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the new pharmacy model
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The New Pharmacy Model

The New Pharmacy Model

Pharmacies in the United Kingdom are undergoing a profound transformation. Gone are the days of simply dispensing medicine from the back of the pharmacy. The emergence of new compliance standards and regulations, alongside advancements in technology and a shift towards more patient-centric care, has paved the way for what can be aptly termed as “The New Pharmacy Model”.

This model, envisioned by our CEO, Saam Ali, encompasses a comprehensive approach to pharmacy spanning four key pillars: products and services, marketing and sales strategies, operational enhancements, and human resources development.

Take a look at the infographic below, which we’ve developed, that showcases The New Pharmacy Model in the industry. Let’s delve deeper into its intricacies.

new pharmacy model

The New Pharmacy Model, as depicted by our CEO and Founder

Products & Services

NHS Services: Pharmacies are at the forefront of providing essential NHS services, with a primary focus on prescription fulfilment. The integration of fully automated prescription fulfilment systems has streamlined the process, ensuring accuracy and efficiency. Additionally, pharmacies offer advanced services such as New Medicine Service (NMS), hypertension management, Pharmacy First consultations, flu vaccinations, and access to emergency contraception like the Morning After Pill.

Private Services: Expanding beyond NHS services, pharmacies now offer a plethora of private services under the same roof. These include travel vaccinations, ear wax removal, blood testing, aesthetics procedures, and over-the-counter (OTC) sales of various healthcare products and supplements, catering to diverse consumer needs. In the New Pharmacy Model, the pharmacy is a true health hub in the community.

Online Services: The digital era has ushered in a new era of accessibility and convenience. Pharmacies now offer online prescribing services allowing independent prescribers to sell prescription-only medication (POM), pharmacy-only medicines (P-lines), and General Sales List (GSL) items safely and securely online.

Marketing & Sales

Engagement Strategies: Utilising web-based platforms, pharmacies engage with customers through online bookings, AI-powered health assistants, live chat support, email opt-ins, and dedicated mobile applications, ensuring seamless communication and accessibility.

Marketing Channels: To amplify their reach, pharmacies employ a mix of marketing channels including search engine optimisation (SEO), social media engagement, Google and Meta advertising, digital TV signage, email and SMS marketing, and innovative strategies like QR codes to enhance customer engagement and retention.

Partnerships

Healthcare Collaborations: Pharmacies are now forging strategic partnerships with healthcare providers including general practitioners (GPs), dental clinics, chiropodists, weight loss clinics, optometrists, and medical labs to offer comprehensive and integrated healthcare solutions.

Other Collaborations: Beyond healthcare, pharmacies collaborate with travel agents, local businesses, and corporate entities to extend their services and cater to diverse consumer needs.

Operations

Enhanced Experience: Pharmacies invest in enhancing the customer experience by providing physical premises with multiple consultation rooms designed in a clinical setting. Additionally, technology infusion ensures a seamless and efficient service delivery.

Online Pharmacy: In response to evolving consumer preferences, pharmacies offer online platforms with a smooth user experience (UX), digital communications, and trackable order systems to cater to the growing demand for digital healthcare solutions.

Technology Integration: Robotics play a pivotal role in pharmacy operations with dispensing robots, pill packs, and 24/7 prescription collection systems ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and round-the-clock service. Additionally, pharmacies leverage software and hardware solutions including Pharmacy Management Systems (PMR), websites, apps, digital records, Electronic Point of Sale (EPOS) systems, and automated drug ordering systems to streamline operations.

Human Resources

Training Programs: Pharmacies invest in comprehensive training programs encompassing in-person sessions covering vaccinations, independent prescribing (IP), Patient Group Directions (PGDs), CPR training, clinical assessments, and workshops to ensure staff competency and compliance.

Continuous Learning and Support: Recognising the importance of ongoing learning, pharmacies offer self-learning modules and support mechanisms through online platforms, buying groups, and membership associations to empower their workforce with new skills and knowledge.

People-Centric Culture: Pharmacies foster a positive and inclusive work culture that emphasises recognition, diversity, and inclusion, creating an empowering environment for their employees. This is key for pharmacy growth and has been neglected in the old model.

