For pharmacies, it has become more important than ever to have a strategy in place for the add on sales that make up for shrinking prescription margins. There’s no one size fits all solution to make this happen, but there are some key things that every pharmacy can focus on to improve front-end sales.
These are some of the top tips taken from a recent CLIMB panel discussion with experts Gary Glisson and Stephanie Zimmerman.
Take advantage of the time you’re in front of your patients- Any time you have a patient fill out a form, or chat with them one on one, you have an opportunity to gather data that can be used later. Add questions that can help you better help patients to your vaccination and patient intake forms. Ask questions like “Are you having issues with pain, sleep or anxiety?”. Or “are you taking a multivitamin or probiotic. Also make sure you get an email address. While this may seem a little daunting, or simply uncomfortable to start, we think you’ll find that for the most part, patients like to interact with their pharmacy team and are generally open to answering questions.
-Use the data in your pharmacy and point-of-sale system – Now it’s all about making use of the data you’ve gathered, plus all the other data that’s created with every prescription fill and patient interaction. Data in your pharmacy system can help you make appropriate recommendations to patients based on questions you’ve answered. And the data in your point-of-sale reports will help you understand what areas of your pharmacy are profitable. Once you understand the data, that’s when you can manage it and make improvements.
-Grab the low hanging fruit – There are a couple of areas where many pharmacies find high profit margins on add on sales. One of these is supplements like multivitamins, probiotics and more. You can even recommend supplements based on drug induced nutrient depletion using a point-of-sale integrated program. CBD products also represent a growing opportunity for many pharmacy businesses. Of course, these are just a couple of options. If neither of them offers a good fit for your pharmacy, think about other areas where you might use data and expertise to create add on sales.
-Become a go to expert in specific areas of your pharmacy – Remember that pharmacists consistently rank as some of the most trusted professionals. That trust and expertise are valuable, so use them to your advantage. Whether you’re focusing on supplements, CBD, point-of-care testing, DME or something else entirely, make your pharmacy a destination for that product or service.
-Educate your staff – None of these strategies count for much if you don’t educate your staff in the systems, processes, sales strategies and more. Make sure they know how to use the technology available to them. Your vendor might offer training programs tailored to your goals. Team members should be comfortable with product discussions to the extent possible and know when to bring in a pharmacist to answer patient questions and offer guidance.
-Use testimonials – When patients experience positive outcomes, share their successes. If a patient tells you that your advice on a new product helped them, you can put that quote on your website and place a display or sign next to the product. Testimonials are incredibly powerful marketing tools.
-Marketing matters – Use the data you’ve created and gathered. Whether it’s a targeted email with coupons, or a newsletter with tips and upcoming deals. Or maybe just a place where you share important health information. Emails and social are a great way to keep the lines of communication open with your customers and to keep your business top of mind for them.
You can watch the full panel discussion for in depth information on these topics and more. CLIMB registrants can watch previous CLIMB content any time. And registration is just a couple of clicks away!
Did you know that every time you sell a prescription, you might be leaving money on the table? What’s more, your patients might be walking out the door without everything they need to experience a positive outcome.
When patients fill a prescription, they often think about the big side effects. Potential drug interactions, or the list of dos and don’ts that everyone expects to receive when they start on a new medication or treatment. What doesn’t always get discussed is drug induced nutrient depletion. Many depletions aren’t included as part of your patient counselling support system, but still represent an impact to patient outcomes and compliance.
While drug induced nutrient depletion isn’t a new topic, many pharmacies don’t have active nutrient depletion counselling programs. Offering supplement recommendations based on prescription induced nutrient depletion not only improves patient outcomes, it also boosts profitability through supplement sales. Making that conversation a part of every prescription sale requires the right partners and tools.
At RMS, we’ve been on a quest to make nutrient depletion counselling easily accessible to all our customers. But this isn’t a goal we could accomplish alone.
We’re so thrilled to integrate RMS’ nutrient depletion recommendation system, Nutributler, and TRC Healthcare-the top provider of evidence-based medication advisory resources. We absolutely love this integration, and we think you might just become a raving fan too.
Here’s why!
It’s Crazy Easy – The process to identify the potential for nutrient depletion, search for supplement recommendations and share that information with your patients is simple. At the register, you’ll scan the prescription or prescriptions as usual. Your RMS system will automatically send a request to TRC Healthcare’s Natural Medicines database to search based off the NDC number. Natural Medicines returns a rapid response which displays identified depletions and therapy recommendations right on the transaction screen. You can then discuss the addition of recommended supplements to your patient’s treatment plan, add the appropriate supplements to the transaction, and/or print out information on the recommendation for the patient to take home.
Natural Medicines operates an independent database – In part, a successful nutrient depletion counselling program is about trust. This is why we love that the Natural Medicines database isn’t tied to a single manufacturer. Independence supports the evidence-based nature of the recommendations and gives you greater flexibility with your program.
No commitment to a specific supplement line – TRC Healthcare’s Natural Medicines database is huge! It’s the largest in the U.S. with over 1400 monographs and 185,000 natural products. This means you might already have the right products in your pharmacy inventory, and you can work with your patients to find a supplement at the right price level.
It’s all about improving patient outcomes – TRC Healthcare has a long history of helping pharmacy teams make safe, informed medication and natural therapy decisions. Paired with RMS’ mission to make customers more profitable and customer-centric, this becomes the perfect platform from which to build a nutrient depletion counselling program and improve patient outcomes.
Pharmacy profitability – Nutrient depletion counselling programs offer many benefits to your patients. But they also benefit your pharmacy business. The obvious piece is the increase in profitability as you add supplement sales to more transactions. Supplements are generally high margin products and can make a big impact to your bottom line. And because those supplements will help your patients feel better, you’re also creating loyal customers that will keep coming back.
There’s a video that will tell you all about RMS and TRC Healthcare – We were so excited about this partnership, we just had to talk about it a bit more. Check out this 15 minute interview with RMS founder & CEO Brad Jones and TRC Healthcare Product Manager Pam Piotrowski. Brad and Pam talk about the new interface, the importance of nutrient depletion counselling, and how every pharmacy can get started.
You only need a few things to get started – RMS’ Nutributler program is built-in to every RMS system. The only requirement is that your pharmacy system transmits the NDC number and that you have access to TRC Healthcare’s Natural Medicines database. If you aren’t a TRC Healthcare member, it’s easy to add a cost-effective membership. Simply fill out this form and a TRC Healthcare representative will reach out to discuss options.
From there, all you need is the product on your pharmacy shelves (which you might already have!) a bit of training for your team, and the right motivation to build a successful program.
