Remind new and returning students why the campus store is the best place to find all of their course materials this fall. Increase rush foot traffic and maximize your store’s competitive advantages with clear, concise and consistent communication.
Start your store’s communication efforts as soon as possible
When is the best time to start talking to students about buying/ordering their course materials? The easy answer is now. Course material conversations can and should start as early as registration for classes. Savvy stores utilize tools like registrar’s link to connect students directly to their eCommerce site and populate the online shopping cart with the student’s schedule specific course materials. This makes it easy for students to order their materials as soon as they register for courses when they are top of mind.
Also, new students have a lot to do when starting school and preparing for a big life change. Send new students a welcome email, letting them know how to get course materials, where to buy them and the variety of options the store has to help them save money. If you are unable to directly communicate with new students, try working with the office on your campus in charge of new student welcome emails or materials.
Don’t be afraid to repeat yourself
Did you know that repetition in marketing is a good thing? The more someone sees or hears about something, the more likely they are to remember it. There has been a longstanding rule of seven in marketing dating back to the 1930s. The rule of seven is that customers need to hear your message at least seven times before they take an action.
As you prepare to communicate with students this term, think about the different ways you could potentially reach them: on-campus/in-dorm flyers, emails, text messages, social media, table tents, web banners, flat screen ads, school newspapers, word of mouth, etc. Try to utilize as many different avenues as are available to you to let students know why they should get their books in the campus store. Also, don’t be afraid to send multiple emails.
Keep the message simple
Too much information will lose the attention you worked so hard to get. When creating your marketing materials, assess what information students absolutely need to know: where to buy their books (the bookstore), the benefits of buying from the store (cost-saving, options, and getting the right materials) and the options your store provides that give students greater convenience (counter service, in-store pickup, etc.).
With tools like the MBS CRM, stores can create marketing lists that better targets specific shoppers based on purchasing history, giving you the ability to more personalize your marketing efforts. For example, maybe you want to email students who purchased from your eCommerce site to encourage online orders. Or, perhaps you want to tell students who utilized in-store pickup that it is available again this term. Tools like CRM give you almost endless possibilities for how you can better serve your customers.
