Case Study in Compound Pharmacy Marketing

by Wesley Yuhn

Normally, when we think about compound pharmacy marketing techniques, we focus on the larger pharmaceutical companies with smaller divisions focused on producing a special drug for doctors, patients or hospitals.

Yet, there are entrepreneurs who develop legal products that are not classified as drugs under the rules of the FDA, with the help of individual pharmacists.

"Marketing for a single product made under the laws of the compound pharmacy acts can be interesting, fun and slightly more challenging," advises Wesley Yuhn & Media Oasis.

"Generally, these businesses are the mom-and-pop style starting from scratch with a very tiny advertising budget. If you want to see what you really know about marketing, this is the type that you should take on."

Case Study

A young couple in Kansas City, Kansas had trouble sleeping after their second child was born. Because they didn't like taking over-the-counter sleep medications that made them groggy in the morning, they decided to try fruit extracts that they heard about from a television show.

While the extract powders worked, the wife (Adrienne) talked to her pharmacist brother and asked him if the same type of product could be made using the juices of the fruits instead of dried powders that lose their natural potency.

It took the compound pharmacy over a year to get the balance correct and then, recommended a company in California that could manufacturer the product to the exact specifications. In 2013, the mom-and-pop company launched their one and only product, Berry Sleepy, on their website.

Breaking into the sleep aid industry with a product that sounds more like a vitamin than an aid to help you fall asleep has not been easy. That said, the couple is patient and understands that it takes time to break through the cluck and clatter of thousands of websites to be seen.

One Step at a Time Strategy

With any brand new start-up business, balancing the amount of the advertising budget with the amount of the total capital is essential, which is why taking one step at a time is important.

This does not mean that one single marketing strategy should eat all the advertising dollars available. For this company, the strategy was to use paid internet and brick-and-mortar options combined with free internet and brick-and-mortar options.

Utilizing local newspapers to promote the product as a human interest story

Using Facebook to share with friends and friends of friends building a potential customer base

Getting permission to publish actual customer reviews

Establishing a forum to answer questions from potential customers

Emailing local pharmacies and other retail outlets that may be interested in carrying the product

Using an email campaign to ask customers to share the news with their own friends

Use narrowly targeted pay-per-click advertising

The outcome of these measures has resulted in 125% + ROI and the product is now available in over 25 local brick-and-mortar outlets plus a 20% increase in online sales.

The next steps involve click2call advertising and mobile marketing strategies to expand their customer base over the next two years.

About the Author
Wesley Yuhn of Tampa & Media Oasis has shared an article over the topic Compound Pharmacy Marketing. Read out the full post and get know about compound pharmacy marketing.