What can your campus store do to increase market share and expand its retail reach? The simple answer is to increase traffic both in-store and online — but how? We have collected some simple ways you can elevate your store with shoppers and drive more traffic.
There are a host of ways college stores can expand their reach beyond the walls of the bookstore: pop-up locations, social media shopping, bookstore events, clearance sales, expanded distribution options, promo codes, etc. Let’s take a closer look at a few methods to help rejuvenate your campus store marketing.
Create a buzz on campus
Creating word of mouth on campus may not be easy to plan, but its benefits are well worth the effort. The idea itself is simple: impress students and shoppers so much they tell their friends about your store. But how do you do that?
Recently, the College of the Siskiyous Campus Gift and Book expanded the store’s reach and developed a closer student relationship by setting up a mobile station at athletic events.
“Getting a mobile station has been a huge win for our store. I wanted the mobile POS system because it opens up so many ways to generate revenue. We already do spirit wear and merchandising. Now, with the mobile station, we are doing all of the athletics concessions, selling merchandise and candy. We've been able to take our merchandise from our brick-and-mortar store to our athletic facilities with our MBS system. We're still able to monetize and track our sales,” Sara Montgomery, Bookstore Supervisor, College of the Siskiyous Campus Gift and Book Shop, said.
“It makes sense for us to be there, especially for our football games. It's a service that we didn't know our students needed. My pitch to our board of trustees was this might be the only college experience our students have and it should be a great one. We work to help make the games memorable. Our bookstore staff at the games really act as vibe curators. We sell merchandise, we wear the merchandise we’re selling and we're out there cheering on our teams. It's part of building school spirit and marketing our college which is part of our job as a campus store. It's a big deal and MBS has helped us do that whether we're out on the field or out on the court sideline or in our store.
“It’s a lot of work, but there is value in it for the store, the students and the entire school. I’ve found we are really giving back to the campus and filling an unmet need that nobody had identified. I’m a social butterfly. I don’t mind cooking and meeting all the parents. We are pulling in decent revenue for five hours of work, but more than that, these games have become a bucket filler,” Montgomery said. “We are really connecting with students on a level that has been so uplifting. I am not just the bookstore lady. Now, they know me by name. I’m at every game cheering them on and rooting for them. Some students have even started hanging out in the bookstore because it is a place they feel comfortable and welcome. We are working on creating a lounge area for students in the store.”
Read more about College of the Siskiyous Campus Gift and Book Shop.
Developing recognition with students creates natural word of mouth about the store and can make the store feel more inviting to students. Consider other ways you can start creating a buzz on your campus: spectacular sale events, buyback events, guaranteed buyback, etc.
Utilize text messaging
Text messaging could be one of the single most effective ways to get student attention. Students may let emails pile up in their inbox or consider any retail-related email to be spam. However, text messaging can grab a student’s attention right away.
Start asking students now to sign up for text message alerts so you can let them know about store sales, remind them about rental returns and buyback, and get exclusive promo codes. This additional channel of communication can help your store have a more direct connection with the students on your campus and better promote store events.
Work with campus welcome and/or campus tour guides
When new or prospective students get a campus tour, where does the tour start? What do the tour guides say about the bookstore? This is likely the first impression these students will have of your store. If the tour guide tells them to buy their books in your campus store, then that helps promote the store and reinforces the services it provides students.
Make sure you work directly with the department that organizes campus tours and trains the guides. Offer the bookstore as a great location to begin tours. Maybe prepare a small welcome bag for those students or parents on the tours. Not only will it improve the first impression of the bookstore, it will also help improve the first impression of the campus.
Plan fun campus store events
Campus store events can help engage busy students. As you look at your calendar for the year, plan a variety of events to attract a variety of customers and boost sales.
Check out some easy campus store promotions.
Whatever you decide to do, just make the experience easy for students and exciting.