Leadership Attributes: Leaders embody visionary, innovative, adaptable, resilient, and collaborative traits, steering their pharmacy organisations through dynamic healthcare landscapes and driving positive change.

Embrace Change

The New Pharmacy Model represents a huge shift in how pharmacies operate and interact with their patients and customers. By embracing technological advancements, expanding service offerings, forging strategic partnerships, optimising operations, and nurturing their human resources, pharmacies are not just adapting to change but leading the way towards a more integrated and patient-centric healthcare ecosystem in the United Kingdom.

At Pharmacy Mentor, we’re playing a crucial role in helping pharmacies adapt to the New Model. Our marketing and development solutions help with two of the big pillars in this model in a variety of ways. If you’re keen on understanding how we can help you, please get in touch with us. Our team of experts have helped 1000’s of pharmacies embrace new solutions and engage with their audiences better.

Contact Us

 

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DRIVING ACQUISITION, VISIBILITY AND RECOGNITION FOR MY LOCUM CHOICEDRIVING ACQUISITION, VISIBILITY AND RECOGNITION FOR MY LOCUM CHOICE
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Case Study: Driving acquisition, visibility and recognition for My Locum Choice

My Locum Choice - A UK-leading locum platform for pharmacists and other healthcare professionals

The boys from My Locum Choice, finalists at the C&D award ceremony 2017

“Excellent help and support. Bringing pharmacy forward. Has developed and is driving a digital strategy for our company that is growing and engaging our audience, but is also helping us acquire new clients.”
Mitesh Shah – Chief Executive Officer

About

My Locum Choice is one of the UK’s leading agency for locum pharmacists and other healthcare professionals. Their innovative online platform provides an all-round solution for their clients.

Challenges

Although the directors were relatively active on Social Media, there wasn’t a clear and defined strategy that was leading to growth and acquisition. Furthermore, their social activity ate up vital time that was required for other business activity.

Solutions

Pharmacy Mentor works closely with the team to develop a solid strategy and then executes The Social Media and Search Engine BOOSTER Pack, with more a focus on Facebook, LinkedIn and SEO.

Results

Completely revamped their blog and developed The Ultimate Guide to Locum Pharmacy as their cornerstone article. User experience is greatly improved. Creating highly targeted blog content on a monthly basis to position their company higher on Google for a number of important keywords.

A significant increase in engagement and audience numbers across Facebook and LinkedIn. Social activity is leading to an increase in client acquisition, but the time freed up is allowing the directors to focus on other aspects of the business, including client retention.

Saam Ali - The Pharmacy Mentor

If you’re looking for help in marketing your services better and building on online presence, then please get in touch with me and I’ll be glad to help.

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The Pharmacy Digital Diagnosis
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The Pharmacy Digital Diagnosis – How digital is your pharmacy?

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Is your pharmacy catering for the digital behaviour of your customers and patients?

In a world where we’re online more than we actually sleep, where online retail sales are breaking records year on year and where 40 million of us in the UK are now active on Social Media…have you considered what kind of presence your pharmacy has online to cater for this behaviour?

Can people find the services you offer on Google before they leave the house? Are you maximising the use of Facebook to target those people and businesses around you? Is your website fit for purpose for the 21st century?

Having a digital presence is just as important as having a physical presence these days and there are so many tools you can use that will help market your services better, create stronger business and customer relationships, and help drive pharmacy footfall and website traffic.

So, in light of this, I wanna help you understand the current health of your pharmacy online and what kind of opportunities lie ahead of you through what I have coined as the “Pharmacy Digital Diagnosis”. Let me explain what this is in a bit more detail.

What is a Pharmacy Digital Diagnosis?

 

Pharmacy Digital Diagnosis Screen Shot Example

An example shot from the digital diagnosis of a chemist in Nottingham

 

Essentially, a Pharmacy Digital Diagnosis is where I screen your pharmacy business to help you realise:

 

  • What your current online presence is like
  • How well you’re marketing your pharmacy online, and
  • What opportunities exist for your business in terms of digital marketing

 

Through screencasting and voiceover, I will examine each of the digital marketing channels you’re using and the strategies you may be employing, and advise you on:

 

  • What’s good about them
  • What’s not so good about them
  • And what can be done to improve them, which will lead to better results

 

All of this is then packaged into a short and concise video which I will send you via email so you can watch, learn and digest in your own time.

