When consumers hear the words "Online" and "Drug Store," many think of the spam messages they receive that offer dubious-sounding deals on every medicine under the sun. Sources of the vendors are suspect (as are the drugs themselves), but these black market businesses generate plenty of business. Given this situation, launching your own online drugstore is going to be a challenge, but it's one you'll want to accept considering the financial rewards found in businesses that can skip the cost and maintenance issues that plague bricks and mortar retailers across the nation. Start here and build your empire, one Rx at a time.
Choose the site design that best reflects your vision and tackle final modifications that bring the homepage and the landing and drop-down pages up to the standard you seek. Make certain your credentials and pharmacological schooling and training are placed in a prominent place on the site to assure cyber shoppers of your legitimacy.
Hire a web designer and acquaint him or her with the three sites that have impressed you, explaining what you like and don't like about the way they're configured, so as to give the designer a basis for your vision. Expect to save serious money by taking this approach, since your designer will start out with a clear idea of what you seek.
Make contact with major pharmaceutical company headquarters to request a meeting with regional members of each one's sales force. Set up an account with your rep and inquire into promotional and sales materials that most companies provide free-of-charge for client's websites (e.g., jpeg images, product copy, specials and other promotional perks).
Check out the competition by visiting some of the estimated 260 Internet sites currently selling medicines via the web. Pretend you're a consumer looking to have a prescription filled. Analyze the look, feel, pricing, copy, design and product selection on each, as well as the ease with which you're able to navigate the site. Pick three as your models for the type of online drug store you plan to start.
Put into place a monitoring system that will allow you to audit competitors on a regular basis. Pay particular attention to successful retail/web associations such as: soma.com; CVS; drugstore.com; Rite Aid and others. Understand that customer acquisition will continue to be your most critical mission, so applying great business practices while keeping an eye on the competition will reward your efforts.
Set up a customer order system using software designed to process, fulfill and track customer orders. Affiliate with major credit card companies and with Pay Pal so that you can accept payment for prescriptions via MasterCard, VISA, Discover and AmEx.
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