Tips for Marketing Weight Loss Services to Prescribers

Tips for Marketing Weight Loss Services to Prescribers 

by Dr. Lisa Faast

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have probably noticed that weight loss drugs are a hot topic. Your compounding pharmacy can utilize this by marketing your weight loss compounds and services to local prescribers. 


Thanks to the popularity of branded diabetic and weight loss drugs, it seems the whole country is talking about weight loss solutions. This chatter creates an excellent opportunity to provide needed products and services to your community. While some weight-loss options don't require a prescription or a medical practitioner, many of the most sought-after solutions do. 


Here are some proven tactics you can use to market your weight loss solutions to prescribers in your area. 

  1. Coupons, Specials, & Deals

  2. Targeted Marketing Materials

  3. Prescribing Cheat Sheets

  4. Provide Extensive Patient Support

  5. Cater to Prescriber Preferences


Let's break these down in detail so you can become highly effective at growing your weight loss profits!


#1 Coupons, Specials, & Deals, Oh My!


Discounting your prices isn't always a good business decision. However, if done right, it can drive massive growth and help earn trust faster with prescribers and patients. Here are a few examples of running a special without devaluing your services and products. 


  • Introductory Offers: these are perfect for launching a new service or product. Early adopters can benefit from a lower price or more goodies, and you can set an expectation for feedback in exchange for the special you offer. This discount can also help avoid hesitation about something "new," as a lower price can even the risk/reward scale in your favor. New Weight Loss Formula! Normally $499 Monthly. The Introductory Price is $399 Monthly.


  • Bulk Purchases: Getting paid upfront for larger purchases does wonders for cash flow. Depending on the compound you are filling, you might also significantly save on labor if you can bulk compound larger quantities at a time. Entice your patients and prescribers to think BIG by offering bulk discounts. You could do a Buy 2 Get 1 Free offer as an example. For a weight loss injection, you could price it at $499 monthly or $1200 for 3 months if paid in full. 


  • Extra Add-Ons: Instead of discounting your premier product or service, you can consider adding additional items at no charge. You can charge for an injection medication and include syringes, alcohol pads, and a sharps container at no charge. If your popular weight loss medication causes nausea, you could offer ondansetron tablets for free (or $1 if your state disallows free Rxs). These anti-nausea tablets don't cost much and could help your patient stay compliant with their therapy which will mean more prescription revenue. 


#2 Have Targeted Marketing Materials


When trying to grow a specific area of your pharmacy, you must ensure all your materials are explicit to that target market. You want to avoid handing out a flyer or brochure on your pharmacy to a weight loss clinic with pictures and information about your veterinarian compounding. This tactic may seem obvious. I see many pharmacies create a general services flyer and use it everywhere. Being specific is necessary to take advantage of an opportunity to be seen as the expert in a niche area. 


It is also a great idea to have flyers and materials specific to the provider and a similar but different version for the provider's patients. A prescriber will have unique pain points you can solve, and you need to highlight those benefits, vastly different from the problems a patient has. 


#3 Provide Prescribing Cheat Sheets


News flash... doctors have egos! Shocking, I know. Prescribers will often not prescribe products simply because they don't know how and don't want to look stupid to others or their patients. You can remove this barrier by making it easy for them. Give them a guide for how popular compounds are prescribed, from starting doses and titrations to how to do weight-based dosing. I created my Compounding Bookmarks many years ago to solve this problem in my compounding pharmacy. You could copy those or create a simple MS Word document to hand out to each prescriber. 


#4 Provide Exceptional Patient Support


I know you take great care of your patients. But... do your doctors know just how far you go? My guess would be no. So, don't keep it a secret anymore. Let your prescribers know that your pharmacy can be the front-line support for all their patient compound issues. 


I have heard too many times that doctors' offices think that once they start prescribing compounds, the amount of patient calls and problems they will experience will go up in huge numbers. Tell them they can refer any compound-related questions directly to your pharmacy. Your pharmacists can handle most issues, and only if a problem needs escalating will the office be contacted. 


This tactic sounds simple but can remove a heavy mental burden from these offices. 


#5 Be Excited To Customize


Compounding pharmacies are supposed to be all about customization and personalization. I often hear complaints from providers and other pharmacies about a compounding pharmacy not wanting to change to accommodate a patient. Whether carrying a particular brand of vitamins, doing a specific strength, or using a certain base. Become known as the pharmacy willing to make anything, and everything happen. 


There are situations when you might not be able to do something that is requested. When you have to say "no," take the time to explain why and present other suitable alternatives. At least the doctor or patient will know you aren't being rigid to suit yourself, but there is a clinical/legal/practical reason why. 


A great way to customize and earn the business of an office is to work with them to create their own package or suite of products for their patients. Instead of just filling a prescription, determine what supplements or vitamins the doctor recommends. You can then bundle everything together to make it easy for the patient and the doctor to recommend your pharmacy.


Now Is The Time


In recent memory, there hasn't been a better time to focus on growing your compounding pharmacy's weight loss prescriptions. The popularity and openness of general conversations about weight loss drugs make it easier for you to promote your unique solutions. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Lisa Faast at info@diversifyrx.com.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Guidance for Industry 256: Understanding Impacts on the Compounding Industry

  Guidance for Industry 256: Understanding Impacts on the Compounding Industry By Sarah Taylor, PharmD What is Guidance for Industry (GFI) 256? GFI 256 is a guidance for industry intended to provide clarification from the FDA on compounding animal drugs from bulk drug substances. The guidance does not apply to animal drugs compounded from FDA-approved animal or human drugs, which the FDA generally considers to be legal extra label uses of such drugs. 1 The FDA considers compounding animal drugs from bulk substances by pharmacists and veterinarians to violate aspects of the FD&C Act. Given the wide range of animal species and their varying needs, the FDA acknowledges that in some circumstances there may be no medically appropriate commercially available treatment options or commercially available FDA approved drugs may not be suitable for use as a source of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in some circumstances. This guidance lays out the circumstances in which the FDA
Read more

Developing Standard Operating Procedures

Image
 Developing Standard Operating Procedures by Denise M. Frank, RPh, FACA, FAPC   Policies and Procedures are the written pharmacy documents that include the policy statement (a course or plan of action, a high-level principle of the pharmacy), and the procedures for complying or carrying out a task. These procedures are also referred to as Standard Operating Procedures, or SOPs. Why do we need Policies and Procedures, and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the pharmacy? Policies and procedures will provide for the consistent performance of activities. Personnel have a reference on how to handle situations and perform tasks – working as a team. The manual will very useful when training new employees with clear explanations, instructions, and expectations for specific tasks and for their position. Well-written SOPs also help protect a pharmacy from liability. The policies and procedures, when followed, ensure staff are compliant with regulations and standards and this protects
Read more

Water Activity: USP 795 Changes

  Water Activity: USP <795> Changes Sarah Taylor, PharmD Beyond-use dating in the newly proposed USP General Chapter <795> underwent significant changes, particularly to the recommended maximum beyond-use dates allowed for different types of formulations. One of the biggest changes is a new focus on microbial growth and preservative efficacy. The guidelines define aqueous preparations as those having a water activity (a w ) greater than or equal to 0.6, and only preparations with an a w less than 0.6 are considered anhydrous dosage forms. 1   What is water activity? Water activity is a measurement of the ratio of vapor pressure of the substance in question when at equilibrium with the surrounding air to the vapor pressure of distilled water under identical conditions. 2 So, for example, an a w of 0.6 means that the vapor pressure of the substance in question is 60% that of pure water. Water activity should not be mistaken for water content. Water content is a meas
Read more