How B2B Ecommerce Vendors Can Benefit from Back to School

The summer’s drawing to a close. That means it is Back to School for literally millions of children and adults in education. This time of the year presents a huge opportunity for B2B ecommerce vendors. Don’t miss out - follow our guide and get the virtual tills ringing.

If the Back to School market seems to pass you by, it is time to learn a few lessons. You can go to the top of the class by understanding how your B2B ecommerce business can benefit. Retailers don’t own the rights to this lucrative market. To give you an idea of how big it is, here are some facts…

There are approximately 32,113 schools in the UK. Of those, 20,925 are primary schools, 4,168 are secondary schools and 2,381 are independent schools. A further 1,256 are special schools. There are also 351 pupil referral units across the country as well as hundreds of colleges and universities.

Government statistics show there are currently more than eight million in full-time education. Between January 2017 and January 2018, the number rose by 66,000. Every education establishment and pupil/student needs supplies. How can your business help?

How to sell to schools, retailers and consumers

What products do you sell that could benefit schools or retailers serving parents? Create a list and start showcasing them on your website. Does your ecommerce platform support B2C sales? If ‘yes’, make the most of this feature. Sell directly to parents and students. Ensure your Back to School products are where everyone can see them.

Highlight your range on your homepage and shout your products from the rooftops on social media. You can target potential customers by carefully choosing the right hashtags. Consider: #backtoschool, #schoolsupplies and #students. Make sure you can offer customers product variations and, to maximise sales, sell across multiple channels, including Amazon and eBay. Don’t overlook the importance of mobile commerce – this market is seeing huge year-on-year growth.



Back to School marketing

Reach out to existing customers with a potential interest in Back to School products with a powerful email marketing campaign. Boost sales with discount codes or special offers. Schedule banners on your website to highlight Back to School promotions.

Sell more by personalising your marketing and offering existing and new customers incentives to buy from you. Promote loyalty schemes, for example. Reduce your costs and increase profits by integrating your system with third party suppliers. This will help you buy at the best price and ensure you can track stock data in real time.

Back to School is a great example of how you can target specific customers at a specific time to boost sales. Make sure your ecommerce platform is capable of letting you segment customers by interests or order history. This will help you fine tune your marketing and maximise orders.

Want to know more? If your B2B ecommerce platform is restricting your ability to compete and grow, talk to us. We are Comgem, the UK’s market leading developer of award-winning B2B ecommerce solutions. For further information, visit our website or call 01656 330 360.