Article written by: Fiona Sartoretto Verna
“Pharmacies from hell, how to bring about change” is my first book and I can assure you I had never imagined writing one!
I am an architect and so I have spent a lot of time researching how to improve the use and perception of space in pharmacies. Today I find myself talking about strategic marketing.
It may seem like a paradox, but in actual fact marketing is just like architecture: “less is more” as stated by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, one of the most famous architects in the world. The first secret in professional marketing in pharmacies is specialization.
In order to develop your pharmacy in the world of today, you will have to do less but do it better than before, you will have to be focused if you want to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Technology has changed both people and businesses. The moment has come to get in the game and step it up a level. There is no longer time for observation and knowledge gathering, it’s time to act.
The task at hand is not an easy one but I can assure you it is very stimulating. Having a winning company, having control over one’s business (and partly over one’s life) is one of the most satisfying things out there. If you manage to step onto this path with passion, you’ll find a new dawn awaiting and you’ll see how managing one or more pharmacies can still give you lots of satisfaction (and isn’t just what your dad told you to do!)
For years the pharmacists’ association has made sure that all pharmacies have ended up the same to guarantee peace and prosperity for pharmacy owners. Today your business has become weak and you have fallen into a profound immobility that is causing you to lose control of your business.
This book is also a collection of my articles from our blog www.farmaciavincente.it. I launched the blog a year ago with the aim to bring new energy and harmony during a moment of change and concern which is causing pharmacists to feel threatened.
“Replace the pharmacy’s blunt spears with new and unbeatable weapons! Introduce tried and tested rules from pioneers in the field!”.
It is with this spirit that I have decided to sort through all of the tips and tricks I have selfishly kept to myself until today and offer you a practical tool that you can immediately put to use.
No grand theories from so-called marketing experts from multinational companies or GDOs, just practical rules that you can start using straight away.
The experience I have gained over the past 12 years working with international pharmacy chain managers, the 20 years at Sartoretto Verna, the successes I’ve had with independent pharmacies who I have followed throughout their refurbishment, together with all of the studies I am carrying out with the world’s leading marketing experts, has enabled me to create a tailor-made strategy for pharmacies worldwide.
I’d like to share my strategy with you in this book so that you may successfully apply it, to get back your clients and profits and re-discover passion for your work.
Lastly, I have a confession to make…
I’ve been hearing the word pharmacy since I was a child, I imagine much like you. My grandfather and my father (who I dearly thank for all the support he has given me over the years), found the recipe for success by creating for just team of businessmen who were often pharmacy owners themselves, growing and innovating alongside them. Together with my sister Fiona and a team of fantastic architects and engineers, over the last 10 years I have taken my ideas to more than 28 countries across the world, contributing to the success of many businesses thanks to the “Italian Pharmacy Model”, which is still recognised today as the leading example to follow.
This is why I feel I owe it to pharmacies and to you, to help open a new chapter.
Like on any great adventure there are tough choices to be made and hard decisions to be taken as well as a host of obstacles along the way. You’ll hear about these and you’ll learn how to overcome them. I can assure you that there is a happy ending if you listen to your heart in addition to looking at the numbers.
“Develop your business by listening to people’s needs and making them feel good”
It may seem banal but believe me it works:
“If you are happy, your staff, your customers and your business will be too”