I conduct each and every Diagnosis for free of course and what you do with your video is completely up to you. But, if you want to talk to me about how you can improve your presence online, market your pharmacy services better or would like me to implement and manage a more powerful digital marketing strategy for you, then I’m all ears! Get in touch with me by phone, Whatsapp, Email, Skype, FaceTime, LinkedIn, Facebook (you get my drift), and I’ll get back to you right away 🙂

Looking forward to helping you get digital.

All the best,

Saam

Click here to request a FREE digital diagnosis of your business now

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Google My Business for Community Pharmacy
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Google My Business – A must-have Tool for Community Pharmacy

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Google My Business for Community Pharmacy

Are you aware of how many people find your pharmacy on Google? Are you sure the information Google has about your pharmacy is correct? Wouldn’t you like to be able to control the information that Google has for your pharmacy and begin actively promoting your products and services?

The answers to these questions come down to one application – and that’s Google My Business. You may not have even heard of it. That’s fine and (relatively) normal! But rest assured, it’s one of the most important Social Media marketing tools you’ll come across for your pharmacy. In my opinion, its use should be mandatory for every bricks and mortar business that exists.

In this lecture, we’re going to learn more about what Google My Business is and why it’s important for you as a local pharmacy business.

Help customers and patients find and connect with you

In the words of Google:

“Google My Business is a free and easy-to-use tool for businesses and organizations to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. By verifying and editing your business information, you can both help customers find you and tell them the story of your business.”

This description alone should alert you as to why Google my Business is imperative to you as a local pharmacy. Essentially, it’s a platform that houses various different Google applications to create a powerful business marketing tool. The platform includes your Google plus social media profile, Google Maps, Google Reviews, Google Analytics, Google Insights and other applications, all designed to help you stand out in the best way possible on the most popular search engine in the world.

 

The Google My Business Homepage

Google My Business – An excellent tool for Comunity Pharmacy

 

The easiest way to understand the importance of Google my Business is to look at some real-life pharmacies that are out there.

Let’s head over to Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. This is what Lloyds Pharmacy in the Shelton area looks like on Google. If you clicked the previous link, you’ll be able to see the whole listing when you scroll down.

 

Lloyds Pharmacy in Shelton

 

As you can imagine, being a well-known brand, they are registered on Google my Business, and this is what having a good Google My Business profile looks like. They have photos so you can see exactly what the pharmacy looks like and where it is. They have 16 reviews which have produced an overall rating of 4.2 stars out of 5, and Google really nicely displays the stars. This instantly builds trust for the viewer. You can find more details underneath like the address, phone number and very importantly, their opening hours, which is what customers and patients are likely to be searching for. Underneath, you can find other reviews from around the web, and Google have nicely integrated their NHS Choices reviews too. Sometimes you’ll find Facebook reviews or reviews from another platform, like Yelp or Pharmacy Flu Jabs next to this too.

You can also see how Google My Business cleverly display how busy the pharmacy is at various times. This really helps inform the customer better about when to go, for example, if someone’s short of time, they’ll use this information to plan their day better. And how good is this…Google says people typically spend 10 minutes here. I’m not really sure how they know this, but for a pharmacy, that is really great for a customer or patient to understand. It signifies a quick turnover of prescriptions and entices people to use their services.

 

Google My Business waiting times

Could represent prescription waiting times?

 

And below this, you can see actual reviews left by real customers. We all know how important reviews and social proofing are for pharmacy because again, it instantly instils trust in the customer.

Now, compare this profile with Sh***on Pharmacy who are literally down the road from Lloyds and who have not validated their pharmacy on Google My Business.

