5 Top Tips for Improving Pharmacy and Healthcare Sales in 2021
The healthcare retail world is a competitive industry with unique challenges. Healthcare products can often be a harder sell to consumers, but there are a number of things you can do to maximise a pharmacy’s potential revenue by improving the way healthcare product sales are approached.
Over the years, profit margins for prescriptions have seen a decline, while over the counter (OTC) margins have remained the same, meaning a good OTC sales strategy can bring just as much profitability as prescriptions, if done properly.
Here are our 5 top tips you can implement to improve sales of non-prescription pharmacy and healthcare products:
1. Market research
Researching what’s hot on the healthcare market is vitally important in developing a sales strategy. Review data and research to determine which healthcare products are trending and popular at the time. The landscape for this sort of thing has been completely remodelled by social media, which can be make or break for healthcare products. Keep on top of what is trending on Twitter and Instagram, as well as what products influencers are talking about online, to discover which items you should begin to push.
2. Effective design of pharmacy/shop itself
The physical design and layout of the shop floor can make a big difference when it comes to healthcare product sales. Areas next to prescription counters for example see more footfall and so products in this area are more likely to sell. Test the best areas for products by rotating stock every few months before you find the optimal design that produces the largest amount of sales.
3. Upsell, upsell, upsell!
Many prescription drugs cause unwanted side effects in customers. For example, a number can cause nutritional deficiencies. Training healthcare staff on these possible side effects means they are able to upsell any healthcare products that may relieve these symptoms, e.g. vitamin supplements. You can use this OTC guide to train up on specific recommendations based on the other products your customer is purchasing.
4. Product knowledge
Ensuring your team have a good understanding of the healthcare products they are selling will increase their chances of making a sale. Product knowledge is vital in building trust with the customer, especially in the healthcare sector where the products often have complex ingredients and uses. Healthcare professionals can access training a number of ways, through leaflets, lectures, or online courses. Check out our online product knowledge courses, specific for the healthcare industry and direct from suppliers, available for free!
5. Customer Service
In retail, it can be argued the most important factor in success is exceptional customer service. Training staff to deliver good customer service can make the difference between making a sale or not. Gathering feedback from customers, problem solving, and good product knowledge all culminate in offering customers the best retail experience possible, and in turn, increasing healthcare product sales.
Increase healthcare and pharmacy sales with our top tips!
Using our tips in conjunction with one another should see a growth in sales and revenue of healthcare products. For more tips and healthcare industry news, check out our blog.