Pharmacy is a very competitive business.  It’s also a business where everyone sells pretty much the same items, so it’s not about what’s sold; it’s about how it’s sold.  And, that’s where the independent pharmacy has a real advantage.

Studies have shown that the customer experience is highly correlated to loyalty.  In one study by the Temkin Group, modest improvement in the customer experience could increase revenue 14-38 percent, and the largest gains were in the retail segment.

The two most important factors in the customer experience are the store itself and your employees.

The appearance and layout of your pharmacy can make a huge difference.  An organized store makes them more at ease.  A clean, up-to-date store shows customers you care enough to do whatever it takes to make it better.

When the doors open, what do they see?

While the pharmacy experience begins when they pull into the parking lot, it really escalates when they enter your store.  Your entrance is a transition zone.  They are thinking about other things as they walk into the store and it takes a few steps for them to transition to their mission in the store.

With them transitioning, you don’t want to attempt much at the entrance because they will miss virtually everything there, whether it’s a display or a sign.

Even the doors you have can make a difference. As convenient as automatic doors are, they actually enlarge the transition area because they don’t slow the entrance.  Revolving doors are even worse because they sort of throw one into the store.

You want to try to keep that transition area as small as you can.  Different carpeting or flooring can help do this, as can special lighting.  A lot of retailers use large displays just beyond the transition zone to slow shoppers and provide a billboard of sorts.

In the blog discussions to come, we will see how to design your environment for customers, and layout items and displays to promote more time spent in your store.

Sources:  Why we Buy, The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill, and Buy-ology.  The Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom.

The best and least expensive way to increase sales is through your employees. Just a smile on the faces of employees can lead to greater sales. We are attracted to people who smile. We want to do business with people we find pleasant.

One study showed that brief exposure (16 milliseconds) to images of smiling or frowning faces affected the amount of money subjects were willing to pay for a beverage. Those exposed to smiling faces were willing to pay twice as much for it.

Encourage your employees to interact with customers. In fact, train them how to do it. I would also suggest that you hire for personalities that will easily interact with customers.

The more contact shoppers have with employees, the greater the sale.   It’s been proven any contact initiated by an employee increases the likelihood that a shopper will buy something.  If things are suggested, the likelihood is even higher.

Talking with an employee draws the customer closer. In today”€™s retail environment of smaller work forces, that becomes critical.

It’s not just about sales, either.Security experts say the best way to discourage shoplifting is to acknowledge each shopper’s presence with a simple hello. Wal-Mart’€™s greeters came about in part because of Sam Walton”€™s belief that if you hire a sweet little old lady to say hello to shoppers as they enter, they wouldn’€™t dare steal.

It’€™s best to ease into the contact. Greet them at the front door with a hello, but don”€™t try to help them at that point. If you ask if you can help them as they are transitioning into the store, they will likely say no. But if you give them a minute to shop before approaching them, you become resource rather than a salesperson.

Sources: Why we Buy, The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill, and Buy-ology. The Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom.

We all know the number one customer complaint is wait time. We all hate it. We spend years of our lives waiting in lines. Unfortunately, the reality is we cannot altogether eliminate waiting in any business. So, what do you do?

First, it’€™s important to understand waiting. It’s very subjective.   When people wait up to 1.5 minutes their perception is pretty accurate. However, anything over 90 seconds, and our sense of time distorts. If they’€™ve waited two minutes, they’€™ll say it’€™s 3-4 minutes.   And, the longer the wait, the more distorted the perception.

Obviously, the first thing is to do everything you can to reduce wait time in every way possible. The next thing is to work to manage it.   We have less anxiety over waiting after we have contact with an employee, especially if there is some explanation. So, make sure an employee explains the situation to them. And, if possible, give them an expected time of delivery. If you eliminate uncertainty, you reduce the perceived wait.

Be sure you’€™re organized. If people think you’€™re doing things in order, they tend to relax, too. Otherwise, you just add to the anxiety.

Finally, provide diversion by giving them something to do. Have promotional materials in the waiting area. Provide them something to read. Have some impulse items to peruse. The waiting area is a great place for a video monitor. You can air promotional and educational messages.

Sources: Why we Buy, The Science of Shopping by Paco Underhill, and Buy-ology. The Truth and Lies About Why We Buy by Martin Lindstrom.