1)      Verifying a student discount by mandating an .edu account– Over 34% of schools do not issue .edu email accounts for their students.  Additionally when you add an “extra” step, conversion rates drop by over 30%. The extra step can include checking your .edu for a verification code or waiting to receive a coupon code. Even if students do have .edu accounts some may never use them and signing up for a product with that account seems pointless because it is never in use. Open your service up to any type of email account.

2)      In-person discounts– Many college students, especially in their first year living on campus, do not have a car. Even if they do have a car or are not freshman students tend to stay on or around campus rather than venturing off constantly. Don’t lose out on potential customers by limiting your discounts to in-store buyers. Online shopping is a great medium for college based revenue.

3)      Offering tiny student discounts where better deals can be easily found somewhere else – If you Google “college student discount” a plethora of miniscule discounts pop up like 3% off your purchase or $30 off of an extremely expensive airline ticket. A 3% ticket does not even cover most sales tax; college students are smart shoppers and will easily discover legitimate discounts elsewhere. Do not under estimate this specific target audience because they will not respond well.

OnCampus Advertising can help you create a successful marketing campaign by using and keeping the good ideas while sorting out the bad.