MBS Online Buyback is a great student resource that your college store can easily provide at no additional cost. As more colleges and universities move classes online in an effort to protect student and community health, it is important establish a buyback plan to prepare for the possibility that it may not be feasible to host an on-campus buyback. MBS is here to help you do that.
Campus bookstores are always coming up with creative ways to reach nontraditional students. Kansas City Kansas Community College found a way to engage nontraditional students and even some faculty members and staff with on-campus games of Dungeons & Dragons. We recently spoke with Chris Guthrie, operations assistant at KCKCC, about his success and how he tapped into the community’s sense of adventure.
Topics: college stores, collegiate retail, loyalty program
For Wichita State University, the Shocker Store is more than a collegiate retail hub. It’s a place that fans, alumni and students associate with a sense of belonging. Director Andi Stipp fosters this reputation with a college store loyalty program called Shocker Rewards. We sat down with Ms. Stipp to talk about marketing a campus bookstore with loyalty rewards and why delighted customers are the best measure of a program’s success.
Improving student affordability is a team effort. That’s why it’s important to increase faculty engagement with the campus store. Some instructors may not be aware that the timing of their adoptions can affect the cost of materials for students. Download this checklist to show faculty how they can contribute to student affordability and how the bookstore also works toward the same goal.
Topics: bookstore events, collegiate retail
For Vincennes University Bookstores' Director Karen Faulkner, collegiate retail is about putting students first. She and Marketing Director Aimee Cummings regularly host bookstore events that draw hundreds of students, drive word of mouth and nurture the bookstore’s reputation as a lively campus hub. We sat down with Ms. Faulkner and Ms. Cummings to ask about what makes events successful, how they affect campus bookstore marketing and why fun events can never really fail.
SimpleSource is one of MBS’ most talked about new tools. As Textbook Buyer Sylvia Martinez at Chaffey College Campus Store discovered, streamlining wholesale and marketplace orders has never been easier. One shipment, one invoice and one easy tool: SimpleSource works for every campus store.
Customers are inundated with options when shopping for educational materials. For the campus bookstore, this means your website needs to be a helpful resource that offers customers easy access to course materials and school-branded merchandise while also giving them payment options that include Student Financial Aid (SFA). Here are some ways you can make your website a relevant and trusted option for your customers.
Customer service is a pillar of retail. With growing competition from online distributors, it’s important that campus bookstores go above and beyond when it comes to serving customers. We recently interviewed Field Marketing Territory Manager Beth Gallagher about how bookstores elevate customer service.
Johnson County Community College Bookstore’s Kristine Herman has a deep understanding of the college store industry. She started working for JCCC in the warehouse at age 20. Since then, she’s worked her way up to the role of Assistant Manager. She said her background helps her understand how different parts of the business affect the whole.
To improve the experience in your store, it takes more than knowledgeable, helpful employees. You also need a college store management system that will help you avoid retail pitfalls like long, slow-moving lines, websites that aren’t optimized for mobile and not keeping up with student buying trends. So, what should your college store look for in a retail system?
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