by Jen Johnston
A pharmacy that has a customer orientation takes marketing seriously. It doesn’t rely on haphazard, seat-of-the-pants decision making about such things as inventory, pricing, merchandising, advertising, hours of service, store appearance, and employee training. Instead everything it does is strategic. This strategy is called your marketing plan.
Your marketing plan coordinates all of these activities and bases them on a well-defined purpose which shapes your business objectives. An effective marketing plan is a roadmap for success. It can increase productivity and profitability for your business. The benefits of a marketing plan are many and include:
- acting as a guide to follow throughout the year, eliminating extra time that might otherwise be wasted when new decisions have to be made as well as eliminating some risk in the decision-making process;
- assisting in management control and the implementation of marketing tactics;
- helping you obtain resources for implementation, such as funds for a renovation or expansion;
- stimulating creative thinking and better use of limited resources;
- organizing and assigning responsibilities, tasks, and timetables for activities;
- increasing the awareness of problems, opportunities, and threats to the pharmacy now and in the future;
- cultivating market niches; and
- creating customer loyalty.
Once your plan is complete, make sure all your employees feel a sense of ownership in implementing the plan for ultimate success. Revisit your plan annually to update and add to it as your pharmacy continues to grow.