How can online pharmacy Viata grow its brand awareness in Belgium?

Nowadays it seems natural for physical stores to also offer their products online, yet it is not obvious that both channels will grow into success. Online, customers may have different needs than in a physical store. The webshop of pharmacy Viata is aware of this. That is why it wanted to discover the most important moments, or Category Entry Points (CEPs), when consumers in Belgium think about an (online) pharmacy. Blauw researched it, as a result of which Viata now knows exactly how to set up its communication in such a way that potential customers will think of the brand when they need self-care medication or personal care products.

Growth by increasing brand awareness

Viata is an online pharmacy where you can buy many products without a doctor's prescription, think medicines, personal care and travel products. From the right allergy pills and vitamins for every season, to sunscreen for sensitive skin and mini shampoos for vacations. Although many people in Belgium already know how to find Viata, there are still many consumers who have never heard of the pharmacy. Viata wants to change that. Viata wants more people to think about the brand more often, so that these people will consider the online pharmacy and buy products there. In short, Viata wants to grow by increasing brand awareness in Belgium. How? By first developing an extremely strong marketing strategy, then launching a radio campaign. But which message can Viata best communicate, and which CEPs can it claim in it?

Category Entry Points (CEPs): lead moments

In order to develop the right message, Blauw researched all possible CEPs of the category 'on- and offline pharmacies' for Viata, the so-called Category Entry Points. These trigger moments determine whether or not consumers will think of a brand (or organization), and whether or not to consider this brand when purchasing a product or service. And in this case, whether or not to make the purchase through an online pharmacy.

How did we research the CEPs? Our Blauw experts deployed an online community, a Life & Health community of consumers from Flanders and Wallonia. For two weeks we presented these consumers with various assignments and entered into a dialogue with them about their (purchasing) behavior, needs, and associations with the category.

Brand associations: what do people think of when they think of online pharmacies?

Among other things, we had consumers tell us how their purchase came about, focusing on what prompted it. In doing so, we paid close attention to the: who, what, where, when and why. We also looked at what brand associations they have with both a physical and digital pharmacy. What do they think about? What are their motivations for buying from a webshop? What might keep them from doing so? And when and why do people really prefer to buy their products in a physical store?

Among consumers, many possible CEP domains bubbled to the surface. Some of these appeal to a very specific target group in Belgium, while others attract the attention of a large group in society. Because Viata wants to get as many consumers as possible to think more often, the mainstream domains in particular were worked out.

The challenge of an online pharmacy: establishing a relationship of trust with the customer

We quickly figured out the unique yet challenging thing about the pharmacy category. Many people go to a physical pharmacy because they know the faces behind the counter. They may also come there with an embarrassing ailment or an uncomfortable question, in which case for many people it is nice to seek advice from a trusted person. So how do you convince people who have been coming to the same physical pharmacy for years to order their products from a Web shop?

We discovered that a familiar face can also do a lot of good online, and with that Viata went to work.