Pharmacy marketing

Getting Personal

I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable, but I’d like to share something personal.

I recently received a letter from my pharmacist. Well, it wasn’t exactly from my pharmacist. It was from the Senior Vice President of Pharmacy Operations for Rite Aid Pharmacy, Philip Keough, R.Ph. And even though the letter has a $20-off coupon attached, it’s very personal because at the head of the letter are printed these words: “We haven’t seen you lately at Rite Aid. And we take that personally.”

Ouch! I felt awful. Clearly Philip was hurt and confused. And I could understand why. I’d shown up one day, had a prescription filled, and then nothing. I don’t call. I don’t write. Obviously everyone over at Rite Aid has been wondering, “Was it us? Did we say something wrong? Did we do something to drive Jenny away?”

This letter really brought home just how much they missed me. But it wasn’t the generous coupon (good until 9/16/04), and it wasn’t the offer to match any of their competitors’ prices; it was the promise that I, Jenny Thompson, could personally make use of their “state-of-the-art satellite link”.

I didn’t even know they HAD a satellite!

As you can imagine, this changes everything. Because the next time I need to fill a prescription, the first question that will come to mind is this one: Which pharmacy chain has put a satellite at my personal disposal?

What can I say? I’m touched. But I have to admit that I’m not sure exactly how to respond to Philip’s very personal letter, because I’m afraid I’ll embarrass myself by just blurting it out: You had me at hello. You had me at hello.

To Your Good Health,

Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute