Mónica Lizondo is the driving force behind Farmaconfianza, an online store selling cosmetics and parapharmacy products. It opened its digital doors in January 2013 and within a year had surpassed the total sales of the physical pharmacy, located in Raval, a humble neighborhood in Barcelona. Lizondo is a pharmacist by profession and, together with her husband, decided to tackle the prescription crisis by betting on online commerce. Every now and then she sends a photo to her customers, because they want to put a face to the person behind the digital counter.
When and why did you consider moving into online commerce?
We got into this partly by chance, partly out of necessity. About three years ago, one day we started “playing around” designing a website with one of those providers that let you build your own site. We found it interesting and then started to consider it seriously. Then, little by little, the crisis worsened and the website became our strategy for overcoming it.
“The crisis worsened and the website became our strategy for overcoming it.”
What did the prescription crisis mean for you?
The prescription crisis was like an alarm clock telling you that you have to reinvent yourself to survive. After managing to turn around a struggling pharmacy in two years, we found that everything around us was turning against us and everything we had done no longer worked. We had to invent something new, and that was Farmaconfianza.
After a year with the online store open, where do you stand now? Have the results surprised you?
Honestly, the success of online sales has really surprised us. Orders and sales have grown month after month. We started with the people who worked in the physical pharmacy, and this year we had to hire three people dedicated exclusively to the online business. Since we launched the online store, we have worked almost every day of the year, including weekends and holidays; we still haven’t gotten used to this pace and need to find time to switch off now and then, but we have only just started: we are very clear that this is still very small and has a long way to go.
Why do you think cosmetics sales didn’t work in the physical store? What factors do you think played a role?
The pharmacy is located in one of the most deprived areas of Barcelona, Raval, right in the old town and with one of the lowest purchasing powers in the city. Between 2010 and 2011 we managed to multiply cosmetics and parapharmacy sales at the pharmacy with affordable mid-range products. From then on, the crisis hit consumption harder and cosmetics and parapharmacy sales stalled.
Your online store has a “Europe” section focused on international sales.
Why did you decide to include this market?
For now it is almost an experiment. Even though the website isn’t available in other languages, we have received some orders from abroad, mainly from Europe. We thought it was important to clearly provide, in several languages, the information needed to place an order, and it will help us see whether we are able to sell abroad.
Do you plan to strengthen this market in the future?
We don’t know yet. The domestic market is very large and growing at a very attractive rate, so we can keep growing in Spain for a long time. To sell seriously abroad you have to do it professionally, that is, with a multilingual website, which is a major investment for a large site like ours, and you also need to develop SEO and SEM marketing skills in the target country. I’m inclined to think that yes, we will look for business in Europe, but I can’t tell you where or when yet.
What do you think of the law allowing medicines to be sold online?
It makes perfect sense. In the rest of Europe, medicines can already be bought and sold, even prescription ones. The digital revolution affects every sector: music, books, the press, and so on. And the pharmaceutical sector will be no exception.
“I’ve had to send my photo to more than one customer so they could put a face to me.”
Any anecdotes with Farmaconfianza, the online store? I imagine you have plenty from the physical one.
We have lots of anecdotes, especially over the phone. People need to know there is a person behind a website, and they need to be able to call me or email me by name. I’ve had to send my photo to more than one customer so they could put a face to me.
Based on your experience, what would be your main recommendation or advice for someone who wants to set up their first online store?
First of all, they should keep in mind that they are doing it to succeed. And succeeding online means countless hours of work at an ever faster pace. You need to be clear about that before getting into it. And the second piece of advice I would give them… is not to neglect customer service. Acquiring customers is expensive, so what you can’t do is lose them after a purchase.