 

Google My Business Shelton Pharmacy

A pharmacy who hasn’t validated and optimised their business on GMB

 

I know this hasn’t been owned because of the question I can see in the image “Own this business?”. Hopefully, you can see a difference between the two listings straight away. Even if you haven’t validated your pharmacy as a listing, if you’re an established local business that’s been around for some time, Google will automatically create a  profile for you – like you can see here for this pharmacy. However, it’s seriously lacking compared to the profile of Lloyds we saw just earlier. We can’t see any reviews for this pharmacy, the business hours are missing, it’s not linked to their own website or NHS Choices and no photos have been uploaded. In a world where we would like to find out information about a place and contact them as quick as possible, Sh***on pharmacy are making it unnecessarily more difficult for their consumers.

Google Maps is increasingly being used as a search engine today

And when it comes down to a consumer deciding which pharmacy to use after a search on Google Maps, those who have poor or incomplete profiles are likely to lose out. Take a look at this. People regularly use Google maps as a search engine these days to find a place where they need to go. If I type “Pharmacy in stoke”, Sh***on pharmacy doesn’t exist in the sidebar here. And if I get more specific and type “pharmacy in Shelton” although we can see Sh***on Pharmacy here, we have 4 other pharmacies in the vicinity which all have reviews and more information about the business in general. If a consumer was choosing a pharmacy based on this search, it’s unlikely they’d choose Sh***on Pharmacy.

 

Pharmacies as seen on Google Maps

Pharmacies as seen on Google Maps

 

It’s imperative that you validate your pharmacy on Google My Business

So you see, Google My Business optimises your presence on Google Search, Maps and across other platforms it’s associated with, and from the two examples we’ve covered in this module, you can clearly see the benefits of it.

However, you’ve just seen the surface of what the tool can do for you. It has many other features that can help expose you online and rank you higher in search results, and some important features are the insights and analytics you’re able to examine on there. Google My Business helps you understand how your customers find you online and what they do when they get there, and you’re able to actively market through the platform. 

If you’d like to optimise your pharmacy on Google My Business, then I’ve made it very easy for you. The course Drive Pharmacy Footfall with Google is a step-by-step video course that guides you through the setup and validation procedure and helps you optimise your listing to 100%. Furthermore, you’ll learn how to actively market your products and services through the application and implement a very time-efficient strategy that anyone can manage in your pharmacy team. Click here for more information.

Thanks for visiting and see you in the next learning module! For more modules, please click here.

Saam

 

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5 POWERFUL TOOLS TO HELP EXPOSE YOUR FLU JAB SERVICE
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5 Powerful Tools to Help Expose your Flu Jab Service

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What are you doing digitally to promote your Flu Jab Service?

It’s the beginning of the Flu Season and we’re all set, ready to jab away. Your pharmacists and consultation room are signed off, the staff have been briefed about procedure and you’ve plastered marketing material all over your pharmacy.

However, have you done anything on a digital level yet? Are you maximising the exposure of your service to reach those who don’t just walk past or come into your pharmacy organically?

In this tutorial, I’m collaborating with Pharmacy Talk – Uniting Pharmacy through Conversations, to talk to you about 5 online tools that will help you magnify your marketing efforts around the flu jab service you offer this year.

1) Facebook

 

 

A simply brilliant tool to help you market your Flu Jab service is Facebook. On your business page, you can promote via the services tab, building an offer, pinning your posts, creating an engaging header and much, much more.

But your page isn’t the only feature of Facebook that can help you. You can message businesses directly through their own pages, publish posts in local relevant groups and even create a group yourself that will give you influencing power over a significant number of people. As an example, what I have done for one of my clients recently is create a group purely for the shops and businesses in the local area with the goal of improving communication. Local businesses have willingly joined and I can now post updates in there about the flu jab service they offer. Powerful marketing at zero the cost.

If you’d like to begin driving your flu service and business in general on Facebook, The Pharmacy and Social Media Mastery Course is the perfect place for you to start. Click here for more info.

NOTE: Due to the nature of Facebook today (Aug 2018), the organic reach of your posts through your page has deteriorated significantly. That’s why Facebook Ads are more important than ever in order to reach your target audience effectively. Facebook Ads are very powerful and that’s why I pretty much always include them in the digital marketing strategies I create for my clients.

