We’re all biased. Our experience, context and self-worth guide that. I doubt any pharmacy owner would say – “yep, we have terrible service”. They’d say, “we have great service...seeing we were two people down this morning, we forgot to send the order last night and the catalogue started today”. But that’s not what customers experience. They see pharmacy staff rushing around, being out of stock and having to wait long times for their scripts.

It’s the same with digital engagement. A pharmacy owner may say “we have a great website – I did it myself, it only took me two days, we’ve kept it the same for 4 years and it costs me peanuts to run”. The truth is, a customer sees that website as outdated, unresponsive and stale. This leads us to an important fact: digital engagement is a science and an art requiring a level of training. What customers see online, shapes their bias on what they think about your instore experience.

When it comes to digital, customers are seeking:    

•    Key information displayed first

•    Fresh, relevant and well laid-out content

•    A genuine narrative about the business, its products and services and mission

•    A website experience that matches the instore experience

•    A responsive website that looks professional

•    Outreach options to connect with the pharmacy

•    Images and content that are real, not just stock photos

•    A resource they can use time and time again

•    Information that answers the questions they’re asking

When faced with this reality, customers are more attuned to the business and its offer. The formula again simple:

digital engagement = customer instore engagement = sales.

Digital is not only having a website though. It expands beyond the “digital shop front” which is your domain and website content. It has many paths including:

•    Electronic Distribution of Mail (EDM)

•    Social Media

•    Content marketing

•    eCommerce

•    Digital Advertising

Not all of these are right for every pharmacy. In fact, none of them may be. That comes down

to having a business plan with specific business goals then using digital engagement as part of the strategy to achieve those goals. For every business – this is the most important thing.

What is digitally important to pharmacy customers?