I put it to you that in the majority, the health customer comes into their chosen pharmacy for a relatively narrow reason; largely transactionally based expectation. The opportunity is to recalibrate the health customer visit experience expectation. Imagine a conversation at any of the health customer serving counters that features:

• Pro-activity led by the team member
• Skilful timing of questions asked; counsel provided; solutions recommended
• Moves through a virtual check-list of standardised total solution topics in logical sequence, like TRAPS
  • Treat condition / enhance primary med; relieve symptoms; alleviate side effects; prevent recurrence; support overall health and well-being
• A conversation  that expands the relatively  narrow expectation of the customer’s perceived need
• And in so-doing, provides the pharmacy the best chance of differentiation, long term customer retention and profitability.

Think about every conversation at any of the health counters like a conversation journey, with signposts – and I mean EVERY conversation…the pre-requisite competence and confidence enables fast tracking the conversation when speed is needed.  As opposed to not doing it at all when time is tight.

This journey is characterised by two destinations – the diagnosis, then the consult. Imagine the diagnosis conversation ALWAYS commencing with an open question … What; how; who ; when … OPEN with OPEN. Imagine you were permitted another 1-3 Q&As with the main purpose to ascertain/ confirm the customer’s condition – script or OTC. Having made/confirmed the diagnosis, imagine at this point you had to provide some counsel, some pearl of wisdom as your bridge from diagnosis to consultation – diagnosis; counsel; intervention; compliance check, et al.

With the customer duly feeling that their provided answers have been rewarded, you have now “earned the right” to ask more questions of the customer and commence the consultation. Now you bridge from the diagnosis part to the consultation part on this conversation journey. Imagine now a consultation led by you that assists both you and the customer methodically cover each health element that can associate to their primary reason for coming to the pharmacy.

Lets see next month what that looks like and how the TRAPS model can be used to help train you and your staff to host such a consultation with confidence and competence.