2) Pharmacy Flu Jabs

 

Add your pharmacy as a listing to Pharmacy Flu Jabs

 

I teamed up with PharmData to create a platform called Pharmacy Flu Jabs which helps the public find a pharmacy that provides the flu jab service quickly and easily. At this time of year, there is always a spike in the search terms associated with the flu jab, meaning people are looking for information about it online. By adding your listing on here, you’ll become much more visible as a flu jab provider online, making it much more likely for people to choose your services.

3) Update your website

 

Update your website with promotional flu jab material

 

Your website is your online shop window, so make sure you or your developer updates it to reflect that you’re providing the flu jab service. Just like I’ve done with this client. As soon as the user lands on the site, they can’t miss it. The button leads to a blog post I created about the service which is now showing up on page one of Google, or if you have an online booking calendar, it could just as easily direct to that too.

4) Create a post on Google My Business

 

Google My Business can help you promote the flu jab service

 

It’s imperative as a local business that you have a Google My Business profile owned and validated for your pharmacy. If you don’t, then you’re simply missing out on a great opportunity to improve the visibility of your pharmacy online. Within the application itself, you can create posts about your flu jab which is fantastic free advertising.

Look at the post I created for Crosspool Pharmacy a few days ago. If someone now types in “Crosspool Pharmacy” into Google, they’re going to land on their Google My Business profile, and you can see a very visual promotional post on the Flu Jab service they offer. If you click on it, it gives them more info and this button takes them to a blog post on the flu. Not only is this helping with service awareness, it’s helping position this blog post higher on the google rankings. A great little feature that all pharmacy businesses can be using.

If you’d like to set up your pharmacy on Google My Business, then you can take this course which will walk you through the whole process, step-by-step. Using instructional videos, the Drive Pharmacy Footfall with Google course will teach you how to use the tools within Google My Business to attract new customers.

5) Yell.com

 

Yell.com - The perfect tool to expose your Flu Jab Service

 

And the last thing I’m going to talk about is yell.com, the biggest business directory in the UK. Here, you have the contact details of pretty much every business in your locality who you can connect with and talk to about your flu jab service. Whether it’s through email or by phone, contact every single business and offer them the option to get them and their staff vaccinated. You could offer them a 10% discount to make your offering more attractive. Get one of your staff to take an hour out each day for a week and contact everyone within your catchment area.

Think digital. Think further than the walls of your pharmacy

By using these online tools, you’re gonna maximise the exposure of your flu jab service and capture more business than simply using the marketing material present in your pharmacy. If you need help with any of the platforms, again, I’m here to support you as always. Thanks for watching and I wish you the most successful flu season yet.

Thanks for visiting and see you in the next learning module!

Saam

 

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Totley Pharmacy Case Study: Stale Facebook Page to Engaging Hub of Activity

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“Saam has been very helpful in explaining how to use the information in the course. Material is explained in a simple yet informative manner. Thanks for your help.”
Taj – Director and Superintendent Pharmacist

In this short blog post, I’m going to show you how one of my students who enrolled onto The Pharmacy and Social Media Mastery Course has completely transformed their Facebook Page into a very powerful and engaging marketing tool.

Taking it into your own hands

Taj from Totley Pharmacy already had a Facebook page for his business but it was severely lacking in creativity and activity. In fact, it was being managed by a 3rd party who was doing him no favours, posting generic content once every two weeks or so and utilising none of its features. It was stale, un-engaging and didn’t really serve a purpose.

Fast forward to today and the story is totally different. Their Facebook page is a thriving hub of activity. When Taj and his team took control of their Facebook page and began the course a few months back, I remember them having 57 page likes. They have managed to increase that by 2400% up to 1,400 likes and it keeps rising. Although this isn’t the most important metric of a Facebook Page, they have expanded their direct audience dramatically meaning they have the opportunity to influence 1000’s of people every week.

Connecting with the Community

They’re now posting on a daily basis and it’s relevant content for their audience, which is keeping them engaged. They’re beginning to use their Facebook page as a standard communication tool with their customers and responding within minutes. This is great customer service and really helps with retention and loyalty. And they’re also beginning to drive customer reviews, building trust into their brand which is so important in the digital world of today.

Although Totley pharmacy are still not using all of the tools their Facebook page has to offer, they are dominating the core function of it and engaging with their community with great success. They are fighting against the funding cuts by marketing in new and innovative ways and I wish them all the best.

