STUDENT BEANS LAUNCHES APP TO REACH AN EXPANDED AUDIENCE
Key Point: Student Beans provides special discounts for students — and who doesn’t appreciate saving money? Banking on their success with colleges, the brand developed BeansiD. That technology will bring graduates, healthcare workers, armed forces members, first responders, and teachers into the fold. In the UK alone (and Student Beans is global), adding those verticals will provide access to another five million potential members.
Here’s the word from the company’s chief strategy officer, Will Harris: “Over the last twenty years we’ve seen the role of gated discounts grow as an important part of how brands improve conversion, build trust and maintain loyalty. With the launch of Beans iD, businesses will have even more opportunities to improve their results by building strong, long-term relationships with customers.”
The launch rolled out with “Grad Beans” to keep covering students for five years after graduation. The requirements are “completion of a Bachelors, Masters, apprenticeship or another recognised professional course.”
Student Beans found their sweet spot. Now, they’re expanding it. That is marketing.
24 OPT-IN IDEAS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR EMAIL LIST
Key Point: A primary function of marketing is to reach the chosen audience with enticing messages. But how do you do that with email marketing? OptinMonster has some ideas on that topic — 24 of them — for small businesses, bloggers, creatives, authors, and more.
You’ll need to read the article in order to get a look at all 24 suggestions, but the list is an idea incubator. It includes offering things like exclusive access, product quizzes, free consultations, and more to entice potential customers to join your mailing list.
All suggestions are aimed at getting that all-important opt-in to build your list of email subscribers. And the open rate for the emails delivering those rewards “tends to be quite high.” The article begins with an OptinMonster sales pitch, then continues on to deliver a gold mine of opt-in-generating possibilities. If your plans include email marketing, here’s an excellent primer.
RETAILER RISKS FROM VOLATILITY AND RECESSION
Key Point: Marketing does not occur in a vacuum. Unless you’re into bond trading or financial news, though, you may not be well-versed on the effect the overall economy exerts on businesses. Have you noticed that food prices are increasing? That’s a result of inflation. Have you heard someone complain about the rise in mortgage payments? That occurs when the loan is tied to interest rates (and they’re headed up, too).
A series of courses in economics is an excellent addition to any marketing student’s course load. The state of the economy can be a strong influence on the success (or failure) of any small business, but retailers are especially at risk. Wages are rising, the cost of doing business is rising, and consumers are cutting back on the household budget due to inflation biting deeper into their available dollars.
Here’s a quote from a Retail Dive article that takes a close and perhaps chilling look at the issue: “Retailers have issued a slew of warnings about the impact inflation has had on shopping. Target was among the first to signal that high food and gas prices had put consumers into a defensive stance, lowering their spending on non-essentials, including apparel.”
Don’t miss this coverage on a topic that affects us all.
RETENTION MARKETING BENEFITS AND METHODS
Key Point: We’ve all heard that it’s less expensive to retain an existing customer than to gain a new one. But, how do you do that?
CoSchedule released an excellent tutorial on the topic. You’ll get an overview of retention marketing and its benefits, find out how to boost your customer retention rate, and find five effective retention marketing strategies (complete with examples).
Advocacy programs, follow-up emails, upgrading customer experience, loyalty programs, customer service — all are potential parts of your retention marketing mix. Throw in customer lifetime value, cost of acquisition, average order value, and relationship management and you’re well on your way to mastering something many marketers miss entirely.
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