By Ted Jones 
Feel like your local pharmacy isn’t attracting enough attention lately? Chances are, you need to build brand awareness—on and offline. Unfortunately, you only have seven seconds to make a lasting first impression.
When it comes to pharmacy advertising and marketing, you need a sound strategy. Otherwise, you’ll miss out on the opportunity to make a strong impression with your customers. If you miss that chance, potential buyers will likely turn to your competitors instead.
Keep reading to discover our top 11 advertisement ideas to put your pharmacy on the map!
With these tips, you can start building brand awareness. As a result, you can make a lasting first impression, remain top-of-mind with customers, and get ahead of the competition.
Make your mark on and offline with these 11 pharmacy advertising and marketing ideas!
1. Host Events
The first pharmacy advertising idea is easy and bound to attract a crowd. To raise awareness about your pharmacy, consider hosting an event! Events can help you attract new patients and recurring customers.
By hosting an event, you can attract a large group of locals, whether or not they currently need a pharmacy. Once they do require your services, they’ll remember your event and your business.
Consider hosting pharmacy and health-related events. However, you can also host community activities that aren’t connected to health. A mix between the two will help you attract people who need your services while boosting your pharmacy’s reach and exposure.
Here are a few local events you can host at your pharmacy:
- Blood drives
- Food drives
- Health fair
- Flu shot clinic
- Block party
- 5k or walk-a-thon
- Sidewalk sale
As for local volunteers as well. Getting other locals involves will help build your brand awareness. At the same time, you won’t have to worry about hosting the event entirely on your own!
2. Set Up a Booth
If you don’t have the time to host your own event, consider setting up a booth at another community function. A few great places to set up a booth are:
- Farmers markets
- Carnivals
- Health fairs
Setting up a booth at a community event will help you focus on your customers, rather than selling tactics. This allows you to make an emotional connection with people in your community. As a result, people are more likely to engage with and remember your business.
Consider bringing a few items along with you. Nothing draws a crowd like the word “Free.”
For example, you can offer:
- Free promotional gifs
- Goodie bags with bandaids, sample toothpaste, or other small items
- Health information
- Small hand-held games for kids
You can also use your booth to host service or product demos. These demonstrations can help people recognize the benefits of visiting your pharmacy. Rather than limiting your services to “prescription refills,” you can show the local community you have so much more to offer!
3. Donate Your Space
If you can, consider allowing local organizations to use your pharmacy’s parking lot. For example, you can donate your space to allow other organizations to host a car show or trunk-or-treat event.
Donating your space will help bring locals to your pharmacy. While they’re at the event, they might step inside your pharmacy to see what you have to offer.
Offering your space to other locals will help you build connections, too.
As a result, you’re connecting your pharmacy to the local community and promoting yourself to new people.
4. Volunteer
Another pharmacy advertising method that allows you to connect with people one-on-one is volunteering. Gather your pharmacy staff and volunteer at a local event or charity fundraiser. Volunteering is a great way to get involved with your community and show your commitment to the locals.
Meanwhile, you’re also advertising your business and meeting potential customers in person.
There are plenty of volunteer opportunities for you to choose from, too. For example, you can offer to host a water table at a 5k race. You can also help out at a school carnival to meet parents who might need your pharmacy in the future.
5. Stay Social
As you use these pharmacy advertising and marketing tips, make sure to keep people informed of what you’re up to. Use social media to connect with your patients and promote your business. By posting photos as you volunteer or host events, you’re keeping people up-to-date and remaining top-of-mind.
Otherwise, they’ll forget all about you!
Make sure to respond to questions or comments people post. Communicating with your followers will show them you’re there to help.
You can also use social media to:
- Host contents
- Promote new products or services
- Share helpful health tips
- Introduce followers to your staff
- Mention sales and promotions
Posting online will help you connect with customers even when they’re not at your pharmacy.
6. Use Direct Mail
People love receiving mail. If you’re concerned your pharmacy marketing strategy needs something new, try going old-school. Send out postcards, mailers, and brochures to inform people about your business.
You can also send people coupons they can only use in-store.
That way, you’re building brand awareness and attracting foot traffic to your pharmacy.
7. Provide Free Health Screenings
Remember the magic word: free!
If you want to attract more patients to your pharmacy, offer free health screenings and assessments. Show, rather than tell people what you have to offer.
You can offer:
- Wellness exams
- Full cholesterol panels
- Blood pressure screenings
- Blood glucose screenings
- Bone mineral density
Health screenings can also help you create more long-term business.
For example, a patient might discover she has a specific health issue, such as high blood pressure, during a screening.
Then, she’ll return to your pharmacy for the medications she needs to manage the issue.
8. Sponsor a Local Team
If you don’t have time to volunteer or host events, sponsor a local sports team instead. Over time, this investment will promote your pharmacy to children and parents alike. As those children grow older, they’ll also remember your pharmacy and your commitment to the community.
9. Step Up SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) can help increase your online exposure.
SEO helps you rank higher on search engines like Google. You can increase your SEO by optimizing your site for specific keywords. The next time someone searches for a pharmacy in the area, yours will pop up.
Make sure to post on your website’s blog using SEO keywords as well. Blog posts show readers you’re well-informed. With time, people will start seeing you as a go-to resource in the industry.
Online reviews can help improve brand awareness as well. In fact, 84% of people trust online reviews as much as their close friends. Asking happy patients for reviews can help build your pharmacy’s reputation.
Don’t forget to update your Google My Business listing. In addition to helping your SEO, online listings will help people find and visit your pharmacy in person.
10. Consider PPC
PPC stands for pay-per-click advertising. This pharmacy advertising strategy will help you promote your pharmacy online as people are searching for your business.
Using PPC, you can create compelling ads that encourage people to visit your website. Once you do, they’ll discover a landing page that encourages them to complete a specific action. For example, you can encourage people to make an online purchase, sign up for your email list, or give you a call.
PPC is a great way to get new leads.
Like SEO, you can target potential customers based on the keywords they’re searching for.
You can also create strategies based on your patients. For example, you can use audience targeting to display ads to people based on their buying behavior, demographics, or location.
Precise targeting can help you avoid wasted ad spend. Instead, your pharmacy ads will connect with people based on their needs and wants. That way, you’re maximizing your ROI and expanding your online reach.
11. Email Regularly
According to this report, the average return on investment for email marketing is $38 for every $1 spent. If you’re not interested in advertising using PPC, sent out an email instead.
You can start building your email marketing list by offering incentives. Post giveaways on social media or keep a sign-up form in your pharmacy. Once you build your email list, you can start sending!
Create a regular email newsletter to keep subscribers up-to-date. Let them know about your new products, coupons, or specials. Sending emails regularly will help build brand recognition so customers don’t forget you.
12. Partner Up
You can also partner with independent retailers or build relationships with other health practitioners.
Partnering with independent retailers will encourage other businesses to recommend your pharmacy. Meanwhile, partnering with other people in your industry can help you collaborate and build mutual referral programs.
You can visit this website to discover a reputable online pharmacy as a place to start.
Expanding Awareness: 12 Pharmacy Advertising & Marketing Ideas to Build Your Business
Ready to make a lasting impression and build your business? With these 12 pharmacy advertising and marketing ideas, you’re almost there! Start using these ideas today and see where it takes you.
You might find you prefer some strategies more than others.
Explore the Tools & Tips section of the blog today for more helpful strategies.
SME Paid Under
Headlines Team