The way that many businesses start to recognise that customers are calling for change is when customer numbers and sales start to decrease. This is too late, as the problem is already evident and you have no opportunity to take mitigating action. The actions you must take then will be more difficult and will take longer to achieve the desired result.

It is best to avoid a problem in the first place rather than be faced with managing the consequences of a problem. Market research, conducted regularly, should be a key part of the business plan for a pharmacy and what is learnt from this research should inform the development of the business plan.