The past twelve months of pharmacy have provided a lot of challenges, including the never ending vaccinations, rapid antigen tests, staff sickness (if you’re lucky enough to have staff) and empty shelves waiting for orders to arrive. Which were all addressed by the Guild at the WA Forum. For those who attended it is clear that some of these issues (I’m talking about the staff shortages) aren’t going away anytime soon. However, despite the exhaustion most pharmacies have come out of the storm with a healthy bank balance.
The growth in GP$ from Covid related services and products is undeniable. But, as we head into the 2023 financial year we have to take the rose tinted Covid glasses off and realise this income is not forever. The Covid pot of gold under the pharmacy rainbow is not a never ending solution and it has already begun to dry up as we look at recent reports.
As we say goodbye to the Covid storm it is not all doom and gloom. It is just about re-evaluating your strategy. It is time to tighten the belt and focus energy where you will see future profits. In community pharmacy this means making the most of your health services and community relationships.
It does not mean cancelling that Canva subscription and stopping your monthly email newsletter. Instead it means readjusting the strategy, taking a magnifying glass to your business and realising the overlooked opportunities.
During the past couple years many pharmacies have jumped on the bandwagon setting up Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and even Tiktok accounts. Many have been very successful in growing a following, and many have been very successful in monetising this audience too. If this is you, well done. The challenge now is to keep that momentum going when customers have less reasons to find themselves in your store.
If you read that and thought, I have no idea what I am doing with social media or how to turn your followers into dollars. Don’t worry, this is the perfect time to start.