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More than half of community pharmacies do not know where to start with local marketing, according to research by Brand Champions. In a poll of 400 pharmacy owners in England, this was the most commonly reported barrier to promotion.
Overall, 52% cited a lack of marketing direction as their main obstacle. That put it ahead of time pressures, named by 23%, budget constraints on 20%, and concerns about effectiveness on 5%.
The findings point to a wider issue with public understanding of what pharmacies now offer beyond dispensing medicines. Almost nine in 10 respondents, or 87%, said fewer than half of their patients were aware of the full range of healthcare services available through their pharmacy.
Within that group, 44% said very few patients knew about services beyond prescription dispensing. The results suggest a gap between the growing clinical role of community pharmacies and public awareness of that shift.
Awareness gap
The disconnect comes as pharmacies take on a broader role in frontline care. One example is Pharmacy First, the NHS service in England that allows participating pharmacies to assess and treat patients for seven common conditions, including supplying prescription-only medicines where appropriate, without the need for a GP appointment.
Separate research from Healthwatch England found that, among respondents unlikely to seek pharmacy care for those conditions, 29% were unaware that pharmacies could provide advice and treatment. That underlines the challenge facing the sector as it tries both to shift public behaviour and expand services.
The Brand Champions poll also asked pharmacy professionals why they thought patients remained unaware of available services. Responses were split between patients going to GPs or online searches first on 35%, entrenched public habits that frame pharmacies mainly as dispensaries on 32%, and pharmacies' own unclear communications on 33%.
These responses suggest the problem does not stem from a single cause. Patient behaviour, historic perceptions and pharmacies' own communication all appear to contribute to low awareness.
Sector pressure
The issue has operational significance for community pharmacies as their role in primary care expands. If patients continue to associate pharmacies mainly with dispensing, providers may struggle to build demand for newer services designed to ease pressure elsewhere in the health system.
For pharmacy owners, the poll suggests the immediate challenge is often more basic than spending levels. The largest group pointed not to a lack of funds or time, but to uncertainty over how to begin marketing in their local area.
Fiona Wylie, founder and chief executive officer of Brand Champions, said: "Pharmacies are some of the most trusted organisations on the high street. They have deep relationships with their communities, clinical expertise and an expanding range of services that can make a real difference to people's health. But trust isn't the same as being top of mind."
She added that the poll showed a practical rather than purely financial barrier for many operators. "What's particularly interesting about our polling is that the biggest barrier to promoting pharmacies wasn't necessarily money or time - it was not knowing where to start. That's a real opportunity for the sector. Pharmacies don't need enormous marketing budgets or complicated campaigns to make themselves more visible. They need to understand their local communities, identify what matters to the people around them and communicate clearly about how they can help," Wylie said.
The polling covered 400 pharmacy owners in England and focused on attitudes to local marketing and patient awareness. The findings suggest pharmacies may need clearer messaging at community level if they are to convert trust into use of a wider range of clinical services.
The responses also show that many in the sector believe public assumptions remain rooted in an older view of pharmacy. On that measure, the task is not only to advertise individual services, but to change perceptions of what a local pharmacy is for.