Three Ways to Gain an Edge

“What is it about what you do that makes a student or alum buy from you? What sets you apart?” asked Jennifer Goetsch, vice president customer success and marketing, Nebraska Book Co., in her CAMEX22 presentation, You’re Welcome: A CX Strategy.

With the proliferation of online marketplaces and big-box retailers, most—if not all—of the goods and services provided by campus stores can be found elsewhere. “Let your customer experience be the reason someone chooses you and tells their friends, family, and social media about you,” Goetsch responded.

She outlined three ways campus stores can enhance their competitive advantage:

Empower team members.

When a customer approaches a store employee with a question or complaint, the last thing they want to hear is that the employee has to put them in touch with someone else. “It happens because the front line isn’t trained or empowered to handle it,” Goetsch said. “It means you have to trust they can handle the issue and have your best interests at heart.”

Cashiers are key to the customer experience, she said, and they should be trained on more than just checkout procedures. “Have ongoing reviews and coaching conversations with team members,” she suggested. Hire people who can interact well with customers.

Empowering your employees to manage customer situations on their own can pay off in other ways as well. “They’ll be more engaged,” Goetsch noted, and engaged employees bring in more revenue. They’re also less likely to quit.

Communication.

Students absolutely don’t want to phone the store with a question, “and they don’t want to wait three days for an answer” to a text or even email,” she said. Has your store set up a system to respond quickly to customer messages?

Also, does your store post on social media, especially Instagram and TikTok, to reach out to potential customers? Make sure your posts appeal to students. “Do they sound like a college kid or a middle-aged adult?” asked Goetsch

Check Google, Yelp, and Facebook for reviews about your store. “Gen Z is all about reviews,” which they read before deciding where to shop, Goetsch said. Invite customers to post reviews about their good experiences with the store. Create a link to a review site with a QR code printed on card stock and place it at the checkout or other prominent spot so customers can scan the code with their phone and immediately write a comment or give a rating.

Personalization.

A campus store’s main competitors are mostly online. To these typically large companies, selling to students is just another transaction. “That’s where you can grab market share,” Goetsch said. “You’re the only one who knows for sure what they need,” especially when it comes to course materials and supplies.

Build a promotional campaign around shopping local and how that benefits the student. “If you shop local with your campus bookstore, how does that money go back to the campus?” she said, adding, “Gen Z loves it.”

Bring something into the store that’s not available elsewhere. “Invite makers to your store,” Goetsch suggested. Hold a makers’ night with tabling and promote it on social media. “I guarantee students will come and check it out,” she said.

“Personalization is not about putting their name at the top of an email.”