Foreword Online

Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers



Educate Faculty about Adoptions [Marketing Materials]

Posted by Kate Seat on 2/24/16 1:30 AM

When faculty members submit their adoptions on time (or early), your students have more opportunities to save when they purchase their course materials the following term. To make it easier for you to communicate the important role your faculty play in the price of textbooks, we've rounded up a selection of the free resources we've created over the past couple of years. Browse the materials below and simply click on each image to download each item or set.

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4 Ways to Combat Showrooming in Your Store

Posted by Joe Clarkin on 2/21/16 10:00 PM

Showrooming isn’t going anywhere. It’s become a staple of the in-person shopping experience, and retail stores across the country are working hard to prevent their customers from walking in their doors, checking out their products, and leaving before purchasing that same product online.

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The ISU Bookstore Gives the GIFT of Great Service

Posted by Kate Seat on 2/7/16 11:30 PM

Three years ago, the staff at the Iowa State University Bookstore adopted a new strategy striving for “Excellence in Customer Service.” After evaluating their approach to the unique challenge of a store with a great deal of floor space, a large, diverse inventory and a broad range of different types of customers, they came up with a new platform for expectation for all UBS staff members.

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Swap and Shop at Your Campus Store

Posted by Kate Seat on 2/1/16 10:57 AM

Whether you’d like to clear out some inventory or showcase new products, hosting a “Swap & Shop” event is a great way to get your customers to come in and see what you have to offer. And it couldn’t be easier: all they have to do to receive a discount on new apparel is bring in their old, gently-worn school gear. They’ll love the opportunity to refresh their wardrobe (just in time for spring), clean out their closets and — because you’re combining the event with a donation drive for a local charity — participate in a great cause!

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Centralia College Drives Facebook Engagement with Guessing Contest

Posted by Dean Asher on 1/24/16 11:00 PM

When bookstore employees stare at the miniature mountains of rental returns piling up in their store room at the end of each term, it's often a daunting feeling.

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Strengthening the Relationship Between Your Store and Your Faculty

Posted by Joe Clarkin on 1/19/16 10:00 PM

The symbiotic relationship between a store and its school’s faculty is extremely important. You are reliant on one another to get things done, and in order to have all of your course materials ready for your students at the beginning of each term, you have to work together. But how faculty views the store may differ from how the store views itself, and those discrepancies could keep you from maintaining as efficient a relationship as you might like.

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Campus Marketplaces: Beating 'em by Joining 'em

Posted by Dean Asher on 1/13/16 10:00 PM

We've all been there. You hear rumblings about a new website or service advertising itself on your campus as the latest, best and only student-oriented, free marketplace for selling books, apparel and other items directly to other local students.

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Why Proper Training Leads to Store Success [Download]

Posted by Joe Clarkin on 1/10/16 10:00 PM

What makes training for your store and its employees so crucial? Find out in this guide!

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Engaging Students with 'Snappy Hour'

Posted by Kate Seat on 1/1/16 4:22 PM

With 100 million daily users, Snapchat is an app that’s already found a devoted audience among millennials. What’s the appeal?

  1. Snaps only last for 10 seconds
  2. Snaps are all about the visual
  3. Snaps can only be seen by your followers

Though these only scratch the surface of what makes the app so popular, they’re a great place to start to explain how Snapchat can be an invaluable tool to increase engagement from your customers, move some merchandise and put a fresh spin on the old flash sale.

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UVU Heats up Buyback Marketing with Hot Cocoa

Posted by Dean Asher on 12/13/15 11:00 PM

As students study hard, juggle multiple finals and term papers and make travel arrangements for the winter break, it can be difficult for bookstores to make sure their buyback marketing is being heard.

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