MMR: Why Membership Are a Must – Monthly Mastermind December 2025
Lisa Faast discussed the importance of memberships for pharmacies, emphasizing their role in retaining patients and increasing revenue. She highlighted the success of membership models like Planet Fitness, Microsoft, and Amazon, noting that Prime members spend 113% more than non-Prime members. Faast suggested various membership types, including access to exclusive content, discounts, and recurring orders, and shared success stories from her inner circle group. She also addressed the impact of Optum’s new 2026 Provider Manual, which limits sales from any one therapeutic class to 25%, potentially affecting specialty pharmacies.
Action Items
- Implement a membership program for the pharmacy to increase revenue, customer retention, and loyalty
- Explore different types of membership models such as access-based, discount-based, and recurring order-based memberships
- Identify specific membership offerings that would be valuable for the pharmacy’s patient community (e.g. weight loss, hormone, kids programs)
- Determine the pricing, benefits, and target membership goals for the pharmacy’s membership program
- Review the pharmacy’s prescription volume and therapeutic class distribution to ensure compliance with the new Optum policy and avoid potential audits or issues
Outline
Membership Benefits and Event Promotion
- Lisa Faast introduces the topic of memberships, emphasizing their importance and urging participants to get their summit tickets before the price increases in January.
- She mentions a top-secret session for members during the summit, highlighting the exclusivity and profitability of the information shared by pharmacy owners.
- Lisa provides details on how to access discounted summit tickets through the membership portal, stressing the importance of purchasing from within the membership to get the best price.
- She outlines the support services available to members, including office hours and daily implementation support calls, and notes the holiday schedule for these meetings.
Patient Life Cycle and Membership Retention
- Lisa discusses the patient life cycle, particularly focusing on the role of memberships in retaining patients month after month.
- She compares the membership model to a gym membership, where people join and often stay for a long time, creating a steady revenue stream.
- Lisa shares that she first presented this topic to her inner circle group a year ago, and many members have successfully implemented memberships.
- She plans to provide examples and ideas for different types of memberships, encouraging participants to develop their own unique membership offerings.
Examples of Successful Membership Models
- Lisa provides examples of successful membership models, starting with Planet Fitness and its two different membership options: classic and black card.
- She mentions Microsoft’s shift from one-time purchase software to a membership model, which now bills customers on an annual or monthly basis.
- Lisa highlights the recurring revenue model used by companies like Amazon, Lyft, and GoodRx, which offer various membership benefits to customers.
- She discusses the popularity of subscription services and recurring revenue models in different industries, including telehealth and supplement companies.
Implementing Memberships in Pharmacies
- Lisa explains how pharmacies can implement memberships, using examples like GNC and Amazon Pharmacy.
- She emphasizes the importance of providing purchasing strategies that patients are looking for, such as recurring orders and automatic replenishment.
- Lisa suggests that pharmacies can offer early access to new products, digital groups, and private Facebook groups as part of their membership packages.
- She provides ideas for different types of memberships, including access to experts, discounts, and recurring orders, and encourages participants to mix and match these elements to create unique offerings.
Benefits and Numbers of Membership Programs
- Lisa shares statistics on the benefits of membership programs, such as increased spending by members and higher retention rates.
- She mentions that Prime members spend 113% more than non-Prime members, and 75% of consumers favor companies that offer rewards programs.
- Lisa discusses the impact of loyalty programs on customer retention, using her own experience with hotels.com as an example.
- She highlights the financial benefits of membership programs, noting that even a basic membership can generate significant revenue for pharmacies.
Creating and Offering Membership Programs
- Lisa provides practical advice on creating and offering membership programs, including the importance of making them valuable to customers.
- She suggests starting with existing services and adding additional perks to enhance the membership’s value.
- Lisa recommends partnering with other businesses to offer free or discounted services as part of the membership package.
- She emphasizes the need for support and communication with members, using platforms like Slack for ongoing engagement.
Specific Membership Program Ideas
- Lisa offers specific ideas for different types of membership programs, such as weight loss, hormone, and kids programs.
- She suggests including services like point-of-care testing, recurring orders, and free perks in these programs to increase their value.
- Lisa highlights the importance of making membership programs flexible and customizable to meet the needs of different patient groups.
- She encourages participants to think creatively about the types of services and benefits they can offer as part of their membership programs.
Addressing Member Questions and Concerns
- Lisa addresses a question about the impact of the new Optum provider manual on therapeutic class limits, explaining the potential consequences and suggesting ways to monitor compliance.
- She reassures participants that most generic retail pharmacies should not be affected by the new rules, but specialty pharmacies may need to be more cautious.
- Lisa offers to help participants create and implement their membership programs, providing ongoing support and guidance.
- She concludes the session by wishing everyone a happy holiday season and encouraging them to take advantage of the support services available through the membership.