How to Pace the Ups and Downs

The last couple years have been crazy for everyone—campus stores included—but wait: There’s more to come.

“I don’t think the ride’s over yet,” said guest speaker Tracy Knofla in her virtual CAMEX22 session, Buckle Up! The Roller Coaster Continues Its Wild Ride. But she also had some calming words.

“I think there are many things you can do, and are doing, to mitigate it,” she added. Campus stores have quite a few tools and resources at their disposal to help them keep the wild coaster under control as much as possible heading into fall rush.

Knofla outlined six steps for stores to consider:

Keep up with future trends.

Knowing what’s coming down the pike can give you time to think about how to deal with it. The easiest way to keep tabs on emerging trends is to browse regularly through publications that cover business, higher education, and consumer habits. Knofla mentioned The Wall Street Journal, Fast Company, NACS publications, and even your local newspaper as good sources.

There’s no need to buy numerous subscriptions; your campus and community libraries may offer access to print or digital copies. Many major publications also allow limited access to articles online or provide free email newsletters with selected items.

Focus on your staff.

Your employees may be having a tough time managing all the changes, especially if they’re expected to do more work with fewer people. “Help your staff to stay healthy, mentally healthy,” Knofla said.

Check with campus human resources and online articles for ways to alleviate the pressure on staff.

Focus on your customers.

After being cooped up, many people—especially students—are craving a personal connection. “Friendly and warm is really important now. Ask them what they’d like to see in the store,” Knofla said. “This is the time to ramp that up.”

Just as the store collects data on customers’ shopping habits, so can you learn more about what’s going on with your customers’ everyday lives, she said. “The stats we have are fine, but I want to know how Sue and Bill are doing.”

Reach out to your peers.

No one understands your work situation better than industry colleagues. Keep in touch with other campus store professionals through in-person events—“CAMEX is one of the most valuable experiences you can have,” Knofla said—or in online communities such as The Hub or even a casual Zoom get-together with colleagues.

Partner with your vendors.

“Vendors have a global perspective of what’s going on in the world,” far beyond just their knowledge of the products they sell, Knofla noted. Have a conversation with your suppliers about what they see is happening in the campus store industry and in higher education, she suggested.

Keep the creativity flowing.

Difficult times call for creative solutions. “We have to do things differently now,” Knofla pointed out, so use that as a catalyst for brainstorming and trying something new.

“Build upon what was forced upon you,” she said. Look for other creative people on campus who can help.