Billboard thoughts

From Gabe's email inbox... Gabe, any tips on using billboard as a form of marketing? -Mike M. RPh

• Do not feel that you have to purchase a board on the busiest road in town! Boards on busy roads typically have lots of competition and are the most expensive. Better to have the attention of a few hundred cars a day than little attention of thousands of cars going by.

• Invest your money in choosing the perfect photo. No clip art!

• Photo suggestion would be of you consulting with real customers. The more generations in the photo, the better! Example Grandparent, parent, and child.

• Keep the message short and sweet. Nine words or less. It's not easy, but it is doable.

• Concentrate on what you do, not who you are. Short wait time, consulting, only 10 steps to a caring pharmacist?

• What can you offer? (chose only one) Counseling, 10 steps to talk to a caring pharmacist diabetes support center, compression hosiery fitting, delivery, or most Rx filled in 15 minutes.

• Keep the physical address to just street address and town.

• Website instead of phone number! Unless your billboard is located near a stop sign or light, then forget the phone number! Tough to remember 7 or worse yet, 10 numbers.

• Click on this webpage for a link to an example of a great billboard, a little too busy with information, but still great. (Feel free to click through other signage examples while you're there.)

• Join me for Master the Message CE on Saturday, Oct. 6th at this year's Annual Convention in Boston. I'll be discussing billboards and all forms of marketing.

Time to go tag hunting

Search your shelves for any item, regardless of where it is sourced from that does not have a reorder shelf tag or at least a description. Make a tag, hand write it, or type it out, but you must have a tag. Tip: Use one of the blank tags that come with your wholesalers OTC order, you will find the tags on your last page of shelf stickers. No one's memory is perfect.

Tissue with cough and cold

Not all cough and cold planograms include facial tissue. Merchandise facial tissue either on one of the bottom shelves of your department, or vertically on the right-hand shelves at the end of the fixture or adjacent to the category. Order three months' worth! You know you are going to sell it.

Mind your basket hygiene

I grabbed a hand shopping basket the other day; it was filthy, I put it back. The store was one of the best merchandised and clean stores that I have seen. Please, locate your shopping baskets, clean them and make them easy to find. The holiday season will soon be here, and people will buy more when they use a shopping basket or cart.

Evo Hemp has a September deal for you – 30% off

The September Vendor of the Month on NCPA's Frontendmarketplace.com has a great offer for you... 30% off all Evo Hemp products featured on the site. Evo Hemp's Hemp Bars come in six delicious flavors including gluten and soy free varieties. Packed with 7 gm of healthy hemp based protein, these bars are perfect for breakfast and on the go. The Hemp Crunch snacks pack protein and Omega-3s and come in three flavors, BBQ, Cinnamon, and Garlic & Herb. Evo Hemp also sells Hemp Protein Powder, great for adding protein to a variety of foods; Hemp Hearts for a vegan protein that is perfect tossed in salads, smoothies, baked goods, and more; and Hempseed Oil that can be used in place of olive, flax or coconut oil while cooking. You can get a free sample, too!

Define my shopper demographics

Assuming that you are meeting the demand of your current customer base, how do you go about attracting new customers? One aspect of understanding who your potential shoppers are is learning their demographics: age, ethnicity, income level, where they reside, and more. Review the demographics around a radius you feel appropriate for your store to narrow down who your potential customer could be.
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Merchandising natural products – what approach is best for your pharmacy?

Assuming that you are meeting the demand of your current customer base, how do you go about attracting new customers? One aspect of understanding who your potential shoppers are is learning their demographics: age, ethnicity, income level, where they reside, and more. Review the demographics around a radius you feel appropriate for your store to narrow down who your potential customer could be.
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Sustainability – Should your pharmacy stock sustainable products?

Sustainable products are not always natural, and natural products are not always sustainable; however, the two often go hand in hand. Just what is a sustainable product? For the health, beauty, and wellness world, sustainable products can mean packaging from renewable resources, ingredients that are ethically sourced, or manufacturing processes that eliminate waste. Last year, Forbes cited a Nielsen study that found 73% of global millennials will pay more for a product that is sustainable.
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