Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

Are your committees truly committees? Are they environments that draw on dynamic discussion and teamwork to resolve tenacious institutional problems? Or are they dominated by a single talker, and undone by the glaze in other members’ eyes as they fidget and not-so-inconspicuously check the time. Are they vibrant fonts of creativity or cesspools of politics, gossip and dissent-for-its-own-sake? Most importantly, are they generating buy-in for new initiatives, or are they simply an academic ritual — a proforma waste of time?

Finding ways to reach faculty about early adoptions is a perennial concern for college retailers. Faculty are often unaware that timely textbook choices do more than increase efficiency. They ultimately help students save money and receive more for their books at buyback. Because translating the nuances of the textbook industry to faculty in a way they understand is an ongoing challenge, we’ve compiled our top five most-read adoption communication articles from 2017.  Explore what you might have missed or bookmark this page as a reference.

Introducing “Textbook Wisdom,” a Foreword Online series that speaks directly to faculty about the course materials industry and its impact in the classroom. Share it with faculty — and on social media. Bridge the communication gap between bookstores and educators.

Scavenger hunts offer college stores a wealth of opportunity. They bring students through your doors. They offer a fun way to bond with newcomers, while helping them make new friends, get to know the campus and become acquainted with your offerings. What’s the best way to ensure your scavenger hunt is a success? Here, we offer our compendium of scavenger hunt articles. They include tales of successful store events and our Monthly Marketing Plans, which make setting up your scavenger hunt quick and easy.

T.S. Eliot famously declared that April is the cruelest month, but for most students, February stands out as the year’s gloomy nadir. Those in temperate climes have two more long months of dark, sleety nights before spring arrives. Midterms loom for all. That’s why this month’s marketing plan is devoted to helping you transform your store into a cheerful mid-winter refuge. Plan a February Feud, a riff on the classic gameshow that will brighten the month and offer students the best cure for the blues: Laughter.

Sometimes we need a sales associate’s attention, and sometimes we need to be left alone. For those in customer service, it can be tough to tell the difference, and getting it wrong can cost businesses sales and customers. As college stores seek to become campus destinations that offer memorable experiences, knowing how and when to approach a shopper is critical.

How’s this for a mind-boggling number? $2 trillion. That’s how much cybercrime is projected to cost businesses by 2019, according to Forbes.

University stores are demonized on many campuses: “The bookstore is only out for profit,” faculty and students say. At Bloomsburg University Bookstore, nothing could be further from the truth. Manager Laura Heger stays enmeshed in student life, working actively to build the store’s reputation as a campus service through dialogue with customers.  

 “May the odds be ever in your favor!” ®

Consider this: How many students coming into your store resemble the models and mannequins used to sell your spirit wear? If your customers are like the bulk of Americans, then most do not. If they’re anything like most college students nationwide, they’re also highly vulnerable to eating disorders.