Are you ready to engage your Community in new ways?

If you’d like to create a powerful Facebook marketing strategy for your pharmacy, then The Pharmacy and Social Media Mastery Course is for you. It empowers you and your team with the tools to drive your business on Social and embed it into your current business model. And at £99, there are no monthly fees and with that, you get lifetime access and support.

If you’d like more information about the course, or to simply talk about your Social Media strategy, I’m all ears. Together, we can take your pharmacy business to newer levels.

Thanks for visiting and I wish you the best for your business.

Saam

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Why every Community Pharmacy should be Blogging

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Changing the Landscape of Google and Healthcare

I firmly believe that if Community Pharmacies become more proactive online, we’d cause a shift in healthcare. We could change the behaviour of potential consumers which would then lead to the use of more pharmacy services. We live in a digital world where more and more people look for information online before conducting their activities. Imagine if a person searched for a term on Google and the first thing that popped up was linked to your Pharmacy…we may just be able to influence that person’s decision to use our services. I believe one way in which we could achieve this is through blogging.

A powerful form of Content Marketing

Blogging is a powerful form of content marketing that anybody can do, but there seems to be a huge deficiency in its application in Community Pharmacy. Time and time again have I come across a pharmacy website that has a blog or news section on there that looks like the image below.

 

An empty blog on a pharmacy website

 

It’s a real shame because 1) It looks unprofessional, and 2) It’s a place where you may be able to impact the people in your catchment area, improving their access to healthcare, while winning more business in the process. Let me explain how.

Independents currently don’t exist on Google

Let’s say you’re an Independent Community Pharmacy in Southampton that offers a flu vaccination service. If a consumer would like to get a flu vaccine, they may well log onto Google and type in the search term “flu vaccination Southampton” or “flu jab Southampton”. As it stands, both of these search terms result in a variety of options for the consumer, but I don’t see a single Independent Contractor for at least the first 4 pages. And we all know that it’s extremely rare that anyone visits even the 2nd page of Google. Even though most Independent Pharmacies now offer a flu vaccination service, to that consumer, we simply do not exist.

 

Currently, Independents don’t exist for search terms specific to their pharmacy business

 

The story could be different through Blogging

However, if you created a solid blog post that was optimised specifically for those keywords and which led to your services, the story could be different. Having a look at the content that currently exists out there, I believe it to be highly probable that an Independent could position themselves somewhere close to the top of the rankings, increasing the likeliness of consumers using their flu jab service.

This is exactly what I’ve started doing with one of the chemist’s I’m working with. Like most pharmacies, they offer an emergency contraceptive service and so a few weeks ago I began experimenting with some keywords on Google to see what kind of landscape I was dealing with. I found that a search term that people are looking for on Google is “morning after pill Sheffield”. At that time, as I expected, there was not a single service or article that directly led the consumer to an Independent Community Pharmacy for at least the first 3 pages. All I could see on there were surgeries, hospitals and of course some paid google ads from the big corps, Boots and Lloyds.

So, what did I do? I created a simple blog post on the topic of Emergency contraception, focusing on the keywords “morning after pill Sheffield”. Right now, only three weeks down the line, this blog post sits on the first page of Google at position 3 and as I continue to promote the post across their social platforms every now and then, it’s quite likely that it will top Google for that search term. Hopefully, this blog post may just influence more consumers to go and see a pharmacist to get the morning after pill.

 

In less than 3 weeks, this simple yet optimised blog post has reached position 3 on Google

One blog post a month, per pharmacy

Can you imagine if every single independent contractor started blogging for search terms associated with their business in their locality? We’d end up dominating the Google rankings and that really is no exaggeration. I’ve just shown you how easy it can be done. All it would take is one optimised blog post a month, per pharmacy, and we might be able to direct 100’s, if not 1000’s more people towards pharmacy services.

More examples of blog articles I’ve created for Independents that have reached Page 1 on Google, significantly improved the visibility of their service and are generating leads are:

If you want to start blogging or you’d like me to take a look at the blog post you’ve already created to see how it might be improved, then please get in touch and I’ll help you. Together, we can make Community Pharmacy stronger.

