Last month, online retail giant Amazon made waves throughout the business world as it was announced that the company would be cutting a $13.7 billion check to acquire health-conscious grocery chain Whole Foods.

Having already pulled significant market share from brick-and-mortar retailers, Amazon is now in a unique position to begin drawing customers from large supermarket chains as well. But it isn’t just grocery chains taking notice.

For independent pharmacies, it is important to find a differentiator from your competition. Most larger pharmacies often have more resources to dedicate towards marketing their services, finding convenient locations and building larger teams. However, smaller, independent pharmacies have one area in which they can definitely win: providing a better, more personalized customer experience that can be flexible based on their customers.

By offering an exceptional customer experience, your pharmacy can build a loyal following. So, one goal should be to provide a positive and personalized shopping experience that will keep customers coming back. Here are three suggestions:

Location, location, location. When it comes to retail pharmacy, the old adage is true, your location can make or break your business. Unfortunately, you don’t always have the best choice of real estate for your pharmacy, or your once ideal location becomes less so because a doctor’s office moves away or a competitor moves in.

Over the years, we've visited and worked with thousands of pharmacies and we've heard every excuse imaginable as to why a pharmacist or pharmacy technician can't do better with the flavoring service. We recognize and respect all feedback from our customers and their team members, but we know from experience that the most common objections can quickly be overcome with one simple solution. 

Pharmacy owners and operators know that retail pharmacy is not for the weak of heart. One of the biggest challenges is often keeping your pharmacists and technicians happy and engaged day-in and day-out. In any retail environment that’s not easy, but in pharmacy when you deal with insurance companies, grumpy customers and shrinking reimbursements and prescription quotas, keeping your employees happy is tough. We’re here to help.