The current state of the marketplace makes manufacturers pay more and more attention to consumers. This requires improving the efficiency of production, marketing and advertising activities of the company in all market segments. One of the most successful marketing target audiences is the youth student audience. Dynamism, the desire to learn something new, try new products, take advantage of new services, and purchase new products are its main features.
Students think differently than, for example, children, or the target audience of older people, or people of the working class. They have their own firm position, their established views, and often, they set the trends themselves, not the other way around. Therefore, despite the fact that college students are the ideal target audience for marketing, marketers are unlikely to be able to earn their attention seriously without knowing its specific features.
The Pro-Papers experts decided to come to the rescue of this difficult task and collected top 10 recommendations for successful marketing to college students for you.
Any company seeking to find a niche in the market for student goods should take into account not only the needs of young people, but also their psychological characteristics, lifestyle and interests. College student marketing is one of the most promising and dynamic types of marketing, allowing to fill the market with new goods and services. That’s why youth audience is a sweet spot for any company. “A brand that has achieved customer loyalty in its youth and has proposals for an adult audience can count on stable sales in the long term,” says Lary Pool, senior writer. According to him, young people are ready to spend the most money on entertainment and travel, and least of all – on the acquisition of real estate. Also, they almost don’t keep money in cash, preferring to own banks. This makes young people desirable and attractive for financial institutions.
Recommendations for the promotion of goods for the student audience:
1. It is important to remember that students are not yet a financially reliable audience, since considering the type of activity – getting an education – the main purchases are mainly made by parents. Therefore, there are two options: the product should be inexpensive and affordable for an ordinary non-working student, or the product should be of interest to both the student and parents who would be willing to give money for it.
2. One of the winning moves is to involve students in creation and promotion your product. By conducting various surveys about the interests of students, their needs, the pros and cons of your product, you can easily take into account all the nuances and make your product a necessary missing link to a student.
3. The beginning of the school year is a good time to promote your product. This is the time when students coming to the campus and familiarize themselves, looking for something new. They are open for information. You can distribute various things necessary for a student with your logo: pens, notepads, calendars, T-shirts, caps, etc. This way your brand will be remembered by the student and will attract the necessary attention.
4. Show that your product is socially useful, selling and buying it you and your customers do good deeds. This will attract the attention of students to the project and attract customers. The philosophy of the TOMS Shoes shoe company can serve as a vivid example of finding a socially oriented solution within the global business: for each pair of shoes sold, the manufacturer gives a second pair to needy children.
5. Communication. Today, a discussion of the positive aspects of a company or product, hype are the most effective ways to attract customers. If you can run a “virus” of discussion among student blogs, in popular social networks, then new customers will rush to you, literally, in a whole stream.
You can use a quality service and a very good attitude towards customers as a topic for discussion. The information will be talked about word of mouth, which will have a positive effect not only on the level of sales, but also on your reputation as a whole.
Adhere to the main rule: do not use a group or blog as an advertising platform. Fill the resource with interesting high-quality content, answer visitors’ questions. Work on engaging new members or blog followers. The number of participants or subscribers will grow – the site traffic will be provided.
6. Before promoting your product, make sure of its quality, because students are open and directly can both praise and talk about the bad. Due to simple carelessness, your product may receive active negative attention.
7. The point which you want to get across to students should contain unique material so that your message stands out from the rest. Remember that the student’s attention can be held no more than a minute. Use humor, it attracts attention.
8. Gamification. Various games increase excitement, and even more so attract the attention of students. Stimulating consumer behavior with the help of social networks or mobile applications is good because it allows you to “entice” of new customers, causing them positive emotions. For example, an application that, supposing, offers to guess the designer of a dress three times in a row, and for the fourth time allows the user to get not a discount, but a point or a certain rank. Such a game can only increase customer interest in the product.
9. Free versions, samplers, discounts, – everything that makes it possible to save money for young people, is capable of attracting their attention. So, use it. Free training, free courses, contests and giveaways are successful for the student audience and often been used by essay writing service.
10. On campus, you won’t find a better place for your advertising than on the students themselves. Free T-shirts or caps with your logo are an effective alternative to any flyers and banners.
