The back-to-school season is in full swing and savvy online businesses are forgoing the typical grade-school audience in exchange for college shoppers. This dorm-room decorating age bracket traditionally purchases more big ticket items every fall, in comparison to the lower cost school supplies parents are looking for when shopping for their K-12 kids’ needs.
As 2015 back-to-school budgets for shoppers remain slimmer than last year’s, businesses looking to get the most out of parent spend will focus on college student needs –– at least if they are paying attention to the data. While spending for school-aged children saw a 5.8% decrease year-over-year, budgets for college shopping took less of a hit with only a 1.9% decrease. Considering parents will spend an average of $899 on their college-bound children, in comparison to $630 for K-12 students, the back-to-school outlook is brighter for retailers targeting their product offerings to the 18-22 year old crowd.
Parents spend $630 on K-12 students, but $899 on their college-bound children.
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In fact, contrary to the declining spending trends predicted for all other sectors of the back-to-school season such as collegiate apparel, shoes and school supplies, parents plan to spend 12.5% more this year on dorm and apartment furnishings, including bedding, decor and appliances.
This is great news for topper and mattress retailer Sleep Warehouse, which has used the back-to-college seasonal revenue boost to leave the world of infomercial selling behind — instead focusing on building brand awareness through an owned and operated online store.
“Customer demand for Sleep Warehouse’s high-end toppers for dorm and college use is really what sparked the focus on setting up a specific program for back-to-school sales,” Andrew Rappl, owner of Sleep Warehouse, said. “Our customers conveniently created the demand for us to fulfill.”
92% of consumers trust word-of-mouth more than any other type of advertising.
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Much of this customer demand can be credited to the power of word-of-mouth marketing, which 92% of consumers say they trust more than any other type of advertising. The company depends heavily on customer referrals, given that mattresses and toppers are typically one-time, big ticket purchases, rather than seasonal buys.
“There’s no better salesperson for us then a student who shows up at the dorm with a Sleep Warehouse topper and their roommate doesn’t have one,” Rappl said.
Surpass Expectations with Personalized Customer Care
When it comes to attracting customers during the back-to-school season, competing with big box brands is a challenge for retailers of any industry. Although 34% of back-to-school shoppers plan on researching products online, competitive pricing can make it difficult to stand out among the pack.
Exemplary customer service is one way, however, to attract a loyal customer base.
For Sleep Warehouse, providing great customer service begins with holistic customer understanding. For instance, the Sleep Warehouse team keeps in mind that while the company’s product is ultimately for the college student, the parents hold the purchasing power. To account for this, Sleep Warehouse caters to the soon-to-be college parents who are often more willing to open their wallets as they send their child off for the first time.
Providing great customer service begins with holistic customer understanding.
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“The parent sending their child off to college is a unique shopper, as this is many times an emotional send off for the parent and they want to make sure they are providing everything the student needs to be successful,” Rappl said.
To account for this emotional purchasing decision, Sleep Warehouse accommodates any and all student needs via their custom products. So, when a mother calls looking for a mattress topper for her 6’9” basketball player, for instance, the company responds with a custom-made product — a service most big box brands can’t provide and one that is a guaranteed win for both immediate customer conversion and future word-of-mouth marketing efforts.
Make the Most of Your Industry’s Moment
Sleep Warehouse balances its marketing between the college students who will use the toppers and the parents who generally make the purchases. This translates to a mix of promotions distributed through their website, social media platforms and blog. For example, consider how Sleep Warehouse simultaneously appeals to parents and students who may share a common fear.
Anticipate Trends to Set Intentional Timing
Back-to-school planning begins early for Sleep Warehouse, with all preparations finalized by the end of April. And, thanks to U.S. manufacturing, the company is able to make quick changes to their inventory if trends shift or early-bird shoppers push their start time even earlier into the summer.
“Implementation of the program is always important, but timing is essential,” Rappl said. “The sell period for back-to-school is limited, so you need to be prepared to hit the prime window.”
Occasionally, however, this prime selling window expands past move-in day. Sleep Warehouse is preparing for what they call the September peer-pressure peak, when word-of-mouth marketing drives an additional round of sales from roommates and their parents.
This sort of market awareness combined with a thorough understanding of the mindset and intentions of the target audience allows Sleep Warehouse to make the most of a shopping season typically not associated with high mattress sales.
As comparison shopping rises, keep prices low and your website mobile-friendly.
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For other online retailers and SMBs looking to expand their seasonal peaks into non-traditional time periods, or those looking to get a head start on holiday spend by utilizing back-to-school as a jump start revenue driver, remember to focus on the needs and shopping habits of your audience. As more and more shoppers use mobile and desktop to comparison shop, keep prices low and your website mobile-friendly in order to generate the highest possible number of visitors.
Once you have potential new customers on your site, close the deal with the highest possible quality customer experience. This will generate word-of-mouth marketing for your brand as well as increased customer loyalty — ultimately producing high customer lifetime value that allows you to accurately predict sales, strategize growth and scale your business year over year.
The post Back-to-School Selling: How Personalization Helps Sleep Warehouse Rival Big Brands appeared first on The Bigcommerce Blog.
