Most Pharmacies Don't Know Where to Start With Marketing — and the Barrier Isn't Budget
A new Brand Champions poll of 400 English pharmacies finds 52% don't know where to start with local marketing — a bigger barrier than time (23%) or budget (20%) — even as 87% believe fewer than half their patients know the services they now offer.
The finding: direction, not money, is the block
New research from healthcare marketing agency Brand Champions, polling 400 pharmacy owners in England, puts a number on a problem the sector has long felt but rarely named. For 52% of community pharmacies, the single biggest obstacle to local marketing is simply not knowing where to start — ahead of time constraints (23%), budget limits (20%) and doubts about whether marketing even works (5%).
The consequences are stark. 87% of pharmacies believe fewer than half their patients are aware of the full range of services they offer, and 44% say very few patients know about anything beyond dispensing prescriptions. Pharmacy professionals blamed low awareness on patients defaulting to GPs or online searches (35%), an entrenched view of pharmacies as dispensaries (32%), and — candidly — their own communications not being clear enough (33%).
Why it matters now
This awareness gap is widening at the worst possible moment. Community pharmacies are taking on a far bigger clinical role: NHS Pharmacy First, launched in England in January 2024, lets participating pharmacies assess and treat seven common conditions — supplying prescription-only medicines where appropriate — without a GP appointment. And the Autumn 2026 rollout of NHS-funded independent prescribing will let qualified pharmacists assess patients and prescribe directly.
Yet public perception hasn't caught up: Healthwatch England found in June 2025 that, among people unlikely to turn to a pharmacy for these conditions, nearly a third (29%) didn't even know pharmacies could help. As Brand Champions founder Fiona Wylie puts it, pharmacies are among the most trusted names on the high street — but trust isn't the same as being top of mind.
Marketing Minute's read: the fix is simpler than pharmacies fear
The most encouraging thing in this data is what the barrier isn't. It isn't money, and it isn't time — it's direction. That's a far cheaper problem to solve. A pharmacy doesn't need a big budget or a complicated campaign to become more visible; it needs a short, consistent local plan and the confidence to execute it.
The fundamentals are within reach of any pharmacy or small business: a complete, up-to-date Google Business Profile; clear window and in-store signage spelling out 'you can be seen and treated here, today, no appointment'; a steady drip of simple local social posts tied to the season (flu jabs, hay fever, Pharmacy First); and staff who actively tell patients what else they can help with. None of that is expensive. The lesson generalises well beyond pharmacy: 'not knowing where to start' is the most common marketing block for small businesses everywhere, and the antidote is never a bigger budget — it's a simple plan, repeated.
Quick FAQ
What's the biggest barrier to pharmacy marketing?
Not knowing where to start (52%), according to Brand Champions' poll of 400 English pharmacies — ahead of time constraints (23%), budget (20%) and doubts about effectiveness (5%).
Do pharmacies need big budgets to fix this?
No. The research points to a direction problem, not a money one. A consistent local plan — Google Business Profile, clear signage, seasonal social, and staff who signpost services — costs little and does most of the work.
Pharmacies are some of the most trusted organisations on the high street... But trust isn't the same as being top of mind. The biggest barrier to promoting pharmacies wasn't money or time — it was not knowing where to start. That's a real opportunity for the sector. — Fiona Wylie, Founder and CEO, Brand Champions
The barrier isn't money — it's direction. For a pharmacy or any small business, a simple, consistent local plan beats an expensive campaign every time.
If 'not knowing where to start' is the real block, what's the one local-marketing step your business could take this week?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: Brand Champions poll of 400 English pharmacy owners (via Brilliant Relations); NHS Pharmacy First; Healthwatch England (June 2025). Marketing Minute analysis.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
