Pharmacies 36.6 is an established brand with a loyal audience and 29 physical pharmacies, most of them located in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The chain opened in 2002, gaining rapid popularity thanks to the variety it offers, including products that are not so easily found on the market. In 2016, the company began publishing a monthly magazine that is distributed free of charge in physical outlets and is a combination of promotional activities and content. 2017 also marked the launch of the company’s online pharmacy, the city’s first online pharmacy focusing on cosmetics, supplements, herbal products and over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. The magazine is also being distributed online so that more users can access its useful content. A particular convenience of online pharmacies is the ability to pick up your online order at the physical locations for free, also receiving various complementary gift samples. The online pharmacy has also successfully developed a blog with helpful articles from leading medical individuals and specialists.

How did we start working together?

We started working together with the online Pharmacy of 36.6 – 366.bg in March 2020. At that time, the store had an established online audience but was not reaching a large number of new users on social networks. The brand was present on Facebook and Instagram, earning good engagement. In addition, e-mail campaigns and Google ads were being run. However, the sales from social networks and Google ads were not satisfactory. Pharmacies 36.6 were looking for a partner with whom they could develop new ideas related to digital channels and build a long-term partnership. We set the goal to double turnover in the first six months. Today we will discuss how we managed to triple turnover within 1 year.

Actions taken

Facebook and Google ads, e-mail marketing

Advertising in the field of pharmaceuticals entailed obtaining in-depth familiarity with the subject matter, as well as a thorough understanding of the requirements for both visuals and copy. For this purpose, we worked closely with the marketing manager for the first few months until we had a clear concept. Although some Facebook ads had been run before, their true potential was yet to be fulfilled. This was one of our first steps. We built a media plan of activities including monthly promotional offers of different brands, thematic campaigns and dynamic ads. Over time, we established a unified visual concept for the company to follow, both in ads and in daily communication with users on social networks.

In Google Ads, we built multiple dynamic algorithm-based campaigns for new audiences and for subsequent remarketing. Pharmacies 36.6 had historical and loyal user data collected, which enabled us to clearly track site statistics and focus our efforts on products that had higher conversion rates and returns.

E-mail marketing is often underestimated nowadays, but it is a channel you can use to communicate with your loyal audience and those who are interested in your products. We created different types of visuals for the e-mail campaigns with content that would not only sell but also educate users about topics of interest to them. We put tracking on every element of our e-mail campaigns and began sending a regular newsletter. Thanks to statistics, we identified what users were interacting with. On the basis of this information, we continue improving our e-mail campaigns to this day.

The success we have achieved is due to the great working relationship between the Pharmacies 36.6 team and us. When teams of professionals work together, the result speaks for itself.

Actions by channel

• We created funnels on Facebook and Google to interact with consumers at every stage of their customer journey;
• We built a unified visual concept for social networks;
• We set up important follow-ups on social networks and e-mail campaigns;
• We tested personalized campaigns based on seasons and different events;
• We tested different advertising messages;
• We jointly built a schedule for interaction with the 36.6 team;
• We built various dynamic Google Ads campaigns with a focus on conversions and better returns;
• We created different templates for e-mail campaigns to be launched at different times of the month;
• Each month, we send an e-mail newsletter to the 36.6 audience multiple times;
• We optimize the campaigns for better results across channels and better communication with the audience at each stage of the funnel.

Bottom line:

• Over 80 individual campaigns;
• Over 120 different visuals;
• Over 200 group ads;
• Over 400 unique ads.

Some of the visual materials that we used:

The visual identity we follow and various thematic campaigns:

Results for 1 year period (01.03.2020-01.03.2021 vs 01.03.2019-01.03.2020):

• Site turnover increased by 173.63%.
• Month-over-month turnover almost tripled in the second half.
• Social networks increased turnover by 700% compared to 2019.
• Sales from Google paid search were up 40% and spend was cut in half.
• Sales from e-mail campaigns were up 80% and traffic was up 84%.
• bg’s overall Conversion Rate increased by 26.90%.
• The average shopping cart increased by 14%.

Undoubtedly, these results have not been achieved only through the management of various successful campaigns. They are due to the joint efforts of our marketing professionals and the great team behind 366.bg.

Chart: sales statistics from Google Analytics 01.03.2020-01.03.2021 vs 01.03.2019-01.03.2020

Pharmacies 36.6 about us:

„Tendrik are very proactive with interesting proposals that deliver real results. They are always very responsive and we feel like they are part of our team. They meet the agreed deadlines and commitments. We are extremely satisfied with our work together!“

Katerina Zisova-Christou

Marketing Manager of Pharmacies 36.6