It is back to school time and that means the beginning of cold and flu season for a lot of children. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in the United States, seasonal cold and flu activity most commonly peaks between December and February, but flu viruses can cause illness from early October to late May.

Viruses like the cold or flu can spread from person to person through coughs and sneezes of infected people or surfaces, making back to school time a more likely time for children to get sick. If a child does get sick, it is very important that they take the prescription as prescribed and adhere to the medication to prevent antibiotic resistance, and to get them back to school and get their parents back to work as quickly as possible. 

There is an old saying, “You don’t get a 2^nd chance to make a 1^st impression”. Sure it’s cliché, but oftentimes the first impression a potential new customer of an independent pharmacy (or any locally owned business) is the signage above the front door. I’ve collected countless numbers of business cards at tradeshows where an independent pharmacy uses their store name alongside an old image of a classic mortar & pestle. While we all know this symbolizes the very root of pharmacy and quickly identifies with the public as a place to pick up prescriptions, your image could be perceived as a bit outdated with today’s customers, especially the Millennial generation.

If you’d like to dramatically increase the number of new customer referrals you get you may want to consider implementing a formal community relations program.

One way to start would be to find a person on your staff that is personable and trustworthy and ask them if they are interested taking the lead in a new initiative you are considering. I would suggest you not position this as a promotion but as an interesting new job related task that will let them get out of the store for a few hours each week. The idea would be to have this person get out for a few hours each week during slow times. I prefer a pharmacy technician wearing some other pharmacy related attire. This truly sets them apart as they visit with others outside your store.

We all know that star ratings in pharmacy are tied to patient outcomes but the star ratings we are talking about are related to improving online reviews. We are clearly in an experience based economy right now, and the Millennial generation of consumers love to share those retail experiences online through social networks and online review sites like, Yelp. As a small business owner, you must be aware of your online reviews/ratings as this can make or break your reputation in your community.

Think about this for a second, 10-15 years ago you may have told 6-8 friends, family, & neighbors about a very positive or negative customer experience over a dinner party or on the sidelines of a youth soccer field. In today's world, each customer interaction has the potential to permanently be rated online for tens of thousands of people to see. Some of the more elaborate reviews such as "United Breaks Guitars" have gone viral with millions of views.