enrolled in their program. The important element was that this card was to be stapled to a letter on the day care center’s stationary indicating the center had “arranged” for families of children enrolled in the day care center to get a special discount on private label products at the pharmacy close by.  This is an important part of the process, it makes the card much more valuable as it is not simply an ad or coupon like they might get in the newspaper but a benefit from the day care center.

When the day care employees or patrons visited the pharmacy for their “special benefit” the pharmacist talked with them about other services the pharmacy provided, like home delivery or medication flavoring.  And since these people drove by the store twice a day on their way to or from the day care center it was easy for them to become prescription customers. 

The day care center loved providing the benefit, the people loved the convenient location of the pharmacy and the pharmacy loved getting new customers.  All for only the cost of a special discount on private label items.  A true win-win situation.

Once you start thinking along these lines you’ll soon realize that hair salons, dry cleaners, restaurants, craft stores and many of the businesses in your immediate area would love to work with you on these kinds of promotions.  The real trick is having someone on staff whose job it is to get out of the store and start looking for ways to make friends with the other local businesses. 

While working on a project of this type for one of the major wholesaler’s identity programs several years ago we assembled a note book where the person identified to do this job could keep track of who they visited and when.  Each contact had a separate page for notes on the purpose of each visit and what follow-up needed to be done.  It is pretty basic but it helps with a major component of success; accountability!  By filling out and working from these sheets the person working this initiative can report on what business have been visited and what happened.  Then, using these sheets you and your community relations specialist can make plans for next steps and even track how many new patients you have received from each marketing partner.