If rental returns haven’t already started on your campus, they are fast approaching. Make sure your store is getting the word out to students with rental textbooks that they need to return them and how make those returns. Here are some tips to help you keep students informed during the busy end of term.
Text message and email alerts quickly inform students
While signs, digital screens, and social media posts can be effective marketing techniques, they are also more passive approaches that students might miss as return deadlines get closer. To get the information students need about rental returns directly in front of them, text messages and emails are the more direct approach. Prepare a series of messages to go out to students with outstanding rentals to remind them which books need to be returned as well as when, how and where to return them.
MBS system partners are able to select from several customizable standard reminders for students. You can send personalized letters, emails or text messages at any point during the term to remind students how they can return their rentals or inform them about an overdue return. Read Increase Rental Returns and Buyback Transactions with inSite Alerts for more information.
Convenience can increase your campaign’s success
If rental returns seem like a difficult process to students, they might be more likely to wait or delay returning their books, increasing the risk of forgetting completely. Make sure you give students very clear, simple instructions for how to return. Also, provide students with multiple campus drop-off locations for rental returns to help increase participation.
MBS system partners can use Arc Mobile to quickly process rental returns and move lines faster. Check out Tips to Streamline Rental Return Processing for more information.
Space the messages out and increase the urgency in tone as the deadline nears
One email or text message is easy to ignore or overlook. Prepare to send a message every couple of days to students with outstanding rentals. As the deadline nears, increase the sense of urgency in the message. Remind students that late returns are subject to additional charges. Also, if possible, be specific about which books they need to return.
It is good for stores to confirm your wholesale deadlines and terms for rentals. This will help you build in enough time to process the rental returns you plan to send back. If you have any questions, please contact your MBS representative.
It's not too late to get a quote from MBS for your rental titles. Send your list to rental@mbsbooks.com, and we'll send you back guaranteed rebate amounts. Ship the books you don't need for the next term within 14 days after your school's last exam. You'll receive payment within 30 days from the day of check-in.
