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Encouragement Unleashes Potential
Thomas Edison’s teacher said he was a poor student. His mother was furious at that characterization and took him out of school and taught him at home. Edison gave this account of the incident in an interview published on Nov. 29, 1907: “One day I overheard the teacher tell the inspector that I was ‘addled’ and it…
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Marketing Focus – 1. IT’S TIME – TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT SERVICE 2.CONNECTED, NOT ENGAGED – COULD BE OUTRAGED 3. ELASTICITY-PRICES: DEMAND OR LOYALTY? 4. CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS UNSHACKLED
1. IT’S TIME….TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT SERVICE Key takeouts from the proceedings and revelations of the Australian finance sector Royal Commission are that the conduct of, “Customer First,” and similar service initiatives is superficial, lacks delegated authority for front-line providers to deliver the promises, and is not reflective of a true, underlying corporate culture of…
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The Medical Profession Leadership – Is Their Pharmacy Rant a cry for a Direction?
The medical profession has always promoted itself as being the leading health modality with all other health formats and modalities being inferior. It has reinforced that vision through the lens of adopting power politics as its primary marketing strategy. This meant that instead of being respectful and gaining the collaborative support of all other health…
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Is Health a Team Game Anymore?
Interesting statement from the outgoing AMA president where he says that “if we go farming off little elements of health care to pharmacy and other health professionals, we lose out”. I interpret that as simply “we doctors make less money” but in my view, the patient benefits wonderfully in most instances. The recent exchanges on…
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Marketing Focus – Let’s Get Physical
Ah, the ebbs and flow of commerce. In recent times there has been a noticeable migration from dedicated on-line business channels to the acquisition, commencement and implementation of traditional bricks and mortar premises. At the forefront is Amazon, with its acquisition of the retail network Whole Foods, and its 450 + outlets in some 43…
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We are Judged Within Seven Seconds of Meeting Somebody
We are head down, tail up, working our way through a pile of prescriptions across the day, striving to use the skills that we are famous and respected for. Some of the people waiting for scripts will be people we already know. Others will be brand new patients, who we are engaging with for the…
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Every Survival Kit Should Include A Sense Of Humor
We all need to laugh more, especially around tax time! I received so many positive responses to my column on humorous stories with good business lessons, I decided to do a sequel. It’s been my experience that people remember information better when the message has a fun twist to it – a punchline of sorts.…
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Marketing Focus – 1. “GO JUMP” 2. UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES 3. NO SECOND CHANCES 4. PRIORITY GOAL-ACCESS 5. DIFFERENT MARKETS DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES 6. ENHANCE THE VALUE OF BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS AND RELATIONSHIPS
1. “GO JUMP” A common implicit and explicit response to the challenge extended to conference delegates and business workshop participants that they “Dare to be different, and to take a risk”. I will accept the advice and you can click here to know more about the matters that were discussed in this meeting. In the early…
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Marketing Professional Services – Tactics & Strategies
Pharmacists are slowly coming to grips with the provision of professional services and are fleshing out suitable business models very cautiously. In part, this caution arises out of a sense of uncertainty because of the culture change that has to be embraced in converting what was previously an unstructured service (provided free of charge) to…
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Take two broccoli and call me in the morning!
Have you ever considered that we are in a pill-popping society? The first line treatment for many of the medical problems that walk through our doors is a medication. Have heartburn? Forget about avoiding the foods that cause your symptoms – just take a pill. New diagnosis of diabetes? We give lip service to lifestyle…