When you walk into most pharmacies in Australia you will no doubt see a sign claiming they offer professional services.

Does putting a sign up, listing available services mean anything to your customers?

The pharmacy industry is still in a flux of change with the PBS reforms placing a large number of pharmacies under financial pressure. There are a number of funding opportunities under the 6CPA, which is great, but it’s important to have a look at other opportunities to secure the long-term future of your business.

It may sound ridiculous, but do all your staff actually know all the services that your pharmacy offers? If your staff don’t know, what chance do your customers have? Pharmacies are happy to put the signs up and list many services, but this doesn’t mean the customers will see the signs or even know what they mean. It’s important that you actually offer services that are relevant to your customers. The ultimate goal of any professional service is to provide and add value to the customers’ experience in the pharmacy, as this will ultimately increase the profitability of your business.

It’s important to ensure your customers see the ‘value add’ your pharmacy offers compared to your competitors. More time spent engaging with your customers will enable you to gain a rapport with them.

We all ensure we train our staff on how to take a prescription in and how to sell pharmacy-only and pharmacist-only medicines. However, Professional Services seems to be another story, as it seems to be only on a need-to-know basis. Is it because you think some staff don’t actually perform the service so they don’t need to know the details? How many missed opportunities for paid professional services are being lost because of insufficient training of all your staff?

In most pharmacies the majority of customer contact is with pharmacy assistants, so if you’ve trained them in the details of the services you offer, they will be more likely to know what to look out for and be able to inform the customer of what you can offer them.

For example:

Jenny comes into the pharmacy all excited as her daughter is due to give birth to her first grandchild. Amanda, one of your pharmacy assistants, is helping her with a number of things for her daughter and the baby. Your pharmacy is approved to provide vaccinations, so if Amanda is trained appropriately, what could she do next? Amanda could ask how long ago Jenny had a Whooping Cough Vaccination as it is recommended to have a booster every 10 years and at least two weeks before they come in contact with the baby. If Jenny tells Amanda she hasn’t had a booster for a very long time, Amanda could inform Jenny that the pharmacy offers a vaccination service where the pharmacist can administer a booster for her now if she would like. Amanda could explain the details of the service and if required, refer Jenny to the pharmacist for the service to be carried out.

Business owner, motivational speaker and customer service expert, Tom O’Toole, sums up training perfectly when he says;

“What if I train them and they leave? But what if you don’t train them and they stay?”

Training your staff properly will not only lead to better productivity and better outcomes for the business, but also happier staff as they will feel better self-worth.

Why put up a sign if you’re not going to actively promote it? The more reasons you give a customer to come into your store, the fewer reasons you are giving them to go elsewhere.

Pharmacies pay a lot of money to have beautifully printed repeat folders, which often list the services they offer, but do you have your staff pointing these out and explaining to customers what they actually entail, and how the customer can access them or benefit from them? The staff can only perform this task if they themselves know what it all means.

It is important that when you decide to offer professional services, to ensure that what you offer is what your customers actually require. Their health needs should be taken into account and the services promoted and recommended accordingly. Talk to your customers, do market research, and offer customer surveys to ensure the services you offer fit the demographics of your pharmacy. Most people in life often ask the question “What’s in it for me?” (WIIFM) before they commit, so it’s important, as part of your staff training, to ensure the staff are able to communicate the benefits of each service to the customers.

I’m sure you think your staff and customers all know what services you offer and what they actually are. Now, I challenge you to open up a conversation and see if they actually do! Results may be surprising, but will provide you with direction to improve. If your staff are unaware of the available services, start the training process today and watch your professional services grow.