In medicines you compete on price and availability; in parapharmacy you compete on relationship and experience. Cosmetics, dermocosmetics, supplements, hair care, sun care, baby care... these are categories where a well-served customer returns, buys more, and recommends you. The key is to stop selling "by guesswork" and start knowing who is standing in front of you.
1. Identify your customers (without obsessing over it)
Most parapharmacy transactions are anonymous, and that is fine: your sales dashboard should aggregate everything to give you a true picture of the business. But the subset of identified customers — those in your loyalty programme — is gold: they are the ones you can segment, tag, and reactivate.
Start by naturally capturing contact details (email or phone number) with their consent when the customer perceives value: when recommending a facial routine, when handing over a hair treatment, or when advising on photoprotection for the whole family.
2. Segment with RFM: not all customers are equal
The RFM model (Recency, Frequency, Monetary) scores each customer according to how recently they bought, how frequently, and how much they spend, grouping them into actionable segments:
- Champions and Loyal: your best customers. Reward them, give them early access to new products, and preferential treatment.
- Potentials and New: they have started buying. Accompany them with recommendations so they repeat.
- At Risk and Hibernating: they used to buy and have cooled off. This is where the biggest recovery opportunity lies.
- Lost: they haven't returned for a long time. One last well-thought-out campaign or discard them.
A 5% improvement in retention can disproportionately increase profit: winning back a customer who already knows you is much cheaper than acquiring a new one.
3. Win back inactive customers before losing them
The "at-risk" customer is the one who bought photoprotection every summer and hasn't shown up this year, or the one who followed their dermocosmetics routine and hasn't dropped by for 60 days. Detecting them in time and giving them a reason to return (a novelty, advice, a small perk) is the most profitable loyalty lever.
4. Launch campaigns... complying with the GDPR
Email, SMS, or WhatsApp work very well in parapharmacy, but you can only contact those who have given their consent for that channel, and you must keep records (GDPR) and include an opt-out mechanism. Personalise the message by segment: do not write the same thing to a champion as to a customer you want to reactivate.
5. Measure, learn, and repeat
Building loyalty is not a one-off campaign: it is a habit. Review your average ticket size, repurchase rate, and how your segments evolve every month. What gets measured gets improved.
Make it easy with My CRM (free)
Import your sales and get automatic RFM segmentation, tags, GDPR-compliant campaigns, and an AI marketing assistant. No cost, nothing to install.
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Frequently asked questions
What is RFM segmentation in a pharmacy?
RFM groups customers according to Recency, Frequency, and Monetary value. It allows you to identify champions, loyal customers, at-risk customers, or lost customers and act on each group differently.
Do I need a CRM to build loyalty in a parapharmacy?
It is not essential, but it makes it much easier: import your sales, segment automatically, and enable GDPR-compliant campaigns. My CRM from conveniodefarmacia.com is free and compatible with any management software.
Can I send promotions by email or WhatsApp?
Yes, always with valid consent for that channel and keeping records (GDPR), and including an opt-out mechanism. A good CRM blocks sending to anyone who has not given permission.