CVS Online

In this day in age more and more companies have begun to use the internet as a source to network with the public and there target audiences.  The internet has brought forth a new media era, where in order to compete a company must take part in the many aspects of media news.  The internet has completely change the way in which we communicate with one another, and has also changed the ways in which public relations practitioners go about connecting with publics, and maintaining good relationships with these publics.

One of the main online sources which CVS uses is its personal websites (www.cvs.com).  CVS has one main website which can be used to easily find products which are offered at local stores as well as easy online shopping.  Its main purpose is to serve as an online pharmacy.  This proves very useful to customers seeing as how CVS is the number 1 provider of prescriptions in the nation serving over 4 million customers daily.  Its important not only for a website to catch the interest of the consumer, but a website is only successful if it is well managed and easy to use.  I believe that the CVS main website is very well kept, it is simple and makes what you are looking for easy to find while still looking professional.  


CVS has numerous amounts of other websites dedicated to the specific areas which the company is made up of.  These could be found on websites such as:
www.minuteclinic.com
www.cvsphoto.com
www.beauty360.com
These websites help you with you more directly find what it is you need based off which section of CVS you are looking for.

CVS/caremark is a healthcare service which since 2007 has been striving to become one of the most well known and best trusted healthcare providers in the United States.  There is an entire website dedicated to the services which CVS/caremark has to offer (http://info.cvscaremark.com).
The website offers information that varies from there retail pharmacy, to the way in which they contribute to the community.  Also the website has its own newsroom which offers information about the latest news of the company, as well as press releases and featured topics.

Other new media sources which CVS uses to communicate are websites such as Twitter and Facebook.  These websites are two of the most commonly visited websites to this day, and tons of corporations use them to keep in touch with there publics.  CVS currently has over 20,000 fans on facebook alone.  Twitter is another source that CVS uses to keep its publics informed about its newest discounts, prices, and news releases.  Facebook is another great website for companies to incorporate themselves with because it gives its customers and other publics a chance to voice out to CVS how they feel about there customer service and other issues.  Anybody is aloud to comment on posts and voice there opinion.  This is good for companies to see so that they can make certain changes which they would not have necessarily known they needed to make unless somebody from an outside perspective had mentioned it.

I believe that CVS does a very good job at the moment of maintaining a good relationship with there customers using an internet based outlook on public relations.  Not only does CVS keep us up to date an informed, but there websites also help reinsure us of there goals, which seem to look out for the overall health of there clients and communities which surround them.  The mission statement of CVS in relation to CVS/pharmacy and caremark is stated as such.  "Above all else … our mission is to improve the lives of those we serve by making innovative and high-quality health and pharmacy services safe, affordable and easy to access."  
When i read this mission statement I see CVS as a company who looks out for the overall well being of its clients.  It goes on to say that its biggest value is its customers.  If i were a part of CVS's public relations team i would continue to maintain a good relationship with the community using internet sources.  I would also possibly set up a webpage that directly focuses on answering the daily question that are brought up by daily consumers.