There is no corner of the health care sector that has gone unaffected by the primary or secondary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those in the long-term care field, such as assisted-living facilities and the pharmacies that serve them, experienced some of the most severe strain on their resources in the early months of the crisis as the disease hit the elderly much harder than virtually any other demographic group.

Taking all of that upheaval into account, it stands to reason that LTC pharmacies may not have focused much on operational aspects like marketing over the course of the last year or so. But with broader vaccine distribution on the horizon, there is hope for a return to normalcy throughout the LTC sector in the not-too-distant future. This can prompt a renewed focus for pharmacy administrators on marketing and messaging strategies that showcase how your organizations stand out from the competition. These efforts will be critical for any pharmacies hoping to expand their customer base.

Show off what makes you unique

According to the Access Market Intelligence Pharmacy in Long-Term Care 2021 Report, a significant number of independent LTC pharmacies have been making moves in the hope of directly forging long-term business partnerships with elder-care facilities. Given that the economic future of organizations in this space is far from certain even with the aforementioned reasons for optimism, it's only shrewd of them to look for any sources of stability they can find.

There's no reason your LTC pharmacy can't follow a similar blueprint — it's just that you may be up against a significant number of competing organizations. So you'll need to emphasize every aspect of your pharmacy that differentiates you from others of your kind. These could range from the relatively simple, like flexible and extendable business hours, to your core offerings like highly customizable delivery schedules, medication synchronization, and advanced interfacing capabilities to facility eMARs and eHRs. What matters is that they're yours — and that you highlight them in your messaging.

Use the proper channels to market yourself

Marketing an LTC pharmacy is much different from spreading the word about other types of organizations, including others in the broader LTC healthcare universe.

For example, if you wanted to spread the word about an elder-care facility or senior living community, you would do so via channels that are commonly used by senior citizens: direct mail, television, radio and select digital avenues (mostly Facebook and email; website banners and YouTube promotion to a lesser extent). But the residents of LTCs, of course, have little to no interaction with the pharmacies serving them. You'd be looking to reach industry professionals. To that end, you could use some forms of social media (LinkedIn and Twitter), but you'd have the best luck by employing content marketing, search engine optimization and other key B2B marketing tools.

Publicize your prominent use of data

In this day and age, it'd be easier to make a list of industries that aren't heavily data-driven than to compile a complete tally of those that are. With that said, health care — including facilities in the LTC space — is considerably more data-driven than the average.

As a pharmacy administrator, you and your staff use a wide variety of metrics, algorithms, and databases on a daily basis. Any elder care or other LTC facility will expect this from its vendors and business partners. As such, it's on you to emphasize that your record-keeping and reporting procedures are firmly in the 21st century, in both your marketing efforts and in all of your direct communications with prospective new clients. Providing examples of your reporting (or at least some samples of it) will be wise.

Prove your compliance bona fides

Even in the most mundane of times, the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors are both subject to internecine, often overlapping and constantly evolving regulations. And given the ongoing state of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's possible that new legislation could be passed that affects LTC pharmacies and their customers in some way. That would make for whole new sets of guidelines for healthcare organizations to learn and implement, even if only on a temporary basis.

Facilities will expect you to always remain on the lookout for changes in regulations on the federal, state, and local levels that may affect them and to adjust your operations accordingly. With this in mind, it'll be prudent to cite your record of compliance with all applicable laws and regulations in your marketing and messaging. This is an area in which your record-keeping and data-driven decision-making will prove important, as you can promise clients that they'll receive regular reports outlining your pharmacy's compliance with specific guidelines.

Show how you'll benefit your prospects' bottom lines

Both your pharmacy and the LTC facilities with which you're looking to do business will aim to be as cordial as possible during the early stages of business negotiations, of course. But at a certain point, the conversation on their end will turn to the bottom line. They'll want to know how your pharmacy will help them save money or resources while receiving a high-value service (For existing customers with whom you're attempting to maintain relationships, it'll be more like, "What have you done for me lately?").

Care providers will be especially interested in hearing about your integrations — with eMAR and EHR tools, remote dispensing systems, and first-dose software, to name just a few. They know this means your pharmacy's operations are streamlined and efficient, giving them fewer things to worry about managing on their side. Similarly, they'll want to hear about simplified pricing processes, electronic medication returns and donations, real-time billing updates, process discharging, and other offerings that make the financial side of things easier for them. These must be highlighted in marketing materials and business negotiations. (And if those benefits aren't things you currently offer, it behooves you to upgrade your operations by any means necessary so that you can promise those functions.)