Thanks for visiting and see you in the next learning module!

Saam

 

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Buffer your Pharmacy Social Media Strategy

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Action

In this video, we’re going to learn about how you can use an application called Buffer to help you manage the Social Media marketing strategy for your pharmacy business.

What is Buffer?

Buffer is a Social Media Management Tool which helps you schedule posts, track the performance of your content and manage all of your Social Media accounts from one place. It’s designed to save you time, which is something that pharmacy businesses don’t have much of these days, and it’s free to use. I use on a daily basis and it’s something that you can easily use too.

How does Buffer work?

To demonstrate this, I’m going to show you how I’m using it for the pharmacy business I’m currently managing (see video above). To create an account on Buffer, on the homepage, click “signup for free” and either create your account using the social links or an email address below. 

You’ll then land on your dashboard. The first thing you’ll need to do is connect buffer to the social media accounts you have for your pharmacy over on the left. Now, as a free member, I believe you have the ability to connect up to 5 different social media platforms. As you can see, I’ve connected our Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram Business profiles, and we also have a twitter account, which I’m going to connect right now.

 

 

All you need to do is select the channel, click the connect button and Buffer will ask you to authorise the connection by inputting your Twitter credentials.

It’s all about scheduling

Now let me show you how I schedule some of my posts. Scheduling is really ideal for me since our pharmacy business is connected to four Social Platform and I’m really busy doing other cool pharmacy stuff. Let’s say I’ve found this video on Youtube by NHS Choices that I’d like to engage my audience with. Buffer will allow me to schedule the publishing of this post across as many of the connected social platforms I wish at either the same or differing times. To do this, copy the URL of the video and over on Buffer, from these icons here, select which platforms you wish to publish across. Since this is a video link, I’m going to post it on Facebook, Twitter and the company LinkedIn page. Then paste the link into the content box. You’ll see that buffer instantly shortens the URL to make it look nicer and a thumbnail will be created, which you’re able to play around with if you wish.

 

 

You can check to see what it’s going to look like over the other platforms by selecting them in the lefthand column here. Ok, so I’m going to add a bit more text in the content here, hashtagging the keywords, and this post is ready to go. Now, to schedule this post, click on this little arrow next to the “add to queue” button here and from these options, select “schedule post”. You’ll see a calendar pop up where you can select the time and date you wish to publish. I’m going to publish this tomorrow at 2.15pm. Then click schedule. That’s it, you’re done. If you click the queue button under the content tab of each social profile you’ll see that the post is there waiting in queue to be automatically published.

 

Image Campaigns for Instagram

Let me show you one more example involving Instagram this time. Instagram is good for image campaigns and here’s an image I created earlier using the application, Canva. I’ll make a video about the use of Canva soon because it’s so good for creating professional image campaigns – I highly recommend its use.

 

 

So I can simply drag the image into the content box and once it’s uploaded, I just going to double check it’s been loaded up on the other platforms.

Let’s write something like “We don’t just dispense pills you know #pharmacyisawesome. Let’s schedule it for the day after and when I click the button “schedule”, I can see that my post will be placed in the queue under the last entry I created.

With a free account on Buffer, you also have access to some basic analytics which is good but to get more advanced features, you have to pay a subscription fee. If you’re at the beginning stage of your social media marketing journey, then this isn’t necessary right now and you can always check your analytics on the individual platforms themselves.

Evaluation

Buffer is a great tool for Independent Community Pharmacy who are active on Social Media because it saves time which is really key in business today. They also have an app which is very handy if you’re on the move and works just as seamlessly as the desktop application. If you need any help with Buffer or have any questions about what kind of Social Media strategy you wish to employ, then please don’t hesitate to contact me at support@pharmacymentor.com.

Buffer App – iTunes

Buffer App – Google Play

Thanks for visiting and see you in the next learning module!

Saam

 

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6 Extremely Useful Apps in Community Pharmacy 2017

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Are you using any Apps in practice?

