Ideas, information and industry news for collegiate retailers

A while back, I had the opportunity to attend the ICBA conference in Jacksonville, Florida. I’d always been curious about the conference and how it differed from other industry events. As the Marketing Director for MBS, I knew the logistical requirements for exhibitors, but I really didn’t know what to expect from the sessions and presentations. I had heard great things and recently have witnessed ICBA’s membership explode. So, when given the opportunity to experience their meeting, I jumped at the chance.

At the 2019 ICBA convention in Jacksonville, Florida, Barnes & Noble College’s Vice President of Marketing Ken Wincko and Director of Campus Relations for the Northeast Territory Jennifer Russell had the opportunity to present to the Large Store Group members of the Independent College Bookstore Association (ICBA). There, they shared Barnes & Noble College retail trends and insights and gave audience members a look at the future of collegiate retail. 

Cybersecurity is a large topic that can easily become overwhelming. However, as the college retail industry evolves, it is important that you do everything you can to protect students and your store from cybercrime. Recently, we sat down with Dr. Pam Rowland, assistant professor at Dakota State University in Cyber Security, co-director of the Center of Excellence for Information Systems and the director of the CybHER Institute, to discuss what college stores can do to protect themselves against cybersecurity threats.

Social media can be a tremendous tool for connecting with students, alumni and the campus community. However, starting a social media platform is more than just picking one channel and posting from time to time. Your store needs a social media strategy and  it absolutely needs to be on the platform students use. Right now, that platform is Instagram. Right now, that platform is Instagram.

College store employees know students. Every day, year in and year out, you help the next wave of academic hopefuls with all of their collegiate retail needs. For the past 20 years, the students coming in and out of your bookstore have been predominately millennials — individuals born between 1981 and 1997. As millennial students complete their education, the next generational cohort that college stores must adapt to is Generation Z.

The average person will spend a third of their life working. With that much of our lives wrapped up in serving others, creating or selling, we need to see the purpose in what we do. Students employees aren’t different. Splitting their time between school, work, friends and sports, they want to see or understand the ways they make a difference.

Good faculty relations are critical to collegiate retail success. Of course, you need cooperation from educators when it comes to adoptions, but, far beyond that, faculty evangelists can boost your store’s campus profile and its bottom line. In marketing-speak, an evangelist is someone who spreads enthusiastic word-of-mouth about your store and services — and they do it for free.

As spring rolls in, course material adoptions come back to the forefront of concerns. Finding ways to communicate the importance of early adoptions to faculty can be a challenge. Are you doing enough? Are you doing too much? Students, faculty and college stores benefit from working together. Finding that happy medium where the faculty is informed enough to understand the importance to the student and the store, but does not feel harassed about the subject requires finesse. Here are four best practices when building professional relationships that will create a lasting rapport.

Most collegiate retailers love students, and faculty and administrators share that passion. It’s one of the reasons campus citizens choose a career in a learning environment where profit, however vital, is not the only goal. The ever-changing population of young people arriving on campus challenges older adults to stay sharp, creative and open to learning. Lately, the students coming to college have campus authorities searching for ways to help them find relief from mental health issues, too. Young people born after 1995, known collectively as Gen Z, have the highest-ever reported struggle with anxiety. Thankfully, campus retailers have a variety of resources at their disposal, which can help students become loyal customers and turn their retail experience into a source of refuge.