How to Still Win the Campus Market
Three big markets on campus.
One is running errands for package pickups—functioning as a campus delivery platform. A campus of 5,000 students can absolutely generate 300 orders per day. Some schools already have platforms for this; others don't. In my region of Northeast China, who would have thought that last-mile delivery fees could be as high as $5? Some students even buy electric scooters specifically to run this side hustle and make several thousand yuan a month.
Another is the breakfast business, also in the Northeast market. It's cold there, so students don't want to get up or leave their dorms. That's another 200 orders per day per building. One senior bought four minivans and converted them to handle this business. (Two reasons: people are lazy, and breakfast SKUs are relatively simple and can be consolidated. Plus, the school doesn't really mind—as long as they can get it delivered to your bed, some students actually do.)
Then there's any business that requires headcount. On any campus, you can always find 3 to 5 grassroots marketing experts. With concentrated student populations and dorm-to-dorm outreach, you can build a data list quickly. That's why, in previous years, many companies wanted campus brand ambassadors. But these days, college students are becoming more [difficult to work with], and the market has shrunk—so it seems like fewer well-known campus teams have emerged.
It's been a long time since I worked in the campus market—I'd almost forgotten about all this without a reminder.
