John Whittam is our digital marketing lead who focuses specifically on how we can support you to develop your digital presence. We asked John a few questions about just why it is so impor tant to use digital platforms and posed some questions about how to best achieve this.
John has been with Numark for over eight years in total; during this time he has worked on many different facets of our member offering, from our Numark brand range to our WholeSale offering and now our digital marketing strategy. John’s exper tise very much sits in marketing and he has a wealth of knowledge in areas such as email marketing, social media and website marketing.
What do you do and how can it help me?
I work on the digital side of marketing and part of my role is to help you, our members, build confidence in using digital platforms which in turn gives you the opportunity to exploit the vast number of digital opportunities at your disposal. As well as this I manage the digital platforms we use here at Numark. These are primarily our email marketing strategy, NumarkNet content updates and social media accounts Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Why is it important to use digital platforms in pharmacy?
Whether through your company website, an email campaign to customers or Facebook post, the likelihood is you will have used digital platforms to help promote your pharmacy at some point. It is now becoming engrained in our everyday lives, let alone your business and many forms offer an extremely cost effective route to engage with both existing and prospective customers.
With this in mind there has never been a better time to start building your digital strategy. You need to have a good presence online so your customers can find you and ultimately if you don’t have an effective strategy you will miss out to rivals who potentially may not offer the same level of service as you.
I find the whole thing quite daunting - where do i start?
If you haven’t already got a website, this is a good place to start as it offers a cost effective and timely platform to communicate with your target audience 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Customers will have an expectancy of having the convenience of being able to find your pharmacy and relevant information online and if they can’t, you may lose out on that valuable customer to a competitor who does have an online presence.
Once you have a website you can then consider the next steps such as building an email database or setting up a Facebook company page to drive customers and prospective customers to your website.
There are so many social media platforms, which should I use?
A common mistake is to try and utilise too many social media platforms which ultimately leads to none of them being effective and having a detrimental impact upon your pharmacy reputation.
You are much better off focusing your efforts on one form of social media such as Facebook to allow you to devote a suitable amount of time and resource and therefore post effective messages regularly.
You should aim to post at least five times a week with a mix of subject matters that appeal to different followers and prospective followers. After a few months, if you then feel you have the resource to run another effective social media channel, go ahead.
NumarkNet has lots more guidance on creating the perfect post for your pharmacy within our online marketing support section.
How can I get my customers to engage with my social media accounts?
There are lots of things you can do to get customers and prospective customers to connect with you via social media. A few key things are to post regularly to help build a connection with your audience, connect with existing customers by asking your regular customers to like your page or post feedback on your timeline and post at peak times to maximise impact.
This ‘peak time’ will be dictated by who your followers are or who has liked your page, but as a general rule, try to post between 1pm and 4pm. Avoid 8pm – 8am as this tends to be the worst time for engagement.
How much time do I need to dedicate to digital/social?
Time is of a premium and I completely understand that the thought of dedicating time to a digital strategy can seem impossible. However it may not be as time consuming as you think.
For example if you are looking to create a website why not utilise our Enhanced Discounts partner The Pharmacy Website Company who provide fully functional website solutions and on-going support, therefore taking a lot of the stress and labour out of getting started.
For social media platforms it is important to be responsive and seen to be reacting to comments from customers, therefore I would recommend starting with just one platform and do this effectively. Facebook is the obvious choice due to the far superior number of users compared to other social vehicles, meaning your messages will have a higher reach and bigger impact.
Don’t forget to read my articles on NumarkNet:
Making the most of your Facebook presence
As I have alluded to it is important to acknowledge any interactions from customers or prospective customers – why not try delegating responsibility for monitoring and overseeing the day to day content to a member of your pharmacy team. As well as maintaining relations and ensuring fresh content is posted, this will also empower your team member.
Sometimes it’s just not possible to post when you are busy in the pharmacy so a way around this is to look into scheduling posts. Take a look at ‘HooteSuite’ which is a social media management program and can help you manage and schedule content for multiple accounts. The best bit is when you use only a few social media profiles it is completely free of charge.
Why not look to schedule posts for awareness dates over the next couple of months e.g. in August schedule a post to go live early September around National Eczema week which runs from 17th-25th September.
How can digital platforms influence my bottom line for the better?
All the digital marketing you do works on the premise of driving awareness of the fantastic services your pharmacy can offer and tells members of the public why they should visit your pharmacy over others. Your digital platforms can therefore play a huge role in setting you apart from the competition and as such drive increased revenue and sales, whether it be through footfall in your pharmacy and therefore an
increase in scripts you dispense or through OTC sales on your online shop.
All the digital marketing you do works on the premise of driving awareness of the fantastic services your pharmacy can offer and tells members of the public why they should visit your pharmacy over others.
Your digital platforms can therefore play a huge role in setting you apart from the competition and as such drive increased revenue and sales, whether it be through footfall in your pharmacy and therefore an increase in scripts you dispense or through OTC sales on your online shop.
How can Numark help me in developing an online presence?
I have built a portfolio of guidance that can help you not only get started with but also maximise the exposure digital platforms can give your pharmacy.
There’s guidance on how to go about getting a website, how to get started and tips to build a presence on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn plus much more.
Take a look at all the support
If you have questions I am always on hand so please feel free to give me a call on 0800 783 5709* or email
john.whittam@numark-central.co.uk and I will be happy to help.
If I could only do one thing, what should I do to improve my pharmacy's digital presence?
The one most critical thing you can do is ensure you have a Google listing. As mentioned there is an expectancy that members can find you when they search on Google and a Google listing will be hugely impactful here.
There is guidance available - just follow the simple steps and guarantee your business is visible quickly and easily.
It’s also free of charge.