Something that I believe to be just as important as having the BNF, MEP and Drug Tariff in the Community Pharmacy setting is the Smartphone. Let’s face it, the iPhone 6 is probably the most advanced piece of equipment you’ll have in your pharmacy and it’s packed full of extremely useful apps. I’m gonna mention 6 of those which I use on a very regular basis which are helping me with my business and practice.

1) Google Chrome

Number 1 is without a doubt, Google Chrome. You have literally the world at your fingertips with this app, so if you’re posed with a question you’re not sure about, just Google it! Let me give you a quick example of how I used it the other day.

A woman came into the pharmacy with a script for Zoff Adhesive remover for her diabetic son, which we didn’t have in stock. In fact, it was a manufacturing problem. So she asked us to see if we could get an alternative for her. While the dispenser I was working with scrolled slowly through the pages of the Drug Tariff and C&D, I simply flipped open Chrome and spoke to it, saying “zoff adhesive remover alternative for diabetics”. It brought me to a forum where there were loads of alternatives and actually, she ended up buying a Boots plaster remover spray which worked even better than the Zoff. Google just saved the patient loads of time and the NHS a prescription item every month. Just Google it!

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2) Google Translate

Keeping on the Google train, Google Translate is an absolute gem of an app that all pharmacist must have. If posed with a patient who struggles with the same language as you, Google translate will help you. Simply select the language of the patient and speak into the app. Extremely useful and important in making sure the patient understands what you’re advising.

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3) Medscape

While the BNF remains the number one reference for clinical dosages in the UK, Medscape, in my opinion, is the best Clinical App for pharmacists out there. It’s the user interface that does it for me – very easy to navigate and the knowledge base is outstanding. It’s what I use to check clinical conditions, drug interactions, symptoms and treatment options.

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4) Facebook

Since I run a Social Media strategy for the pharmacy I’m contracted to, the Facebook app is imperative. But not only can I drive the business through the Facebook app, it’s extremely handy in helping me with specific pharmacy queries because of the groups I’m part of. If I have a query with a prescription I’m not sure about, for example, I can post it to the group where 5000 other pharmacists will see it and advise me of the best course of action.

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5) Pro Delivery Manager

Now, I lied at the start of this blog when I said I’ve used all of these apps because I haven’t used Pro Delivery Driver. I’m sorry about that. Having said that, I have full confidence that this app is going to be extremely useful for Independents and I’m trying to get the chain I work with to trial it. They claim to improve efficiencies and communication with customers and the Social Proofing seems to back this up. Are you using Pro Delivery Driver? If so, let me know what you think about it in the comments below.

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6) Trello

And finally, I can’t not mention Trello – the best productivity app in the world. I use it every day to schedule my tasks in the pharmacy and share objectives with the team across the company. It just makes communication so much better.

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Apps make your business and practice easier

 

So there you have it, the smartphone and some apps that go with it making life so much easier for me in the pharmacy. Of course, there are so many other apps that pharmacists and pharmacies are using to benefit their business and practice, and I’d love to hear about them. If you’d like to share how you might be using an app, comment below so our fellow colleagues can check them out.

Thanks for visiting and see you in the next learning module!

Saam

 

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PharmData – Drive your Pharmacy Business through Data Analysis

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What is PharmData?

PharmData is a platform that uses the data for Community Pharmacy provided by the NHS Business Services Authority and produces statistics for 5 Key Performance Indicators, which are:

  • Prescription Items
  • Prescription forms
  • Medicine Use Reviews
  • New Medicines Service
  • And EPS uptake

Not only does it produce great visual statistics for your pharmacy so you can track your performance over a period of time, you’re able to track your performance against your competitors and view the GP prescribing statistics in your area.

Data analysis is a crucial part of any pharmacy business because it can help you understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie, thus helping you make better business decisions. The great thing about PharmData as a comparative tool is that it highlights the threats and opportunities for your business which can help you adjust your overall strategy.

As pharmacy manager myself, as well as being the owner of an online business, I understand the importance of analytics. For the pharmacy I work in, PharmData is helping us understand our competition better and what the current market is like in our catchment area. I believe this to be an essential tool for Community Pharmacy.

Subscription to PharmData costs a very cool £2.99 per month and you can access the platform here.

For more business and innovation learning modules like this, click here.

Best,

Saam

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