Community Pharmacy Service Ideas To Make Customers Happy

A happy customer is a future customer. That is why community pharmacists must make every customer that walked right into the pharmacy floor happy before leaving. Although this is not feasible but make majority of customers say something positive about the pharmacy. It can go a long way in helping shut up the unhappy customers bad mouthing the business. Because a happy customer will tell one person about the pharmacy. On the other hand, an unhappy customer will tell 10 people while the pharmacy is not good.
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It usually starts from a little misunderstanding. Some to the level of questioning your level of intelligence, years of practice, your profession and maybe your parentage. Some will get very vocal and even violent to the point of asking for police. Some of the major cause of these alterations is when an insurance company deny a customer a drug because it is no longer covered or price is too expensive. A very common one is refusing to give a control drug (CD) to a customer.

Happy customer

But making them happy call for more than just customers service. It covers everything the pharmacy is supposed to do to be in business. It calls for all hands to work together for a better customer relationship. The bulk of the work is in the hands of the management.

Management service

Stock

Customers come to the pharmacy for various reasons. Some come to fill their prescription. Will they get what they want is a question only the management can answer. Knowing product that are out of stock is the job of all but placing orders lies in the hands of the management.

When a customer does get all their prescription drugs all the time they come, they will always be happy coming back.

Environment

Staff keep the environment clean but management make plans for the environment to be clean. It is the management that will determine the arrangement of the pharmacy as well as design plan. The beautiful pharmacy attracts customers more than the unarrange ones.

Discount

Some are there to compare prices. Different shops cannot sell the same price for the same product due to market dynamics. These dynamic include cost of renting a shop in some locations may be higher than the other. These affect the final price on those products. But some products can be discounted for new customers. A small price adjustment does the trick. But while such adjustment may make some customers happy, it may involve the spirit of suspicion in others. They may feel the shop discounts for some people and allow others to pay higher amount for the same product. They start doubting the prices on the shelf.

A simple strategy to beat this is to provide a small free gift to such customers instead of adjusting the selling price. Simple put a small gift in their hands such as customized hand fan and say take this as a first time customer. That alone can keep them coming back not considering the price.

Staff Service

Encourage Shoppers

For the staff they can help shoppers with their shopping. A confused customer will be happy when one of the staff assist in making the right choice. This is not a supermarket where customers pick what they want. This is a drug store where every product can affect the person. They need good guidance which only the staff can provide.

One simple strategy that has worked is taking female customers to where they can get beauty products while the males can be taken to where they can get energy products. At the end, everybody is happy. But before they buy, they want evidence why these products are good. And it will require some talking. Marketing strategy helps a lot.

Alternative

Customers want to buy the best product at the best price. But when they discover that their finance is not enough to take care of it, they seek for a good alternative. It is the duty of the staff to explain the alternative, the price difference, the advantage and disadvantage. For example, a customer will be happy to pay a little more for a product that have higher quantity of high quality from another company. Such guidance help them make an informed decision that will make them happy.

Gratitude

From those who walk in buying just paracetamol tablet to those who are buying drugs worth thousands of naira, they all want to be appreciated. And it is their right because it is their money. No matter how small the money a customer spend in a pharmacy, they must be appreciated. Let them feel welcome and appreciate them for buying.
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Pretend To Care

Some customers may feel bad in the shop. If they complain, show remorse. Listen to them as you assure them of a quick fix.

Know Your Customers

Customers are more likely to be loyal customers if they are known by the staff. They come into the pharmacy and they are quickly recognized. Somebody asks them about their medication and how they are feeling now. It goes a long way to show them that the pharmacy care. They will not want to change pharmacy shop. Saving their phone number is very good. However, it is not possible to save all your customers phone number and know them all.

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