What is service delivery and its benefits?

We already know that service delivery focuses more on the quality of the service, ensuring the customer gets what they signed up for and what they need. However, it is worth reminding ourselves that it is a vital part of running any business and community pharmacy is no exception.

The benefits include:

• It invites the opportunity to impress your customers and show them the value you offer. The value may not just be value for money with your products but also the value of your knowledge and understanding of a customer's health conditions.
• It can help to create a great relationship with clients and secure retention. When a customer has faith in the pharmacy team and products you sell they are far more likely to return and even recommend your products and services to others.
• The pharmacy can tailor its service delivery to meet the needs of each customer.  This will usually be through its pricing strategy e.g. discounted Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) during Stoptober  However it could also be through the services it offers e.g. Pharmacy First or various health promotion campaigns e.g. a Travel health and vaccination service.
• Community pharmacy can be very competitive. With independents, multiples, supermarkets etc. all competing for business it can be a crowded field. A community pharmacy that engages in efficient, customer-focused service delivery may also be able to distinguish themselves from the competition by providing a higher quality service.