My dad was 26 years old when he purchased and began operating his first pharmacy in Jasper, Indiana in 1981. A licensed pharmacist, he staffed most of the hours and remained on call in the evenings for local nursing homes’ after-hours needs. For nearly 4 decades, he operated his business, which over the years added locations, merged with other small business pharmacy owners, expanded into home medical equipment provision, and saw other changes. It wasn’t until 2018 that a combination of external factors—negligence by a 3rd-party medical billing provider which severely crippled cash flow, and increasing government regulations which continue to this day to stifle small medical providers’ ability to compete—finally forced his company’s closure. Despite this untimely business end, my father’s pharmacy and home medical equipment company was a success.
But how does a local business like his do well for 40 years? We could identify many factors certainly, but a big contribution to my father’s success, and that of other local businesses at this time, was simple “old school,” traditional marketing, the principles of which are often undervalued today but remain as effective as ever.
These are the lessons I learned about marketing from my dad’s pharmacy that are still relevant today:
Community Engagement
Local business extends beyond your store’s front door. Being a local business means being a part of the fabric of the community; the local company that takes an active role through participation in community events, sponsoring local sports teams, volunteering with clubs, and supporting charitable organizations is the one that entrenches itself into that community fabric. My dad enjoyed volunteer work with local causes and events and served on various town boards, all of which built his trust within the community.
Personalized Customer Service
Customer service is one of the areas where the small business has the upper hand over a large organization. With smaller teams and a closer connection to the customer base, small businesses are able to respond more quickly to customer needs, customize solutions, and offer a level of care that bigger corporations are unable to do at scale. Because of this attention, customers feel they are in good hands and are likely to keep coming back. A pharmacy is a busy place, and you’ll often hear the staff sharing counts of the number of prescriptions they filled that day. At my father’s pharmacy, it wasn’t any different; however, the pharmacists always took a moment to make sure patients understood the instructions on a new prescription or answer any other questions they may have had.
Relationship Building
Relationship building is an important, and also enjoyable, practice in sales and marketing. We’re all so busy nowadays, and so hidden behind screens, that the need for personal connection is greater than ever. In the pharmacy in 1981, you got to know the regular customers that came through your door. You greeted them by name when they walked in, asked about their families, and joked around with each other. The staff at the pharmacy built relationships not because they were trying to ensure future sales, but because they generally just enjoyed seeing familiar faces. And chatting and laughing makes the work day go faster too, am I right? So, even though your day is busy, and you have a full inbox, take a minute to introduce yourself to a new customer and ask how they’re doing. If nothing else, it’ll likely brighten your day and theirs.
Give More Value Than You Expect in Return
For a business of any size, this should be your mantra. Giving, in the form of advice, exceptional customer service, product or service support, to name a few ways, fosters goodwill and trust. Customers who feel genuinely cared about are more likely to become brand advocates and word-of-mouth references. After my dad passed away in 2019, a former customer recalled a story in which, many years ago, she was unable to pay for her medicine. She recalled that my dad just quietly handed her the prescriptions, and told her not to worry about it. Obviously, she never forgot that kindness. Now, certainly you can’t give your customers products free of charge very often, but the message here is that, if your business makes a practice of going above and beyond in the ways it can, people will remember. And really, it’s just a nice thing to do. Helping others makes it feel a little less like work.
For Businesses of All Sizes
Practices like these aren’t just relevant to small businesses. In fact, leaders of large companies—whether spurred by an actual intrinsic motivation or simply a desire to reach business goals—recognize that customer-focused marketing ultimately boosts long-term business success. Brands like Southwest Airlines, Zappos, or Patagonia come to mind. And though it may be less feasible for a large company to get to know individual customers’ names or sponsor a small town baseball team, these bigger enterprises can still employ customer-first strategies that will provide a positive brand experience.
Conclusion
The irony of all of this is that most of these “marketing efforts” can happen organically and without ulterior motive. These “techniques” are the byproduct of genuine interest in helping your customers.
More articles than not nowadays love to declare that “traditional marketing is dead” and that we all need to be on board with the latest digital marketing to be competitive. As a marketer, I don’t dispute this; however, I disagree that “old school” methods of marketing aren’t as effective today as they were when my dad bought his pharmacy in 1981. On the contrary, these practices could be considered even more valuable today than ever.
If you’re interested in learning more about marketing your local business, we’d love to chat.
