There are two pharmacy stores near our home.

One is a corporate pharmacy chain that has more than 200 outlets across the country.

Another one is the standalone, local pharmacy shop – Priya Medicals which has been around for more than 20 years.

It is run by Ramakrishnan who has not even completed his degree.

Priya Medicals’ store representatives Ganesh and Victor know their customers by the name and know all their family members.

They do not just sell medicines; they chat with the customers informally and engage with them.

If prescribed medicines are not available, they make a note of them and ensure it is delivered within a day.

Priya Medicals has not invested in any tech platforms to engage with its customers.

They do not have any discounts or offers nor have any rewards programs.

But, when I did small research, I found, they have the highest revisits, repurchases and loyalty among their customers.

On the other side, when you enter into the corporate pharma outlet, you would instantly sense the transactional nature of their staff.

No smile and warmth.

You wouldn’t find the same staff working continuously for more than a month.

They capture the customer data and send transactional SMS / email pushes.

They offer a 20% discount on every purchase.

Do these things make me happy as their customer and motivate me to visit them again?

No.

Why?

There is a discount offer. But there is no human connection.

What appears so fundamental is ignored by this Corporate Chain.

 (Here is my recent cartoon which illustrates the importance of brand experience)

Balancing scale and customer experience is the secret to sustainable growth.

The sign of a powerful brand is its ability to attract and keep the customers even when they scale up massively. And also, without relying heavily on discounts and offers.

 No doubt, scale brings a huge advantage but it also brings complexity.

It puts brands in an ‘operation success but the patient died’ kinda situation.

Written By

Rajesh Srinivasan

Modern Marketing Strategist | Author | Keynote Speaker | Tedx