The
first questions most often asked by pharmacists who wish to go online
with their business is:
"What do I need to know to get started?".
They are aware that existing businesses, such as Pharmacy Direct and EPharmacy
have large numbers of people buying online.
They also know that they need to compete in this "new economy"
and get online themselves.
It
is a confusing world out there on the Internet, and there is not yet a
lot of collective pharmacy experience to promote confidence. Official
pharmacy has not helped, as it has tended to look at the negative aspects,
rather than be fully involved in the positives.
Fortunately, this is beginning to change, with the Pharmacy Guild, wholesalers,manufacturers
and the Federal Government investing heavily in e-commerce "hubs"
and other support programs.
Pharmacists looking to establish an e-business are in a very fortunate position:
* As a profession, Australian pharmacists are rated highly by the community for ethics and honesty. For non-pharmacists,this is one of the greatest barriers to a successful e-venture becoming established.
* Community pharmacists are already established in a "bricks and mortar" environment, with an established goodwill. This intangible capital can be leveraged to establish a local online business successfully. It can then be extended regionally, and finally to a national or international level.
*
The cash flow from the "bricks and mortar" business allows an
online extension to grow comfortably within a budgeted framework. It is
more stressful to have an e-commerce startup without "bricks and
mortar" and no established goodwill. It is this latter type of business
that has gone to the wall in recent times, and they are usually operated
by people with no previous retail experience.
Pharmacists should not be deterred by these failures, for nearly 100%
of community pharmacists have good management skills, are adequately capitalised
and have good support networks.
This is in stark contrast to the operators who have commenced business
only for a quick killing in the market.
* Pharmacists are already computer literate and would find little difficulty in educating themselves to a level where they could specify their needs, sufficient for a modest investment in e-commerce. This would not only be cost effective, but would create a better than even chance of making a profit right from the start.
Computachem
Services helps pharmacists to capitalise on all their natural attributes
and is involved in educating pharmacists at a number of levels.
Firstly, the twice monthly e-newsletter
is crammed with advice on e-commerce activities within pharmacy, both
nationally and globally.
Therefore, this publication is essential reading and should be subscribed
to your desktop immediately.
Reading the archives of the newsletter on this website would be a good
starting point for e-commerce education.
Plans are in hand to publish "The E-Book on E-Biz" which will
give step-by-step instructions and advice.
Business coaching sessions represent
another method of determining your needs and finding a suitable starting
point. The costs are modest and the length of engagement is totally under
your own control. Try a free 30 minute
session.
Computachem
Services also provides a website design and
construction service and most importantly, can provide shopping cart
technology coupled with a database editor that can control and update
all the functions contained in the shopping cart. This is extremely important,
as e-commerce sites can stumble and be unable to grow, simply because
they cannot handle new product and price updates in volume, or rearrange
products to showcase a particular range at a special price.
The Computachem database editor does this and more, even allowing multicolored
text. backgrounds, font size and style, line colours and widths. It can
manage up to 20 loyalty clubs simultaneously and be able to display discounted
prices only to club members who have identified themselves.
There is provision to group products according to departments and sections,
rename departments and sections, add products individually or in bulk,
delete products, add graphics and product information.
There is provision to handle specialty products e.g. giftware, perfumery
etc. in the form of a "showcase" or "window display"
allowing pharmacy staff to be completely interactive with the site, and
customers being able to intuitively find their way around the site, because
of similarities to the "bricks and mortar" displays.
The database
editor is able to sort and generate a completely new set of website pages
after each update, ensuring complete accuracy and no breakdowns in navigation.
Before
starting any investment in an e-commerce site a full business plan is
documented. A basic outline of a plan can be viewed
here , which includes budgeting for your proposed site.
A modest
e-commerce investment would start at $2500 and can be tailored, depending
on site components. A list of individual costs can be viewed
here.
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