23 ways to celebrate American Pharmacists Month

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Don’t miss an opportunity to promote what you do for the community

In brief:

  • October is American Pharmacists Month, a perfect time to promote the profession and share what you do with the community.
  • A wide range of opportunities allows you to market yourself and your business at low or no cost.

With a minimal investment in time and money, you can find numerous ways to market your pharmacy through activities tied to American Pharmacists Month in October.

Here are 23 ideas to adopt or adapt for your business:

Educate the community

  1. Reach out to local media that may want to feature stories on American Pharmacists Month with ideas for stories and visuals. (See “Become Your Community’s Go-To Health Expert.”)
  2. Pitch a panel discussion with other local pharmacists to a local radio station.
  3. Visit schools. Offer to talk about pharmacy careers to middle school or high school students.
  4. Host a field trip. Invite teachers to bring their students to your store. Offer activities that link to what they are teaching in the classroom, such as counting, or promote medication safety with a program such as Katy’s Kids.
  5. Meet with moms at local toddler play groups to answer frequently asked questions.
  6. Talk to seniors at the local senior center on a topic in your area of expertise.
  7. Become a guest speaker at a local community forum, such as the public library or Newcomers Club.

Polish the staff image

  1. Hire a professional photographer. Use quality photos of your staff in marketing materials to put a familiar face on all your promotions.
  2. Order business cards that your staff can hand out to customers with easy ways to contact your pharmacy. Don’t waste the space on the back of the card: include a list of services.
  3. Dress the staff for success. Buy clothing that projects the image you want the store to have, whether a casual collared shirt with the pharmacy colors and logo or crisp white lab coats.
  4. Introduce individual staff members. Post brief profiles of your staff members on social media and in other marketing materials, highlighting their expertise. Remember to publicly recognize your technicians on National Pharmacy Technician Day, October 18, 2016 (always the third Tuesday of October).

Go social

  1. Join online campaigns. In October, Pharmacy Times encourages its Twitter followers to celebrate the profession by posting comments or photos with the hashtag #ThankAPharmacist.1 Share your own posts with that hashtag, and encourage your followers to do the same.
  2. Share a day in your life. Give your social media followers a glimpse into all you do with posts about your activities. Examples: “Just saved a customer $50 with a generic prescription,” “Completed 52 flu vaccines with our workplace immunization program at ABC Manufacturing,” and “Sharing healthy and tasty meal ideas at tonight’s diabetes education class.”

Show your appreciation

  1. Have staff write one thank-you note a day to customers. Show customers you appreciate the opportunity to serve them with handwritten cards.
  2. Send a healthy treat to providers’ offices, thanking them for the opportunity to serve their patients. Include a brief note mentioning, for example, that you are helping patients become more adherent by providing medication synchronization and compliance packaging.
  3. Write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper recognizing a pharmacist who inspired you.
  4. Create a scholarship in honor of a pharmacist who exemplifies the best of the profession.

More ways to celebrate 

  1. Give back to the community. Offer a special health screening event.
  2. Seek proclamations. Work with other pharmacists to encourage state and local politicians to officially recognize Pharmacists Month, Pharmacy Week, and Pharmacy Technicians Day.
  3. Invite policymakers to visit your pharmacy and learn more about the legislative issues that impact their constituents and your business.
  4. Make every day a party. Decorate your store with banners and balloons touting American Pharmacists Month. Place special stickers on medication bags.
  5. Plan a weeklong event. Offer a different giveaway or community activity every day of Pharmacy Week, Oct. 16–22.
  6. Change your greeting. For example, make your voicemail greeting something like, “During American Pharmacists Month, we want you to know that our three pharmacists have more than 75 years of combined experience and are ready to answer your questions, review your medications, provide vaccines and more.”

Discover more ideas for celebrating from the American Pharmacists Association. Also, check with your local and state pharmacy organizations about their plans.

Don’t let American Pharmacists Month pass you by. Use it as an opportunity to highlight all the value that you and your pharmacy bring to patients and the community.

 

1 “Pharmacy Times Celebrates American Pharmacists Month,” Pharmacy Times, Sept. 30, 2015. LINK