Even though the school year just recently ended, it’s important that specialty retail owners begin their back to school marketing now. Statistics show that the large majority of parents and college students prefer to do their school shopping at the beginning of the summer as to avoid the crowds and stores that run out of inventory. Starting your promotions early will help you get a jumpstart on your competition and put more of the back to school dollars in your pocket.

Social Media

Social media is one of the best ways to spread the word about promotions and create brand awareness. Advertising your back to school specials and events through social media will be instrumental in the success of your campaign. Be sure to include images that display your top selling and unique items as images tend to get the most attention on social channels. 

Specials

Since most back to school purchases do not involve brand name items there is a significant opportunity to increase revenue by packaging needed items for a slightly discounted rate. Putting together back to school packages that are aimed at different age groups will help you move inventory and make your customers feel like they’re getting a deal.

Unique Inventory

Offering unique and hard to find items is another way to separate your company from larger stores. It allows you to promote to a generation that is increasingly focused on individualism. Imported and handmade, one of a kind items can be a big draw and will give your store a revenue source that larger stores cannot provide. These items may not bring a dramatic increase to your bottom line, but the customers they bring in are likely to spend money on other items that will increase revenue.

Contests

Contests are a great way to draw in customers and provide entertainment to those that visit your store. Since many parents will be brining along their children for their shopping excursion, it’s a good idea to create something that will entertain the kids and keep them busy. Hold drawings where customers can gain a certain amount of entries depending upon how much they spend at your store. Make sure the prize is something that is significant enough to encourage additional spending.

Partnerships

Partnering with local schools to promote your back to school specials can have a tremendous effect on your bottom line. PTA groups and the athletic departments can help get the word out about your business.

Ecommerce

With so many consumers turning to online sources for their shopping needs, creating an Ecommerce site to promote and sell your products can provide an enormous boost in revenue. Developing such a site can be a large undertaking and it’s best to hire an experienced professional to ensure its success. Ecommerce sites also provide a tremendous return on investment as you will not have to pay salespeople commission on its sales. It also allows you to sell a greater variety of items as you will not necessarily have to have a product in stock to make a sale.

In many cases small business owners lack the credit or collateral to access the money needed to remain flexible. Quikstone Capital Solutions provides fast cash for businesses. A merchant cash advance from Quikstone Capital Solutions is a business loan alternative that can help your business thrive and prosper, whether you need cash to buy equipment, cash to renovate or expand, cash to purchase inventory, cash to advertise or cash for emergencies. Quikstone Capital Solutions can help provide you with the business capital you need.