Bayview Pharmacy Marketing Minute Newsletter
July 2009 |
| Who's NOT Receiving Your Monthly Idea Packets (MIPs) and... |
|
 ...what you can do to change that.
Let's say that you have chosen to subscribe to the Family Practice, Pain Management, and Pediatric MIPs. How do you know that you are reaching all of your prospective prescribers for those specialties? Or maybe you are considering adding another specialty; how do you know which specialty has the greatest potential based on the number of prescribers in your geography?
Two of the most efficient ways to build your prospective prescriber lists, and to check to make sure you are contacting all of the offices you should be, both involve using the internet.
- www.docboard.org has a docfinder feature that is specific to your state. To utilize it simply go to docboard.org and click on the words "DocFinder Searches" in the top left corner. You will then be directed to a page that has two columns; your state will be listed in one of these columns. Click on your state and begin your search. Some states (i.e. Massachusetts) allow you to search for prescribers based on their specialty alone. You enter pediatricians in the search field and the results bring back every pediatrician who is licensed in the state. Other states only allow you to search based on a prescriber's name, which makes this tool less valuable in those instances where you don't know who you are looking for.
- Utilize your local hospital(s) websites - almost every hospital website has a physician finder link on the home page of their website. Most hospitals allow you to search for every physician that is associated with the hospital based on their chosen specialty. For example, one of our local hospitals is www.schospital.com. In the left hand column I can click on the "Find a Doctor" link which allows me to search for doctors by specialty. I can then see the number of physicians (by specialty) that are associated with the hospital, and if I click on a name I can get a doctor's contact info. Your local hospitals should have similar functions allowing you maximum reach when it comes to marketing your pharmacy.
|
| Get Linked! Increase your exposure on the WEB.. |
|
 ...without increasing your marketing budget.
The Web is a great marketing tool, but only if you make it work for you. Most pharmacies have a web page which makes your client's searches for some basic info about you quick and easy. If your clients (or prospective clients) know about you, they can plug in your pharmacy's name and town in the search field, and they will likely be directed to your website.
But what if your prospective client has never heard of you and doesn't know you exist? How are they going to learn of your existence and be able to contact you? One way is by establishing a link to your website via another companies web page.
Here are a few companies that allow you to create links to your website. So if someone did a search for hormones, or vet medications, or pharmacies in (your town/state), and they were directed to one of these pages, these websites allow you to create links to your pharmacy so that your prospective clients can find you.
To have your pharmacy listed on all three of these websites will take less than 30 minutes and will be well worth it. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this process.
|
| Use your MIPs to create a library reference... |
|
 ...that you will be able to use for years.
One way that we have been able to maximize the effectiveness of our MIPs is through the creation of an "MIP Library". We purchased binders and sheet protectors from our local office supply store; labeled each binder by specialty; and we add each month's MIP to the binder for future reference.
This has been extremely helpful for those instances when an MD has called us and started the conversation with:
- "What can you do for a patient with neuropathic pain? Can you fax me that info?"
- "A few months ago you had a topical combination for the treatment of neuropathic pain, and I can't seem to find it; can you fax it to me?"
- "I was at a conference recently and the speaker mentioned gabapentin being useful in treating neuropathic pain. Do you have any info that would back this up? Can you fax it to me?"
In all of these instances our pharmacists just have to take a short trip to the office, pull the appropriate articles, then go to the fax machine, and we are able to get the MD the information they need. This process almost always turns into an Rx for us.
Take the time to make this small investment now, and start to file your information away before it becomes to overwhelming to do so. You will be glad you did!
|
|
We hope you find this information useful. I've provided it in order to help you maximize your marketing efforts. If you have any questions don't hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mike
Michael Martin
Bayview Pharmacy
Director of Education & Marketing
401.286.2540 cell
|
