Four generations ago, Harold Stokes followed his dream and created Stokes Fresh Food Market when he bought a small store in Burley, Idaho. Today that dream is still being realized by John and Steve Stokes who now own six Stokes Market locations, including the Burley Pharmacy which was opened in 2016.
In a world where its competitors are the largest corporations, Stokes remains a small company that is locally owned, operated, and loved by the locals. When it came time to consider installing the right kind of IVR, Stokes went with their instinct to start looking locally when they came across SMARTCOS.
“Our primary reason for choosing SMARTCOS for our IVR provider was because SMART was innovative, and likewise, a local business that provided unique solutions to meet our pharmacy customer’s needs,” said Kylie Auger, Pharmacy Manager and Pharmacist.
“Since the IVR has been installed our staff has had fewer interruptions and our patients enjoy calling in to refill their prescriptions or listen to an update on their current prescription status,” said Auger. “One thing I love is that if I ever have a question, someone is always there from SMART to answer my call.”
With the success of the pharmacy in the digital world with their IVR, it was time to explore and take it one step further into the social world.
SMART’s social media program creates a content calendar each month, and crafts branded posts to timely events, such as open enrollment periods, national awareness days, and medication tips. The program also helps humanize pharmacy businesses, giving customers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the pharmacy team, all while building your pharmacy’s reputation as a local healthcare expert.
“I was interested in trying out SMART’s Social Media Program because social media has become a powerful marketing tool for pharmacies to help grow their business and increase and engage with their patient pool,” said Auger.
“One thing I like is the low-cost monthly ads targeted to specific patients within our geographical radius on Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. These ads have helped showcase our expertise and value to our local market to boost awareness of our pharmacy products, and services to our local community.”
Since Stokes’ inception into SMART’s social program, their monthly ads reach anywhere from 250 – 650 local accounts each day. Also, their Facebook and Instagram “likes” and “follows” have grown tremendously since starting the program early this year.
“As a busy pharmacist, I can trust that our pharmacy brand is in safe hands in an increasingly digital and social world.”