Why Branding is Critical for Compounding Pharmacies
Your brand is the foundation of marketing success.
Let’s talk about your brand.
You operate a compounding pharmacy. That pharmacy has an identity, created as a result of all of the elements and people that customers encounter when doing business with you.
That identity is referred to as your brand. It’s a concept that’s important for any business, but more so for compounding pharmacies. Why? Because of one word:
Trust.
The most trusted professions in America were identified in a 2020 Gallup poll. Who was near the top, right after doctors? Pharmacists. The public places a tremendous amount of trust in you, and by extension, in your pharmacy.
Most businesses have to earn trust. For you, it’s granted initially by default. But that doesn’t mean you get to keep it no matter what. When you begin from a position of trust, you do have to validate it. You validate that trust through service, and consistency, but more than anything, you validate trust through your brand.
Brand vs. Image.
Your brand is up to you. You decide what your logo, colors, language, and service level look like. You decide how much to invest in marketing and branding. That part, the brand, is completely in your hands.
Your image, on the other hand, is not up to you. Your image is how a consumer interprets your business and your brand. The goal is to make sure as many people as possible have a positive image of your business.
You can’t control what people think - they’re free to believe anything they like about your business. But you can influence their thinking. You can guide them to certain conclusions, by installing and maintaining a healthy brand.
What’s a trustworthy brand look like?
Ever landed on a “sketchy” looking web page? Of course you have. And you probably didn’t hang around very long once you realized where you landed.
A trustworthy brand begins with your web site, the first stop for most people when they want to “check you out.” You have about five seconds to convince a new web site visitor to stick around and explore a site. When someone lands on your site now, what do they learn in those precious five seconds?
In the information age, step one for establishing a trustworthy brand is a modern, easy to use web site that works seamlessly on a mobile device. If you can’t pass that test, you’re not well positioned for the future.
Consistency builds trust.
When you provide a consistently high level of service, over time, your customers come to expect it. They trust that you’ll continue to deliver that high level of service during their next experience. So they become repeat customers, which are the very best kind of customers.
The primary discipline exercised through branding is consistency. When your logo and materials are consistent, consumers view that as an indication of professionalism. When your marketing is consistently smart, they transfer that quality of intelligence onto your staff.
Consistent, professional branding will help you establish trust with new customers, while building and maintaining trust with existing ones. One of the reasons consumers respect consistent branding so much is because it’s rare in small businesses, and it’s very difficult to actually pull off. But when you do, the results will be undeniable.
More than the web site.
Branding is so much more than your web site. It’s your logo, colors, design, graphics, collateral, language, tone, and all of the other components of marketing and communications. When every aspect of your brand is trustworthy and professional, you will consistently attract new customers willing to spend more money. When it’s not, you may not.
Find a pro to work beside.
Compounding medication successfully requires professional expertise, training, materials, and equipment. Well, the same goes for branding. It’s a complex process that requires expertise, training, materials, and equipment to be executed successfully. You want to avoid leaving something as critical to your success as your brand in the hands of anyone who is less than proficient and experienced. If you need a recommendation, we recommend us.