When you are shopping, does an advertisement you saw online entice you to buy more than talking to a friend who tells you about a great sale or deal they found? Probably not. Students, like any shoppers, want to know they are getting high-quality merchandise for a fantastic price, but in the world of retail marketing, everyone claims their products are the best and that they are giving you the deal of a lifetime. Naturally, firsthand experiences are easier to trust.
What if your college store had one more employee who devoted 10 more hours each week to developing your campus store's marketing plans and materials? What could your store accomplish? You don't have to spend more on staffing to find out. We have already laid the groundwork and all you have to do is implement it.
Since 2011, Foreword Online has developed complete (and completely free) marketing plans, covering: holiday marketing, charity and community outreach, unique events and sales, faculty relations plans, and more. Below, sorted by time, topic and audience, are the plans and resources you need to keep your store's marketing fresh from month to month.
Topics: college retail, mobile POS, Marketing to Students
You are five minutes late to meet a friend, but you also have to pick up a couple things before the store closes. You rush inside the store, hoping to get in and out quickly. Immediately you are greeted by rows of overstuffed shelves with more merchandise that you can take in at a glance. You scan the store looking for someone to help you or a sign pointing you in the way you need to go. You only see flashy, red sale signage and uninterested faces. Already late, you squeeze your way through the aisles searching for the few things that you needed to pick up. Your phone rings. It’s your friend asking where you are. You shove the items you managed to find onto the shelves and leave because you don’t have time to deal with it right now.
Topics: Marketing to Students, college stores, Generation Z
Recently, a former colleague posted a gripe on Facebook illustrating a generation gap that partly explains why students aren’t buying textbooks: Of his 100-plus freshmen at a competitive southeast state school, only two knew the definition of a verb.
Need a map? Music? Guided meditation? A budget? To know which bar around you is offering the cheapest drinks? There’s an app for that. Phones have become the unnatural extension of our arms for a good reason: there is a world of information within our grasp. There is an app for almost everything imaginable, but which apps can help a college student manage their busy lives?
Text messaging, email, website, phone, mail, apps, chat, social media, advertisements, in the age of information communication shouldn’t be difficult. The many options for how we speak with one another haven’t made communication simpler. Instead, they have created a cloud of noise that is difficult to maneuver through. How can you ensure your message reaches your specific audience?
Winning the heart of today’s student means showing you care about the two things: money and career.
Topics: Marketing to Students, podcasts, Bookstore marketing
What do you think of when you think of podcasts? Coming into this, I wasn’t a fan. Really, that’s probably not a fair statement. I simply never thought about them. I didn’t understand what podcasts provided. In my mind, I equated them with a morning radio show — I’d rather listen to music. Podcasts, however, are so much more.
Connecting with nontraditional students can be a challenge. As they come and go, more disconnected from campus events than other students, your message can be lost. Many of these students have jobs, they might have kids and they are older. All of this contributes to making them feel disenfranchised on campus. Keeping this population of students in mind, here are a few ideas of how your store can engage with overlooked students.
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