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

• Stock ranging – the ranges you hold 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 is not the way to do it
• Store layout – the position of the dispensary and the accessibility of healthcare products will suggest to customers what the business thinks is important
• Window posters – unrelated, peeling and hand-written notices in a community pharmacy window do not give the impression of a quality service
• Access to the pharmacist – if the pharmacist is not visible or easily accessible, the message is that adding value above the supply of medicines is not important.
• Staff appearance – a team uniform can communicate to customers that staff are there to help and advise. Think about the impression clothing in 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 checkout assistants or people who are there to 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.

Pause to reflect

• Write down the purpose of your business. Use language that reflects how you want it to make a difference. Try to capture this in one short sentence, two at most, and make it about the ‘why’ not the ‘what’ or ‘how’.
• Go back to your view of the pharmacy from the other side of the road and your initial perceptions at the door. Are these messages consistent with your purpose? If not, how might you change this?