Small local pharmacy bags hotly contested national award over major competitors

Massey, September 11, 2010: A small suburban pharmacy has set tongues wagging by beating the “big boys” to a hotly contested prestigious national award for its innovative cosmetic program.

Massey Amcal Pharmacy pharmacist Martin Harris said his team was rapt at winning the NZ Pharmacy Awards in the category of cosmetic marketing over major competitors like chains and department stores.

“It’s great that a small suburban pharmacy has come out on top,” Mr Harris said.

“This is particularly special, since the Cosmetic Marketing category is the most hotly contested of the 10 Pharmacy Award categories.”

The pharmacy developed its own customer loyalty program which provides benefits such as exclusive pampering events, loyalty rewards and special offers.

Staff member Jessica Laing spearheaded the program, with support from retail manager Jenny Hercock.

They set about planning how the customer loyalty program would work, what would the benefits be and put the plan into action.

A major reason for the success of the program was the increased customer service and satisfaction.

Ms Laing said one of the challenges we faced was the issue of the economic recession, but decided to use this to our advantage.

“We believed that if our customers were a little weary from the effects of the recession, that they might feel they deserved to be pampered. The idea of making our customers feel as though they are our special friends was not new to Massey Amcal Pharmacy.

“We felt that we could raise the concept of “pamper yourself” to a new level. In fact, most of our plans focussed on this concept of letting us pamper you,” Ms Laing said.

Part of the plan was not only the pampering, but also the personal care and attention that was designed to make the customers feel special, she said.

Ms Laing is now developing plans to provide more beauty services in the pharmacy’s consultation room to ensure the people of Massey have access to the highest quality beauty services, so that they can look and feel their best.

ENDS

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