BUT DO YOU HAVE THE GUTS TO CHANGE THE CIRCUMSTANCES? Keep Your Pharmacy Open, Inc. is all about changing the equation. Its management has successfully turned around troubled pharmacies with revenues exceeding over $300 million. Keep Your Pharmacy Open will: Handle all creditor issues Manage your payables Restructure onerous debt Analyze all operating expenses Use its best efforts to secure working capital financing Give you and your employees greater peace of mindVisit www.keep-your-pharmacyopen.com or call Michael Busch at (800) 603-2519 to find out how we can change your situation.Keep Your Pharmacy Open, Inc. is a not for profit corporation.
Do you have those customers who take up a lot of your time? They come in, spend a little money and then complain, complain, complain. It’s frustrating. As a pharmacist you feel obligated to take care of them, don’t you? As a business owner, that is the worst thing you can do. News flash, it is not your responsibility to take care of every person who walks in the door. If you can’t keep your pharmacy open, someone else will be taking care of these patients. With that in mind, let’s look at things from a different perspective.
How much is your time worth? Take your salary and divide it by the number of hours you work. What is your hourly rate? Now, take a look at how much money that patient spends in your pharmacy? How much extra time do you spend with them? Are there other things you could be doing instead of talking to them? Are they really worth keeping around?
Sure, I know you want business. Who doesn’t? However it is vital that you understand that you are losing money on this patient. Keeping them as a customer is a poor business decision. It is time to “FIRE” this client and every client just like them. Trust me, you will feel liberated when you do so.
There is a chain not far away from you who is always looking for new customers. Why not send the customers you are losing money on to the chain and concentrate on bringing more ideal customers into your store.
You need to understand that increasing the number of customers is not your top priority. Your goal is to have the ideal patient (you defined in our last blog post) come in to your pharmacy and spend a significant amount of money on a consistent basis. Isn’t that what you really need? So, why are you hanging onto the wrong customers?
We challenge you to fire your bad patients. The next time they complain say something like, “I am so sorry we can’t help you. Have you tried ________ chain pharmacy down the street? I think they will be a better fit for your needs.”
Once you fire your first one, come back to this blog post and let us know how it went. If you need help or advice on this topic call (800)603-2519. We will be happy to offer you one free session for being a faithful reader to the Keep Your Pharmacy Open blog.
Are you tired of the ones who come in for one prescription and you never hear from them again? What about the customers that wastes a lot of your time? Do you feel sometimes like all you get are the problem customers but none of the good stuff? Well, let’s talk about how you can change that problem. Please note that this is a frustration for most independent pharmacy owners. You are not in this boat alone.
To tackle these issues correctly, we will separate them into 2 posts. Today we will cover attracting the right customer. In 2 weeks we will discuss what to do with those pesky problem accounts.
The first thing you must do is define your ideal client. Here are some questions to help you with your definition. Keep in mind while answering these questions this is your “IDEAL” client and not the ones you would settle for if they walk in the door.
Age of Client - pick a range. Keep in mind 0 - 99 is not an
option. Narrow that range down to something reasonable.
Do they work or are they retired?
If they work, how much would you say they make a year?
Do they have a family? How many people in the family?
How often do they go to a pharmacy?
What kind of car do they drive?
What do they do for fun?
What types of businesses do the patronize?
You are probably thinking, why do I need to know this information? Amazingly enough, these details are vital to attracting the right customer. Get your employees input as well. You would be amazed at what they notice.
Once you have the IDEAL CLIENT identified, answer the following:
Once again, it is a good idea to get your employee’s involved with this exercise. The more involved they are, the more buy in you will get from them. They will even offer to help find the ideal customer for you. Like you, they are tired of dealing with the difficult customer. They want to see the right people in your pharmacy. So, get let them participate as much as they want.
Be sure to check back in 2 weeks as we will discuss what to do with those challenging clients.
