Every quarter, EIU University Bookstore initiates a special promotion to highlight their Apple product line. This Spring, staff member Taylor Brandon wanted to create a unique way to not only showcase the store’s Apple merchandise, but also all of the other items they have in stock. After some brainstorming, she developed a seasonal promotion to generate awareness on their offerings by driving traffic.
One of the best things about this close-knit industry is the willingness of college stores to band together; to share ideas in the interest of helping others succeed. In fact, that’s the very concept that Foreword Online was founded upon.
Out with the old, and in with the new. That’s the approach Ben Jastorff, manager of Trojan Center Bookstore at Dakota State University, adopted when he recently accepted the position at the store. Jastorff wanted to clear out inventory, some of which had been in the store for nearly two years, to make room for the updated apparel he had ordered.
In recent years, the rising cost of textbooks has caught the attention of everyone from government agencies to the media. But, college stores have been taking action against the issue for years, ensuring they offer the lowest prices possible to their students. Columbus State Community College, located in Columbus, Ohio, has been at the forefront of the movement, doing all that they can to provide the best value; and they have faculty, students, administration and, of course, bookstore staff members, involved in the effort.
The best way to get students to buy textbooks in your store is to ensure that you have competitively priced titles. But, in order to achieve that goal, your store needs to receive timely adoptions from faculty members, so you can pursue the most cost effective options early. As a result, many stores are looking at new ways to communicate with their faculty about this important topic, and The University Store at Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Georgia happens to be one of them.
When offering promotions, retailers usually focus on how they can draw in the majority of their customers. But, in the case of college stores, that means some students’ interests or activities aren’t often represented. So, this year, Morehead State University Bookstore decided to make an extra effort to focus their attention on the various disciplines within their campus. They recently launched the first in a series of activities aimed at getting involved with departments who may not be marketed to regularly with the Fall 2013 Eagle Face-Off Student Makeup Competition.
On-time adoptions benefit everyone; your store, your students and even the faculty members who submit them. But that doesn’t mean receiving them is easy. Dickinson College Bookstore’s approach to tackling this tricky task is to use a simple, yet incredibly effective strategy: face-to-face communication.
Avast ye mateys! Ye hearties at Auburn University Bookstore have a treasure trove of ideas to share with ye. By hosting a variety of interactive activities in honor of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, students and staff alike had a ruckas!
We all know that students have lots of options when it comes to buying textbooks. So, when they make the decision to step in your store, you need to do everything possible to keep them there and to win their business. That means not only having competitive prices, but also excellent service.
Social media is opening the lines of communication between business and consumer and allowing for a whole new form of interaction. So, it’s no surprise that crowdsourcing, or soliciting feedback from a group of people to solve a problem or develop an idea, is taking off like wildfire in the world of retail.
As MBS’ signature publication, Foreword Online is dedicated to offering daily industry insight and cutting-edge news that keep college retailers ahead of the curve. Follow us on social media. Contact us with ideas and feedback. Subscribe for regular updates.
