(Almost) Everything I Know About Marketing, I Learned in My Father's Drug Store

A collection of universal marketing truisms that we all too often forget

I went to work in my father's drug store when I was nine years old, as a stockboy, progressing to cashier, clerk and pharmacist's assistant. He owned many drugstores. One was the highest volume store in Brooklyn, another one of the highest volume independent drugstores in Manhattan. Retailing is a high-feedback environment in which you can see the effects of what you are doing quickly. You count the money at the end of each day, count the prescriptions, and see the faces of customers. I later became a psychologist and a marketing consultant, but realized that what I had learned back in my father's drug store applies to every business and every product. Not exactly in the form I learned it, but translated into a form appropriate to the particular circumstances. Treat this article as allegorical. If there is a lesson that follows that you think is irrelevant to your product, your business or your job, I urge you to pay particular attention to it: It is likely to be one you are neglecting at your peril. I like to think my father would have been proud that the lessons he taught were put to good use.

	Rule one: The customer is always right. Rule two: In the rare cases where you know the customer is really wrong, refer to rule one.
	Don't approach the customer with the intention of selling something. Instead, politely ask the customer, "How can I help you?"
	Always tell the truth, and tell the whole truth. Never withhold the disadvantages about a product, even one you are enthusiastic about.
	There's always a way to tell the truth, even if the Board of Pharmacy or the FDA won't let you. There was a law against advertising lower prescription prices, and my father was discounting prescriptions. He was frustrated that he couldn't put a sign on his window telling customers that his prices were lower. I suggested that he put up a sign with the text of the relevant law, together with a statement of his disapproval of the law, figuring that the customers would get the message. He did something better: he put up a simple sign that said, "Let us price your present prescription." The board of pharmacy made it clear informally that they didn't like it, but they couldn't do anything.
	Always surprise the customer by giving him a little more than he expected.
	Give him a reason to buy, or many reasons to buy, not only in your place of business, but from you personally. Make them come back and refuse to be waited on by anyone other than you.
	Make eye contact. Say it with a smile, but make sure it's a real smile.
	Find a lot of little ways to make doing business with you a little better: give him a warmer greeting, a nicer floor, better lighting, a better bag, extra matches, faster service, free delivery, lower prices, more selection. There are always scores of ways to increase value. Write them on little scraps of paper. Your pockets should be bulging from them [his were].
	Never be annoyed when a customer asks you to change a large bill, or gives you pennies, even if he doesn't buy anything. Someday he will. Always check to make sure that you give the correct change.
	The customer is not an annoyance taking you away from your real work. He/she is your reason for being.
	Get a mental picture of the customer walking past your competitor to come to you. Never take him for granted, never rely on habit, because one day he will go in to try the competitor and never come back. Always ask, "What have I done for him lately?"
	Always dust off a dusty bottle or box, but never let the customer see you do it.
	Never, ever, in any way embarrass a customer, especially by making him feel ignorant. Never answer a question coming from a desire to show how smart you are. Answer the question, but come from a desire to help him make the best decision. Make him feel smart for asking the question.
	Never shout across the store the following words, or their equivalent: "How much are these condoms?"
	When you don't know, say so. Never make things up and don't speculate about what the answer might be. Find out the answer on the spot, or promise to find out. Do whatever you have to do to find out, no matter who you have to ask, who you have to call. Call the president of the company if you have to, and don't let him off the hook either.
	Every customer is special. Get to know them. They're fascinating. Call every customer by name. If you don't know the name, ask for it again and again if necessary, with a self deprecating joke. They may think you have a bad memory, but will never think you don't think they are special.
	Never let a customer walk, for any reason. Meet any price, even if you don't believe the customer. So what if you have to fill their prescription at cost. Maybe that's the price you have to pay to sell them their cosmetics.
	On the other hand, don't let known shoplifters into the store. Shoplifters want stores in which the clerks neglect them. So, don't neglect customers.
	Act as though every moment a customer is waiting, he is thinking bad thoughts about you. Don't ever let two clerks or pharmacists talk when a customer is waiting. The worst thing you can do is count your money while you keep a customer waiting. Nobody has so much money that they can't afford to lose count and start counting over again.
	Remember that no matter how much they like you, they buy the product because they want it or need it. They pay you money because what they are getting is worth more to them than the cash they give you. If you can suggest something better, without pressuring them, they will probably be grateful. Giving them a sample may cost you a present sale, but it's worth it. Sometimes a simple question, like "We've been selling a lot of X lately, and people have been coming back for more. I'm curious, have you tried it, and what do you think?" Always respect the fact that it's their choice.
	Never pressure anyone into anything. The best that you can do under those circumstances is make the sale and lose the customer.
	Never knowingly give bad advice. In fact, generally stay away from giving any kind of advice. Just help people come to the right decision.
	Personally visit any store a customer compliments, particularly competitors' stores who are beating your prices, even if it's an hour's subway ride into another part of the city. That store owner is probably doing a whole bunch of things that you can do even better. If the competitor knows you, send in other people to report back to you. (I didn't know this was called marketing research. These were my first marketing research assignments).
	Hire a shopping service to prepare periodic reports on the pricing and inventory of your competitors.
	If you hear of a store where the management is insulting customers, buy it. You'll buy it for a song, since they will be in trouble. Just putting up a sign "Under New Management" will increase sales dramatically. Then, if you don't want it, sell it based on the increased sales. (My father bought and sold dozens of stores.)
	Look where the leverage is. One physician or office nurse who is convinced you are better brings hundreds of customers and their friends.
	Always look for ways to build the business. Start with finding ways to "make a stranger a customer."
	There is an old adage that the three most important things in determining the worth of a store is location, location and location. On the other hand, don't forget that most people, even wealthy people, will walk several blocks to save a dime, or see a smile, or be treated right.
	Always run a sale or a promotion. Make them keep coming back, even if for nothing else than to see what you are up to next.
	Use the best sign-maker you can find and pay him more than anybody else. Plaster your windows with his signs, but not before you check his spelling.
	If someone is mad at you, they will tell everyone who will listen for as long as they are angry, maybe even longer. If they are satisfied, they have better things to talk about, such as who else they are mad at. So, correct any dissatisfaction, no matter how small and ask customers to send their friends. Nothing beats word of mouth.
	Treat your employees, and salespeople who sell to you, the same way you treat your customers.
	When filling a prescription, or doing anything else which could have terrible consequences if a mistake is made, don't make mistakes. Ever. Figure out a way to make it foolproof. With a prescription, the person filling it is never the one to put it away. The bottle is left on top of the prescription. Someone else checks to see that they match before putting the bottle back on the shelf and putting the prescription in the file. Occasionally, you put the wrong bottle on the script to make sure it is caught.
	Always measure your performance. In a drug store, make a chart of the number of prescriptions filled per day and gross volume of the store per day. Keep a running average. No matter how good a job you think you are doing, if these two measures are not going up significantly, you are doing a lousy job.
	Always ask the customer to "Come back soon."
	If they say they are moving away, offer to fill their prescriptions by mail.
	Make jokes. Lots of them. Only a serious person can make good jokes. (As Zero Mostel said, "Humor is just a funny way of being serious."
	Non bastardi carborundum. Don't let bastards wear you down.

That's all. Come back soon.