It is easy to think of a newsletter as just advertising. Really, it should be a whole lot more. Ailsa Colquhoun explains how to produce one
Business insight | Marketing your services
How many times this week have you received a brochure or
a letter trying to sell you something — an additional credit card,
perhaps? Did you just rip them up without a glance?
Establishing a pharmacy newsletter is a good way to improve
your public relations (see Retail Round-up, February 2007,
p3). However, it is easy to be concerned that it will just end up in the
bin.
In fact,
according
to the experts in direct mail, newsletters could be one of your most
cost-effective marketing strategies — provided they are done correctly.
Raj Patel, proprietor of Mount Elgon Pharmacy in Wimbledon, publishes
a quarterly newsletter. “I believe in marketing and I think it is
a great way to let customers know what we are doing. Through testimonials,
we can show people that our services work,” he says.
What should it contain?
Today’s consumers are sophisticated, and are extremely likely to
see through something that just advertises your pharmacy.
Whether you decide to print the newsletter or send it as an e-mail,
customers need to think they are getting something special from it.
Denise Cox,
from e-mail newsletter specialist Newsweaver,
says the first rule is to ask yourself: what’s in it for them?
Your
newsletter should aim to inform, educate, and also offer something extra,
such as news of in-store
specials, or offers for newsletter readers. “This will lift the
credibility of your organisation and encourage trust,” she says.
Another element of a successful newsletter is interactivity. It can
be used to solicit feedback or run surveys,and responses can be encouraged
by offering a prize draw.
How often should I publish it?
One of the main factors in deciding how often to run your
newsletter should be the cycle of your products and services, says Ms
Cox. In the pharmacy,
this may relate to seasonal products (eg, hay fever, sun creams) or
may be based on typical prescribing patterns.
Monthly publication is probably the ideal frequency for customer relationship
building, but if you are looking to promote a special offer
or event, you may need to publish it more frequently. “In this case,
a monthly newsletter, with a bi-weekly special offer may work quite well,” suggests
Ms Cox.
How much should it cost?
When it comes to costs, print is the more expensive option.
As an example, printing 500 four-page A4 newsletters can cost around £1,000 and
that is without the postal charges. If you lack the time or skills to
produce it yourself, you will also need to outsource the editing and
design. Employing a professional journalist and a designer will cost
at least £350 a day.
Mr Patel prefers the do-it-yourself approach (see panel). He comments: “It’s
difficult to say whether the newsletter, specifically, is a cost-effective
exercise. It’s hard to strip it out from our other marketing. All
I know is that business is growing!”
Sending a newsletter by e-mail cuts out printing and postal costs, but
may still incur editing and design costs. You may also want to use an
e-mail service provider, that will allow you to measure the success of
your newsletters, keep your database safe, and also keep track of any
unsubscribers. A good, qualified provider will cost you at least £200
a month.
Print or e-mail?
The real value of e-mail is in its measurability and the
customer information it produces. For example, by measuring your e-mail
open rates and most
popular articles, you can build up information about your readers and
tailor subsequent mailings accordingly. However, this does rely on having
the facility to measure and record such information, and on having a
database of e-mail addresses.
Raj Nutan, pharmacy business manager at the National Pharmacy Association,
says that establishing a database of e-mail contacts can be expensive
if purchased from a marketing company. Instead, customers can be asked
to subscribe when they come into the store, or an announcement about
the newsletter could be placed in a local newspaper or in the shop window.
He
warns that there are regulations about storing such information, and
pharmacists should check this with the Information
Commissioner's Office
If you think your customers are too old to appreciate an e-mailed newsletter,
think again. According to figures from Wanobe.com,
a new website catering for internet users aged 50 and over (“silver
surfers”), one
55-year-old in two goes online on a daily basis. In fact May 23 2008
was Silver Surfers’ Day, a day spearheaded by the Government agency
Ofcom to encourage even more people to use the Internet.
If you are still unsure, why not do both? People like choice, so why
not print out your newsletter as well, and distribute it through your
pharmacy.
