Online Pharmacy Marketing

Industry: Online Pharmacies

Your pharmacy shop is running below its potential.

You have invested – in product range, shipping, inventory systems. But online revenue isn't growing the way it should. Your ads are costing money but bringing in too few measurable orders. And whether the whole effort pays off, you can't say. Or you are considering the leap into online trade – and want to do it right from the start.

Does this sound familiar?

Three patterns we see in practically every pharmacy before we start working.

01

Growth stagnates despite investment

You have put money into the shop, into products, into shipping. Revenue is coming in – but it's no longer growing. Every month feels the same, even though you are investing more.

02

Ads are running, but no one knows if they pay off

Google Shopping, Meta Ads – somebody is running something. But which campaign is actually bringing orders? And what does an order really cost? No one can tell you.

03

The competition is growing faster

Other online pharmacies in Austria are building market share. You're asking yourself: what are they doing differently? The answer is usually no secret – it's a system.

What we have demonstrably delivered for pharmacies

5 pharmacy shops built. All from scratch.

In recent years we have supported five Austrian pharmacies in building up their online business – each of them completely from scratch. No existing shop, no existing campaigns. Everything from the ground up.

The most successful of these pharmacies today generates seven-figure annual revenue through the online shop – more than through the physical pharmacy. With significantly less staffing effort. Growing every year, no single decline.

For confidentiality reasons we do not name names. Discretion is part of our work – and you get that same confidentiality.

5

Pharmacy shops built

7-figure

Annual revenue (most successful)

5+

Years of growth without decline

0 → ✓

Profitable in every case

How it works

In 90 days your growth system is in place. Guaranteed.

01

Week 1–2: Foundation

Strategy workshop (90 min): Who buys from you? Why online instead of at the brick-and-mortar pharmacy?

Which products have the highest margin? In parallel: tracking set-up, auditing existing campaigns, analysing competitors.

02

Week 3–6: Build

Google Shopping optimised, Meta Ads for key product categories, landing pages for your strongest categories.

Remarketing for cart abandoners. The first real data starts flowing.

03

Week 7–12: Optimisation

A/B tests on ads and landing pages. Product-range analysis: which products bring margin, which only revenue?

Automated reporting. The system is in place and learning.

Guarantee: All items on the system checklist delivered – or full money back. And everything belongs to you.

Pitfalls – what most get wrong

6 mistakes we see in pharmacy shops again and again

01

ROAS without margin calculation

A ROAS of 4:1 sounds good. But for over-the-counter products with 20 % margin, after shipping and returns sometimes zero remains. We calculate with real contribution margins, not with revenue metrics.

02

Google Shopping without feed optimisation

Most pharmacy shops send their product feed to Google unedited. Without optimised titles, without categorisation, without excluding low-margin products. It's like a shelf without order.

03

No remarketing for cart abandoners

Someone adds products to the cart and doesn't check out. In most shops what happens next is: nothing. Yet remarketing is often the most profitable channel – because the customer already knows you.

04

Promoting too many products instead of the right ones

5,000 products in the shop does not mean advertising 5,000 products. The top 200 generate 80 % of the revenue. We concentrate the budget where it works.

05

Ignoring seasonality

Allergy season, cold and flu time, sun protection – pharmacy shops have clear seasonal peaks. Those who spread the budget evenly waste money in summer and have too little in winter.

06

No repeat-customer strategy

Pharmacy products are repurchased regularly – vitamins, skincare, contact lens solution. Still, most shops treat every purchase like a first purchase. No replenishment reminder, no subscription model, no targeted newsletter. The cheapest customer is the one who has already bought.

Who this works for – and who it doesn't

Good fit

  • Existing online shop with untapped potential – The shop works technically, but the marketing isn't fully leveraged. This is exactly where we apply the lever.
  • No online shop yet, but the will to get started – Our partner agency builds the shop, we make it profitable. That's how all 5 of our pharmacy shops were created.
  • At least €2,000/month ad budget – Only at this scale do campaigns deliver reliable data for meaningful optimisation.
  • Decision-maker who can approve within 48 h – Performance marketing lives on speed. Long approval loops kill campaigns.

× Not a fit

  • ׄI want to test with €500 first“ – A marketing system needs a minimum budget to learn. Below €2,000 ad budget the data is missing for meaningful optimisation.
  • ×Expectation that Google alone solves all problems – If product range, prices or shipping aren't right, not even the best campaign can save it.
  • ×No willingness to engage with margins and product range – We need your expertise as a pharmacist. Which products are worth it, which are not? Without this input we shoot blind.
  • ׄThe last two agencies were incompetent“ – If by the third attempt it's still the agency's fault, the problem lies elsewhere. We're honest enough to say it.

Frequently asked questions

I don't have an online shop yet. Can Nordsteg still help?
That's exactly how all five of our pharmacy shops were created – from scratch. Our partner agency specialises in online shop development for pharmacies and builds the shop. We take over the marketing from day 1. That way you get both from one source: a shop that works technically, and a marketing system that makes it profitable.
How does pharmacy marketing differ from standard e-commerce?
Pharmacies are subject to special advertising regulations – not everything can be advertised, certain health claims are restricted. On top of that: the product range is huge, margins vary significantly and seasonality is stronger than in most industries. We know these specifics from 5 pharmacy projects and know which products are worth running ads on and which are not.
Do I need a large product range for online success?
No. The size of the range matters less than focus. We analyse which of your products have the highest margin and the best search volume and concentrate the budget there. Better to promote 200 products profitably than 5,000 with a scattergun approach.
Can you also help with building the shop?
Our focus is on marketing – not shop development. If your shop is technically up and running but underperforming, we are the right partner. For shop setup and web design we work closely with our sister agency WelleWest.

Ready for a pharmacy shop that realises its potential?

In a free 30-minute call we take a look at your shop and show you where the biggest lever lies.

No obligation. Honest. No sales pressure.

A thank-you for your time: Every participant receives „Umsatz ohne Zufall“ – the book by our managing director Nicolas Fabjan – personally signed, by post. No purchase, no obligation. Even if we don't end up working together.

Book a Discovery Call

Or give us a call: +43 676 4703583