Back-to-School Strategies for Cellular Retailers
By Allan Pulga
While it’s only the beginning of August, many parents and students are contemplating how to spend (or have already started spending) on back-to-school gear.
Pricing is the key to attracting these shoppers. Last year, the National Retail Federation estimated back-to-school shoppers would ring up nearly $18 billion in school supplies, apparel and electronics (including cellphones).
To get in on this seasonal spending frenzy, wireless retailers must use pricing to emphasize two things:
1. Savings
2. The must-have necessity of wireless products and services
Elementary and high school kids are pumped to show off their new clothes, new shoes and of course, new cell phones. Marketing a flashy new back-to-school handset to kids (and more importantly, to parents) is easy enough, but how can you draw kid-specific interest so they drag their parents to your store to buy something they “just can’t do without?”
Tip: Offer freebies that appeal to teens. For example, offer free ringtones with an accessory purchase or free iTunes with the purchase of a new music phone. Offer text-message credits as part of promotions. Kids these days are texting like crazy – they don’t even talk on the phone anymore!
Teens are the most image-conscious demographic on the planet. Retailers can attract materialistic youngsters in with special vanity features: “Wow your friends with a brand-new, personalized faceplate for your cellphone! Free with any accessory purchase.”
As for college students, the reality is: they’re broke. They have a hard enough time paying bills, buying groceries and filling the car with gas. How can you reach out to them?
One solution, used by a local Canadian wireless retailer, is to set up booths on college campuses to entice students with hot new merchandise and to inform them of payment options tailored to fit their modest budgets.
Tip: College students need a break. Emphasize savings, savings, savings. To appeal to enthusiastic freshmen and weary grad students alike, the best approach is to tell them they’re getting an outstanding deal – they’re saving money. Send flyers designed specifically for students. Why not advertise the idea of using only a cellphone (and doing without a landline, which many young people do) to save cash?
During the costly back-to-school period, it’s important to think about parents. They’re often the ones bearing the brunt of expenses so wireless retailers must convince parents that, even after all the money they’ve spent shopping, they still need what you’re offering.
Tip: Appeal to parents with value and necessity. Offer back-to-school deals on family plans. Tell parents, particularly gadget-loving dads, that they deserve something new too: “Get something for your kid, and for yourself too! Introducing the newest Nokia phones!”
Consider planning a co-operative marketing promotion with a local department store (for school supplies) or sporting goods store (for new gym shoes): “Sign up for a new student activation and receive $10 off at Staples for school supplies and $15 dollars off at Foot Locker for new kicks!”
To parents reluctant to let their “babies” go off to college, emphasize the benefits of buying their kids a new cellphone, as part of a family plan: “Keep in touch with your kids while they’re off at college. Sign them up as part of your family value plan for back-to-school.”
What about teachers?
Tip: Don’t leave teachers out of the back-to-school savings. They need cellphones too! A good idea is to offer something like a $10 back-to-school discount on new activations, just for teachers.Just think: Everybody’s spending a fortune on back-to-school. Making the right marketing moves to appeal to students, parents and teachers will ensure that part of that fortune is spent in your store.