There are plenty of reasons to Market to College Students
20.4 million currently enrolled college students have a spending power of $417 billion
College students are everything a business is looking for in a new customer:
- They have the whole world in front of them.
- They want to upgrade their cinder-block and milk-crate furniture.
- They are all gathered in one place, on campus and in classrooms.
This should be easy, right?
Here are 5 reasons why it’s easy to reach the college student market:
1. Students buy online Remember that $417 Billion spending power? They make over 21% of their purchases online.Students want to be marketed to. In our recent survey, we talked to nearly 400 college students about shopping online, marketing, and student discounts. Here’s what they told us:
- 64% of college students want to receive emails about student discounts.
- 55% said that stores should post their student discounts prominently on their websites.
- 82.5% said that retailers should reach them through Twitter and Facebook.
- 38% say that on-campus marketing is the way to reach them.
3. It’s easy to make your message relevant to college students.
- Unlike some of the other target markets which can have image complexities and are annoyed and distrustful of marketing, college students’ self-image and needs are fairly straightforward.
They are aware of and confident in their role as thought leaders and therefore understand that they are the market that all companies want to reach.
To be relevant to college students, you need to:
- Reach them where they are (see point #2 where they told us where they are).
- Treat them like the highly sought after market they are.
- Offer an exclusive college student discount.
How much of a discount do they need? From that same survey,
- 82% of students say a 20% discount will get their attention.
- 32% say a 10% discount will sway them to purchase.
4. Students are just waiting for someone to do it right.
Again from that same survey…
- 77% of students say they were not happy with the process the last time they tried using a student discount online.
- 42% say they have abandoned an online shopping cart because it was too hard to get their student discount.
- 72% say they would use a student discount more often if it was easier.
5. SheerID can make your reach-college-students-and-make-lots-of-revenue-and-profit dreams come true.
- You can freely market your college student discount, knowing that only students can redeem it.
- The shopping experience for students will be smooth and quick. They won’t even know they are being verified.
- Your ROI will increase, your market share will increase, your boss will love you, you’ll be promoted and get the bigger office.
Works Cited
Sales Department. (n.d.). Why market to college students. Retrieved from http://www.sheerid.com/why-offer-a-student-discount/
