Seems like everyone in pharmacy retail is on a mission to provide their customers with the best shopping experience possible. As it should be. You don’t earn loyalty these days simply by satisfying your customers. Taking it to the next level with one-to-one engagement, surprise, delight, and a unique experience are where today’s shoppers are won (and lost). With innovative products, unique store layouts, expansive in-stock selection, personalized deals, in-store clinics, etc., retail pharmacy is clearly taking the customer experience seriously.

What we don’t often hear about though is the employee experience and just how important that can be to the long-term viability of your customer focused strategy. The best laid plans to surprise and delight customers will be quickly laid to waste by unmotivated, disengaged, and possibly even, vindictive staff. Equally, people who love their job and the company they work for can’t help but show it. These folks can cover up more than a few blemishes as you perfect other aspects of your customer experience strategy.

When you were a kid, there were two universal childhood traumas that almost everyone could relate to. Going to the dentist, and wrestling your parents to avoid bad tasting medicine.

Apparently the pediatric dentists in this country figured out how to remove themselves from the list. I recently took my apprehensive son to the dentist for the first time and did my best to sugar coat (no pun intended) what kind of experience he could expect. His first question which was innocently asked to me was if he'd get a lollipop if he was good? I had to break the news that dentists aren't big fans of sugar on a stick. Next I put my over the top game show voice on to explain that being good could result in...... A NEW TOOTHBRUSH!!!

As a pharmacist and a mom, I understand the difficulty and the stress related to medication-time for children and parents from behind the counter, as well as in front of the counter. This dual perspective encourages me to empathize more with sick children and better understand and support frustrated parents.

Owning any type of business whether it is an independent or a chain pharmacy, it is important to know your customer. This will not only allow you to find your customers easier, but it will also help you turn them into loyal customers. This blog piece will help you get to know the 80 million Millennials and turn them into happy, loyal customers.

As 2015 kicks off, I can’t help but reflect on changing times – especially in the pharmacy space. Gone are the days of simply dispensing medications and tracking script counts.

Today, Pharmacists truly are holistic care providers. This is especially true with respect to the Hispanic customer segment, a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population, that shows signs of benefiting from a more culturally-sensitive approach than other segments. By properly modifying practices and approaches, pharmacy teams can make a world of difference in the well-being of the Hispanic population.

According the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Hispanics are twice as likely as non-Hispanic blacks and three times as likely as non-Hispanic whites to lack a regular health care provider.” For those who do have access to regular a health care provider, the level of satisfaction is quite grim. Data from the same article shows that 24% of Hispanics report a poor level of health care received. Since chronic disease states are more prevalent in the Hispanic community, that statistic is even more alarming since the long-term, proper management of chronic conditions are more difficult and more costly to manage than acute conditions.