EVALUATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PHARMACY MARKETING FUNCTIONS: THE SEGMENT OF COSMETICS

Introduction. The conditions of the modern pharmaceutical market impose additional requirements for the professional competences of pharmaceutical workers. There is an urgent need for revising the functional responsibilities of pharmaceutical workers, which is associated with the specific features of work with the segment of pharmaceutical cosmetics. Objective: to evaluate how pharmacies perform key marketing functions in the segment of cosmetics. Material and methods. The efficiency of pharmacies working with a pharmaceutical cosmetics segment was evaluated from the fulfillment of key marketing functions within the individual tasks, by questioning the managers of pharmacy networks and structural units that constituted the highest proportion in the structure of the regional market of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. The study included pharmacies of the most common model on the regional market where pharmaceutical cosmetics accounted for less than 20% of the total assortment. The amount of working time that the pharmacists spent performing the tasks related to the circulation of pharmaceutical cosmetics was analyzed using a technique for photographing a working day. Results. The average amount of working time that pharmaceutical workers spent on activities associated with the circulation of pharmaceutical cosmetics was calculated. The pharmacies solve the problems of supplier choice and inventory management, as well as those of the analysis and planning of pricing policy at a rather high level, which correlates with the high weight of these tasks (more than 9 scores). The heads of pharmacies pay relatively less attention to marketing tasks (assortment policy analysis and planning), development of a customer loyalty system, and counseling pharmacy visitors. This is appropriately embodied in the degree of implementation of these tasks (50% or more of the above tasks are solved at low and medium levels). The development of advertising and public relations campaigns, as well as information activities in the pharmacies is ineffectively implemented despite their weight. Conclusion. Work with the pharmaceutical cosmetics segment is very promising from the point of view of higher activity efficiency. The expediency of taking a pharmacist with advanced pharmaceutical cosmetology practice on the staff of pharmacies (pharmacy networks) is scientifically substantiated.