No matter how strong your marketing campaigns are, they will never be effective without a good reputation among consumers. A good reputation is also difficult to hold on to–particularly because consumers are more likely to tell their friends about a poor experience than a positive one. Combine that with nearly half of consumers refusing to engage with a business with a rating below 4 stars, and any brand has their work cut out for them.
No matter how strong your marketing campaigns are, they will never be effective without a good reputation among consumers. A good reputation is also difficult to hold on to–particularly because consumers are more likely to tell their friends about a poor experience than a positive one. Combine that with nearly half of consumers refusing to engage with a business with a rating below 4 stars, and any brand has their work cut out for them.
The first step to gathering candid feedback is to ask for it! In theory, this sounds so simple, ask for feedback and you shall receive, right? Not always.
Often when a leader merely asks their team members for feedback, they might receive some responses, and while some of it could be beneficial, a vague request for feedback rarely presents the best results. Everyone on the team must first feel comfortable with their team leader and trust that they can truly present candid feedback without fear or hesitation.
The Black Sheep values personal and professional development across the organization. One of our ongoing initiatives is a monthly book club culminating in a group discussion about how it applies to our lives and our business. On the docket: Inclusify, by Stefanie K. Johnson.
It can be difficult to connect with students when they are focused on their studies and their social lives on campus. Even though we specialize in working with and talking to college students across the United States, we didn’t get here without a lot of introspection along the way.
The college scene is, without a doubt, one of the most valuable markets a company can hack. Students are fresh out of mom and pop’s house, willing to throw family brand loyalty out the door for a sense of independence. They’re suave with social networking and keen on innovation. Campuses are highly concentrated with potential buyers, and it only takes a few positive impacts for buzz to begin. Plus, college students are young, and likely to accumulate a substantial consumer lifetime value.
However, tuition has increased 169% in the past thirty years, and 77% of college seniors say they ran out of money at some point in their college career. This leaves many brands fumbling. How do you get the perpetually broke to bite?
Fortunately, The Black Sheep has infiltrated college campuses from the inside. Our nationwide network of student contractors has kept us in the know, from the chaos of the student union lunch-rush to the trenches of the local college bars. With the help of real college kids, we’ve been successfully marketing to real college kids since 2009. And we’ve picked up on six bona fide strategies along the way.
Fall and spring may be considered THE prime times to market to students, however a summer strategy can be a hidden gem when it comes to filling student housing properties.
You might be thinking, “That doesn’t make sense, students LEAVE campus for the summer.” At first, summer marketing seems counterintuitive. Most students have signed leases for the next school year, those who haven’t might be less inclined to make decisions without physically being with their potential roommates, etc, etc. However, when you dig a little deeper, summer marketing can turn these red flags green.
In October 2020, The Black Sheep carried out a national survey targeting college students to understand their media consumption habits when it comes to social media platforms. Primarily, what apps do students use, and most importantly, why. These results help those targeting the Gen-Z audience understand how to reach this audience and on which platforms.
Head & Shoulders recently debuted a new men’s 2-in-1 product that The Black Sheep was set to distribute to men at college campuses during the spring 2020 semester. But, as universities shut down due to COVID-19, The Black Sheep was left with a campaign that was less than half-executed, and Head & Shoulders was left with 50,000 shampoo samples they wanted to get in front of college men.
Since the dawn of Influencer Marketing, the In-Feed Post was the go-to option for most Influencer campaigns due to its easy to understand metrics. However, with the evolution of how Influencers are using social media, sponsored Instagram stories are now becoming more prevalent in media campaigns.