How A Community/Retail Pharmacy Business Was Revive In Lagos

Community or retail pharmacy business is a profitable venture in Nigeria. However, operators of community pharmacy all face a common enemy; sales. Some find it difficult to stay afloat. Still others notice a reduction in sales. All this is attributed to so many factors. But if some have been able to increase sales that means all hope is not lost.

How A Community Pharmacy Was Revive

Community/retail pharmacy

There was certain strategy management use to revive a dying community pharmacy within a village in about a year. The sales output tripled. Adopting their strategy can work for others. However, one strategy cannot work for all especially with different location.

What Was On Ground

One sales assistant and one pharmacist. No computer or modern sales management plan. Low stock. To make it worse, the pharmacist is not always on the ground. Whenever the pharmacist travels for a long time, the community pharmacy shop closed for business until the pharmacist comes back. The sales assistant does not have much idea about the business. Worst still the assistant was never trained or taken for training on how to improve.

Read Also: Why to do before buying a community pharmacy shop

The community pharmacy have all it takes to be revived. It will require money. But I think the fear was that there is no assurance it will be a successful risk. That was why the owner decides to jump boat. He sold it out.

The Change Of Management

The new management team did a little survey. The analysis they came up with saw that there is a potential business in the area. They took the bull by the horn. Here is all what they did.

Staff

The first thing they did was to relocate one of their long time seasoned staff to manage the business there. After which they employed two other staff from the community. This increase the companies expenditure. However, the profit made from the sales was not enough to cater for all their salary. Management did not hold back or relent. They still have hope.

The two staff members are from the community. Their input gave the pharmacy the old brand it had. The old customers can relate well with one of their own because they are from the community like them.

As the months roles by, they added a full time pharmacist.

Stock

The manager started to note the fast moving products and products customers ask for that are not yet on the shelf. They started stocking accordingly. Within six months from the day they took over, sales went up for the first time.

Outreach

They were not comfortable with the output yet. They decided to organise free outreach. The village like free things a lot. Even with the poor notice, so many people came. After the outreach, more customers were added.

Automation System

To help in the management of sales, they added a computer and a sales software was installed. This ease the sales management and reduce time of manual stock keeping. They also introduce a means of automatically reaching out to customers through text message by using a pharmacy app for customers with phone numbers. By the time the business was a year old under the new management team, sales have tripled.

Attitude

Management always paid salary on time. Besides the salary was ok. This made the staffs to work extra hard contributing so much of their time to make sure the business succeed. The pharmacist took out time to visit medical doctors encouraging them to recommend products they have to their patients. He also had a good relationship with patients.

Read Also: How to revive a community/retail pharmacy business in Nigeria

Lesson Learnt

1. It requires some money to revive the community pharmacy business back

2. The positive result was not felt immediately. It took at least six months.

3. They employed many staff unlike the old management that had just one.

4. They stocked according to demands

5. They relied on technology to get to customers which made some very happy

At the end, the old management was sad letting go of such a business. However, life goes on.

Community pharmacy business requires more than just location. Good location with bad management can kill the business. Always focus on the style suitable for that environment. What work in a location may not work in another.