Digital Pharmacy Tools—Your digital solution needs to consider customer engagement
A lot of discussion around the pharmacy of the future focuses on the implementation of digital tools. And while it’s true that digital tools are a must for any pharmacy hoping to increase business and own more of the customer health journey, pharmacists need to be looking beyond the acquisition of a tool and asking more about the engagement around the tools they are using and considering. Many offerings and platforms on the market and currently in-use by pharmacies (and the health industry in general) indeed check several necessary functional boxes, but do they consider customer engagement at their core? The fact is: you can have the best functional product in the world, but if it is not engaging its customers, it will be obsolete in no time—and may, in fact, cause damage to your brand.
The place of engagement and gamification in pharmacy solutions
Gamification doesn’t mean your pharmacy needs a game app. The term gamification simply means that the app’s functional mechanics have considered principles and elements from the study of game design to improve the user experience of a product or service.(*1) With every touchpoint, using the principles of narrative, interactivity, feedback, and rewards, patient and customer motivation can be addressed, and usage—or engagement—increased. These principles can apply to medication adherence, treatment follow-up, preventative healthcare, and more.
Having a product isn’t enough. Having a product that people use again and again is the holy grail of every product designer. If you’re considering the purchase of any product for your pharmacy, don’t forget to look beyond the functional requirements and investigate the investment the product has put into honing the engagement loops. Proactively considering customer engagement is one of the best ways to stay ahead of the fast-changing pharma world.
Engagement matters to your bottom line
When customers and patients are more engaged, their health outcomes and your business bottom line improve. Engaged customers and patients will feel heard, appreciate the personalized care, and, in turn, will be more loyal to your pharmacy. They’ll be more proactive with their health journeys. They’ll be more adherent to their medication. They’ll be more apt to seek your professional advice. In general, the innovators in the world of pharma are rethinking its traditional, functional approach (brick-and-mortar and digital) to focus less on transactions and more on people. People are looking for better information and experiences, more meaningful connections and interactions, ways to save money, and efficient processes to get the things they need faster and with less effort.(2,3)
Carebook’s pharmacy solution addresses the functional needs of a pharmacy, but does so from a people-centric core. Beyond the must-have features like easy refills, loyalty, and family profiles, Carebook creates a rich engagement loop that considers the whole health journey of every customer and family. If you’re looking for an innovative, all-in-one pharmacy solution that is customer-centric and uses proven engagement principles, talk to us.
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