A range of features will contribute to your brand image and will create an environment that supports the explicit marketing messages you want to give your customers and patients.

Stock ranging – the ranges you hold will say what you are about. If you want your brand to be about quality and healthcare, a dump bin of discounted and discontinued products in front of the door will not project that image.

Layout of store – the position within the store of the dispensary and healthcare products, and their accessibility, will suggest to customers what is considered important by the business.

Window posters – a plethora of unrelated, peeling and hand-written notices in the community pharmacy window will not give the impression of a quality service.

Access to the pharmacist – if the pharmacist is not visible or easily accessible, this sends the message that adding value above the supply of medicines is not important.

Staff appearance – the uniform a team wears can communicate to customers that they are there to help and advise. Think about the impression that the clothing of different shops makes on you. A smart uniform and high standards of appearance will also help to bring the staff together as a team.

Staff attitude and knowledge – how your staff approach your customers, and whether they see themselves as just a checkout assistant or someone there to help and provide a service sends out a strong message. The culture you create in the pharmacy through living your purpose and insisting your staff do so as well will affect the way your customers receive other messages. John Lewis will fire staff who deliver sales results but don’t do it in the right way.

Marketing messages

When you have started to get clarity on your brand and ensured this is being demonstrated through your pharmacy, you can start to present your marketing messages with some confidence that they will be accepted by your customers.

There are several channels through which you can present your messages.

In store

There are a number of opportunities to communicate messages to customers within the store. For example, we have already mentioned the pharmacy window and the importance of keeping it clear from clutter. Using the window to transmit a simple, clear message rather than a number of confused messages will be more effective. Have a schedule for changing the window regularly to keep the message refreshed and appropriate to the time of year. Customers will notice.

Point-of-sale material can be used effectively to present messages to customers that are appropriate to the products they are looking at. Shelf-edge cards and posters can easily be produced with a desktop printer or can be obtained from manufacturers or buying groups. Using a simple blackboard can highlight the focus for the day or when a particular service might be available, for example, ‘NHS flu vaccination available 5pm–7pm today’.

Noticeboards can be used to list the range of services provided in the pharmacy and how to access them. The can also be used to promote a single service. Again, take care to regularly change the subject of the promotion on the board.

Investing in a flat-screen monitor and small computer can allow you to introduce a more engaging message that could be changed at different times of day to make it appropriate for the types of customers who visit at that time. Simple presentations produced in programmes such as PowerPoint can run automatically and on a loop, so need little interaction from members of staff.

Practice leaflets and specific leaflets promoting your services can be attached to bags. Care needs to be taken with promoting private services when customers are receiving an NHS service to avoid mixed messages.

The pharmacy team can link sell the services you provide to appropriate customers. While link selling has a negative connotation for many, it can also be seen as good customer service, informing customers and patients of the services that may be of benefit to them.

External advertising

There are a number of routes for external advertising. Local newspapers can carry adverts highlighting what you do. Creating some focus that is appropriate to the time of year will help ensure the message is received more effectively. There may be other opportunities available, eg by contributing to the editorial of local newspapers or magazines, sharing advice on the management and avoidance of common conditions and how the public can use your pharmacy effectively. Opportunities also arise from local radio and the emergence of local internet television stations.

Posters may also be useful. We often place posters in doctors’ surgeries, but we could also use day centres for the elderly, community centres, churches or even bus stops.

Social media

Other key areas for marketing are the various social media channels that are being used by your customers. Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat can all be used to send them messages. This can be messages from you or forwarded messages that have been posted by others.

Using social media as a marketing tool takes some planning and focus. While you grow your following on these channels, it may feel like it is not a good use of your time, but for people to follow you they must have some relevant content to attract them back.

Get your message right

Thinking about the messages that you convey to patients, and potential new customers, could make all the difference to your business.

Keep things clear and use language that the public understand to explain the many useful things that your pharmacy offers and the benefit they can gain. This will make certain that all your patients do know what your pharmacy offers.