Recession Proof Your Pharmacy
A recession has been looming over the United States for a little while now, and while experts may quibble over how severe it will be, or if we are already in a recession, the fact is your pharmacy needs to be prepared regardless. With economic uncertainty, it can be difficult to predict what you will need, but there are several things you can do to help bolster your business and keep above water during lean times.
The most important, and the most difficult thing to do is have a nest egg of 3-6 months of expenses set aside for when business may decline. While this may not be an option for everyone, now is an excellent time to siphon as much as you can save to cover operations should your revenue drop.
There are other things you do besides saving money though. While it may seem counterintuitive to invest in expanded services in the face of a recession, additional services that increase your customer base and build stronger relationships with your customers will pay dividends when business slows. One great example is adding a delivery service to your pharmacy. Not only does this help expand your reach to immobile customers or ones without reliable transportation, you can also set minimum orders for deliver to encourage customers to buy more.
The relationships you cultivate can also help keep you afloat during leaner times. If you’re not already, servicing LTCs can help provide a reliable and lucrative market for your pharmacy. We wrote a blog article going into more depth that you can read here. If you’d like to take on LTC business, you can help ingratiate yourself to the facilities with free consultations, drug disposals, vaccine clinics, or even by bringing treats to residents. Developing these relationships can pay off in a major way for your business, especially during a recession.
The last thing to mention for keeping afloat during a recession is cutting costs. When the economy slows down, it might be time to reassess your employees and get rid of unproductive or underperforming ones to keep your pharmacy running lean. The other way to control costs is to have a reliable secondary wholesaler who can offer massive discounts over the prices offered by your primary. Masters for instance has a catalog of over 10,000 products priced to protect your profits. If you’re not already buying as many products as your PVA allows, now is a good time to talk to a knowledgeable account manager about where they can save you the most money.