作者:Erin Michael, MBA, MS, CPhT, PCCA的外部销售总监

在当今拥挤的药房世界，确保你脱颖而出是非常重要的。你的做法有什么不同?是什么让你在竞争中脱颖而出?你是否明确了你的竞争优势是什么，以及你如何利用它们来促进你的实践?你的病人和医生是否因为与你有过惊人的经历而推广你的实践?随着年底的临近，这是一个完美的时间来内部审视你的业务，并试图找到这些问题的答案。上周，我重读了肯·布兰查德的《疯狂的粉丝》一书，它提醒我，确保与潜在病人或医生的每一次相遇都是难忘的是多么重要。你不仅会获得一个忠实的客户或同事，而且他们会成为你的“狂热粉丝”，并开始为你做营销。所以，当我们进入一年中典型的感谢你的病人和你的医生一直以来的忠诚的时候，我想让你问问自己，你会做些什么来让自己与众不同，把你的“狂热粉丝”地位提升到一个新的水平?我曾经在每年的第四季度问自己这个问题，当我开始思考我要为我的专利和从业者做些什么来说“谢谢”的时候。我做了一些事情，比如送糖果、水果篮、日历、酒篮等等。 My partner and I included a personal thank-you card with every gift, and we hand-delivered them to prescribers’ offices about one week before Christmas. We even had a holiday open house for our patients to let them know how much they meant to us. Over the years, as competition increased, we started to notice that others were following suit. We were no longer doing something that set us apart. So we decided to give our thank-you during a time that was truly designated as a time for reflection and appreciation. We started giving Thanksgiving appreciation to our patients and practitioners in November. This really was a game changer for us. It was unexpected, and the staff at the prescribers’ offices loved it. Our patients raved about how we took care of them, and we truly appreciated their business. This was what we needed to be different.

Another tactic that worked very well for us was carefully choosing the words we used to express our thanks. It is so easy to say “thank you” when you are ringing up a customer at the register or before you hang up the phone with a practitioner, but have you ever thought of taking your verbal cues to the next level? Using words like “appreciation,” “grateful” and “recognize” in your thank-you messaging will also help to strengthen you overall message. Using these words shows a deeper level of gratitude and truly shows your customers how much you appreciate them. This is a great time of year to revisit your overall customer experience and look at things through a different lens: How can you appreciate your customers today and enhance their experience for a lifetime?

So what will be your game changer? How will you gain additional loyalty from your already “raving fans”? Will it be that celebration you enjoy around New Year’s to thank your supporters and get them excited for things to come? What about delivering a single yellow rose to each mom who works at the practitioners’ offices or who comes into your pharmacy in honor of Mother’s Day? Whatever you do to thank your fans, make sure to be unique. Do something that will be different and be remembered for years to come. Happy Selling!

Erin Michael, MBA, MS, CPhT, PCCA Director of Outside Sales, joined the PCCA staff in July 2006. She has been working in pharmacy for more than 25 years, of which 23 have been in compounding and promoting the practice of pharmacy. She previously worked for an independent pharmacy owner and was the general manager of multiple locations. Erin was instrumental in developing and implementing programs to promote and grow the compounding and traditional parts of that business. She holds an MBA in healthcare administration and an MS in hospitality management. She was recognized as PCCA Technician of the Month in August 1999 and California Pharmacists Association Technician of the Year in 2003.