The COVID-19 pandemic has been a massive period of uncertainty for pretty much everyone. But where there is chaos, there is also opportunity. In this particular case, for pharmacies, the opportunity was marketing PCR Tests.
The Opportunity
The demand for PCR tests quickly picked up when lockdown was lifted and people were allowed to travel again.
This graph shows the popularity of the search on Google over the past 12 months.The Results
Pharmacy Mentor harnessed this demand for our clients who offered PCR testing. We also recommended that other pharmacies begin to offer PCR testing through their pharmacy as a result of the trend analysis. Here are the stats for one of them:
Off the wall statistics for an independent pharmacy website.- New users: - 28,702 people have walked into your pharmacy off the street. 28,702 people.
- Sessions: - Those people came into the pharmacy on average 1.54 times.
- Page Views: - Of the 90k page views, the consultation form page had 18.5k views. So, of those 28,000 people who walked into your pharmacy to ask about PCR tests, 18,500 signed up for a consultation.
Good Problems
It’s really been a bit of a problem. Because it’s not easy to cope with such demand. Fortunately, the fact we have Telegram & WhatsApp support for our clients means they get instant support whenever they need it. And this did need quite a bit of support! A separate phone-line and email had to be created for PCR requests and all other requests on their website. Fortunately, having created their website too, so we could do this immediately. On-site consultations needed to become online consultations to make room for flu jab appointments. I’ll say that again. To make room for flu jab appointments. The pharmacy was wall-to-wall booked with PCR consultations. Then online consultations booked up. We had to turn the form off temporarily because there was too much demand and people couldn't book appointments. We’ve had to evolve the website to be able to accept online payments to streamline the money coming into the business. Not a bad problem to have.“Please help, I have so many calls and requests per day, I can’t process it all.” At its peak, marketing PCR tests was making this pharmacy £5k/day.
How we did it
You’ll likely want to understand how this happens, to get similar results for your pharmacy. Two words. Keyword Optimisation. Understanding how Google works, we created and optimised two articles for their website (yes, you need a website for this to work). Our keyword research found the terms that people mostly used to search. We published each article - making it both user-friendly (easy to read, easy to use) and Google-friendly (clearly optimised for keywords and formatted well). A couple of weeks later, due to the lack of competition, the articles topped Google for the relevant keywords, beating the Government websites. We created a digital form on the site for people to fill in so they could book everything online, as well as a payment mechanism. Two reasons for this:- It’s easier for you as a pharmacist to manage.
- It’s better for the customer/patient - because when people are searching the internet:
- They aren’t always in a position to pick up the phone
- Phone lines might be busy
- Your pharmacy might be closed when they’re searching for the service (in the evening!)
You lose customers by not allowing them to do everything online.
Able to act with our finger on the pulse
There was obviously the matter of timing, too. That’s why we’re the perfect healthcare partner. We know the heartbeat of healthcare when it comes to marketing throughout the year. Overall, the investment on this project from the pharmacy was around £500. This resulted in making £1,000’s/day. When the opportunity knocked, we answered. Our monthly marketing packs give you access to what is essentially a remote marketing department. With constant dialogues from our team, you’ve got instant access to the trends and the tactics that maximise impact - from those trends, for your pharmacy. PCR testing is an exceptional bubble, for sure. If you do offer PCR tests, get in touch now because we can maximise your impact. But this strategy works for all the PGDs and on-site services you offer, as well as eCommerce. There’s a massive vacuum on Google in the world of healthcare. Waiting for pharmacies like yours to fill it - and fulfil the demand of all the thousands of searches happening every day. Looking for help in marketing your services better and building an online presence? Please get in touch with us. We'll be glad to help.