When we understand the outcomes people want, and have used questioning techniques such as WWHAM to ensure a treatment is appropriate, choosing an effective treatment is the next step.

An effective treatment may not consist of a single product; there may be several products that together meet both the short-term and long-term needs of the customer. For example, a customer who asks for something for itchy eyes and sneezing for their hayfever might have their immediate symptoms alleviated with an antihistamine tablet and then prevented in the future by chromoglycate eye drops and a nasal spray such as Beconase or Prevalin. There may also be other needs the customer has that we can meet in the pharmacy, such as tissues.

Make a recommendation

The next stage is to make a recommendation. Customers come to the pharmacy to ask for advice. Often I see team members in the pharmacy giving customers options rather than a recommendation.

When we think about the recommendations we make, we need to think about what customers buy. In community pharmacy, we often talk about the features of a product. However, customers are not interested in features. They do not come into a pharmacy for a product that contains a NSAID €“ they are looking for the benefits of a product or treatment. While the features are important to us, because they give us useful information, we need to in interpret this information in terms of the benefits that the customer will understand and experience.

Our recommendation should be clear, unambiguous and given with confidence. Customers feel comfortable when they can understand why a recommendation has been made. Linking the recommendation to the outcomes you have already discovered will help customers accept the recommendation. This is done easily by ending your recommendation with the word 'because'. An example might be, 'I recommend these heat-pads and some ibuprofen tablets for your bad back, because by using them properly together, they will allow you to return to doing some gardening with limited pain, which should last for a shorter period than before.'