Counting faculty members among a campus store’s target markets seems counterintuitive. College store professionals already work hard to coordinate faculty textbook adoptions. Without such efforts, fewer faculty and students would have essential educational materials. Why increase faculty engagement?
In today’s retail world, customers have very specific expectations for service, convenience and even technology. As more traditional retailers adopt new technology and practices to improve the customer experience, consumers expect the same level of service from every store they shop with — including the campus store.
Your campus store's business health, adoption rate and value to students depend on increased faculty engagement. For that reason, you must be strategic about writing campus store emails to faculty. It’s essential to invest time and energy in developing an interconnected set of emails that increase engagement. If effective, a powerful message entices readers to open your emails and do what you ask them to do.
The SDSU Bookstore’s relationship with students begins before classes start. Students need a reliable place where they can purchase their course materials, but great campus stores like the SDSU Bookstore offer so much more. The SDSU Bookstore educates freshman students and their families during orientations by giving them tips on how to save money on their course materials.
When you’re planning how you’ll reach faculty, it’s essential to start with a question: What do faculty really need to know?
For GVSU Laker Store, maximizing summer sales starts with strategy. The managers don’t waste resources trying to lure non-students onto campus. Instead, they target online sales, tour groups and newcomers visiting for orientation. Like other colleges, Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, quiets down after graduation in May. But that doesn’t stop the Laker Store from driving business with creative promotions throughout the summer months, according to the school’s Auxiliary Services Marketing Manager, Liza Guikema. Recently, Foreword Online sat down with Guikema to find out how the Laker Store succeeds with summertime efforts.
As course materials become increasingly complicated, the overall student experience during rush can influence how they see the campus store. Some students see the crowds and immediately decide to order online. Others brave the rush only to become frustrated when they can’t find what they need and have to wait in line for help. Recently, we spoke with several stores that have implemented textbook counter service to improve the student experience in their stores.
Oklahoma State University's University Store has a smart approach to fostering student loyalty: an expert technology department, OrangeTech, with free services like repair and 3D printing. Any student in need of computer repair or assistance can find a tech-savvy associate on hand. For 3D printing, customers pay a minimal charge for materials but nothing for the processing and expertise. OrangeTech’s services give University Store an edge over off-campus retailers — and inspire customer allegiance.
Campus store customers want personalized shopping. Research shows the demand for connected shopping experiences has never been higher among consumers worldwide. Unsurprisingly, millennial and Gen Z shoppers are the most likely to expect retailers to use data in ways that make their retail experience convenient and memorable.
Students at community colleges often face a variety of challenges. From balancing work life, school life and family life to weathering financial hardships and covering living expenses, many students are one unplanned hurdle away from not being able to finish their degree. Campus resources that offer students academic or nonacademic lifelines can be the extra boost they need to make it through the week, the month, the year or all the way to graduation. Recently, Normandale Community College offered its students one such lifeline that showed how much their school and community cares about one another.
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