Three Ways to Boost Online Sales With Your In-Office Dispensary
Online patient dispensaries solve a number of problems for integrative practitioners. Practitioners can communicate personalized recommendations to patients, and patients can order (and reorder) products at their convenience. It also allows practices to earn an additional stream of revenue without the investment in physical inventory, all while liberating staff from the duties of product fulfillment so that they have time to tackle other tasks.
While there are many great benefits to moving your dispensary online, savvy practitioners have discovered a great synergy to having both an online and in-office dispensary.
Here are three ways your in-office dispensary can be a benefit (and boost) your online sales.
1: Assist in Patient Decision Making
Psychology plays a large role in consumer decision-making. Sights, sounds, smells, temperatures, emotions, the opinion of others, and even the customer’s own self-confidence can influence the decision to buy. As purchasing habits change, retailers are forced to change how they sway purchasing decisions. Some sales tactics, such as the ability to hold and feel a product, simply cannot be replicated online.
Market research shows that a customer is more likely to purchase a product if they can physically hold it in their hand. You may notice sales associates taking advantage of this: they put a product in your hand as to instill a sense of psychological ownership while explaining why you need it. Seeing and holding a product can also reduce any sense of apprehension or anxiety the customer, or in this case the patient, may have about the product.
Additionally, your recommendations are often unfamiliar to patients. Patients may not know what is meant by a “dropperful,” they may be unable to picture a homeopathic pellet, or they may want to know how large of a calcium pill they are being asked to take. Asking patients to order unfamiliar products is asking them to take a risk. When they can see the product, it becomes instantly familiar and reduces their hesitation to buy.
2: Provide a Product Test Drive
For those still on the fence about purchasing, offering samples will allow patients to experience products with all five senses. Holding the product in their hands is the first step to psychological ownership.
Once patients have time to try the product out, they may find any fears about product taste or their ability to use the product in their daily lives are alleviated. Once they build their level of confidence with a new product, they can then conveniently purchase the full size product online without the need to make a separate trip back to your practice.
3: Support Patient Outcomes
Many patients feel motivated to begin a new protocol immediately after they meet with their practitioner. By keeping some of your most popular products on hand, you can give them a solid start to their protocol right away.
You also may want to stock any products that support common acute conditions that you address – after all, no one with a urinary tract infection or the flu wants to wait 48 hours to have product shipped and delivered. Keeping products on the shelf for patients with infections and acute illness ensures better patient care.
While you can feel comfortable keeping stock of your key products or those that address an acute condition, you can direct patients online for all of their re-ordering needs and to access thousands of additional products that don’t make sense to have on hand – perhaps those that don’t move as fast or need temperature control that you may not have space to store.
Summing Up
There can be a synergy between an in-office dispensary and an online dispensary. Once patients have an initial experience with products in the office, they will be thrilled to continue purchasing those products and new products from your online dispensary.
