How to Run a Campus Sales Channel (Part 2)

Campus Channel Setup:
How to Build a Campus System from Scratch

Step 1: A General Who Lacks Ability Exhausts His Army. Start by Finding Someone Who Understands the Campus Market.

If you let someone who doesn't even know how many universities or college students there are nationwide handle your campus marketing, the mere process of them learning about this market will consume a huge amount of time. Therefore, finding someone who understands the campus market, has experience building campus channels, and can coordinate the entire campus operation is the absolute prerequisite for launching your campus efforts.

What qualities does this person need? Personally, I believe the most important thing is assessing character—evaluating their willingness, their integrity, and their drive! It's simple: without willingness, they won't have the patience to communicate consistently with inexperienced students; without integrity, once the team grows, they could easily lead it into disaster; without drive, even if they build the channel, it will only become a tool that blindly executes orders.

They need to understand the current state of the campus market, grasp student psychological needs, have hands-on experience organizing campus events, possess coordination and management skills, and exude personal charisma. Some friends might find these five points a bit abstract, but they are indeed the essential qualities a campus marketing head must possess.

Let me ask: When your campus team plans an event, as the ultimate decision-maker, can you accurately evaluate its potential impact? When your team submits promotional materials and feedback, as the top leader, can you accurately judge which photos are genuine and which are faked? When you assign tasks to your campus team members and, after explaining multiple times, they still don't understand—or they say they got it but deliver results completely contrary to your expectations—can you still remain patient and guide them? If your campus market becomes your sole focus, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, with no personal life, would you still willingly commit to it?

If your answer is yes, and if the person you're looking to manage your campus market answers: Yes!, then congratulations—you can let them get started! Many people will ask, can such a person really exist? My answer is yes, absolutely.

At least among those currently running campus markets, based on my knowledge and confidence, a few people meet this standard: Li Yuanshuang, National Head of Campus Marketing for Koolearn (New Oriental Online); Wang Wenjie, National Head of Campus Marketing for Morfan Camera; Zhang Jiqiang, Head of Campus Marketing for JobResume (currently a student); Chu Xuge from Xbox Shanghai (Xishan Ju); Bao Yili, former Head of Xiaomi Campus Southern Region; and the Heads of Campus Marketing for Super Course Schedule and Kingsoft WPS. There are also many young campus marketers who have been quietly doing what they love, unnoticed by the masses.

Step 2: Recruit Talents, Embrace All Streams. Once You Have the Wolf King, Find the Wolf Pack.

Once your National Campus Marketing Head is in place, beyond finding suitable strategies for your product on campus, the most critical task is building your campus team. Because in campus marketing, the core is the team. Without an offline team to execute, even the best marketing plan is just a moon reflected in water—an illusion.

In a vast sea of people, how do you build your team? It's simple: since the pool is so large, why search for a needle? Create a compelling recruitment post and publish it on platforms like Dajiewang, 1010 Part-time Job Network, and the Tieba forums of various universities. The recruitment post should convey: Who we are, what we're doing, what you'll gain, and most importantly, we need you!

Generally, a campus channel structure follows this hierarchy: National Team Head → Provincial Team Head → Campus Head. Among these, the Provincial Team Head is a core position. And this is exactly who you should seek first! Some will say, "How can you find such a person without meeting them?" It's simple: initially, you don't need to worry about their ability—just focus on their willingness. Do they want to do this? If yes, great, you've got your candidate. In other words: secure the seat first, adjust later. Once you've recruited broadly and your team grows to 100 people, those 100 will inevitably come from different provincial capitals across the country. That way, each province will have a Provincial Team Head! Then comes the phase of expansion. Of course, the recruitment process can also be kicked off through an event, using various methods.

Step 3: The Victor Becomes King. Once the Rice Is Cooked, the Team Is Essentially Set.

Once your Provincial Team Heads are confirmed, your team's work for the next month has one focus: expansion!

Each Provincial Head needs to recruit one Campus Head at each university within their province. Many ask, "Why not two or three?" Everyone understands the parable: one monk gets water, two monks share water, three monks have none. Of course, once your team matures, each Campus Head can form a small team within their own school, depending on the situation.

After one month, when each province's team reaches 15 or more members, you can take the most crucial step in building your campus team: survival of the fittest. The capable rise; the weak fall!

Initially, Provincial Team Heads were chosen based on willingness alone. But as the team grows and develops, managers need not only strong motivation but also sharp execution, management, and innovation skills. This means some earlier appointees may no longer be suited for their roles. Through two or three rounds of restructuring and reorganization, you can adjust personnel to fit their positions—this is where HR theory on person-job matching comes into play! This isn't a political purge; you must act in the best interest of your team's development.

Once your Provincial Heads have stabilized through several rounds of adjustment, when your team systems are solid, and when your national team shares common goals, culture, and philosophy—congratulations, your campus channel is basically built, and you can now do what you want on campus! For a company just starting out from zero in campus marketing, this entire process typically takes six months to a year. This journey is not only about building a channel but also shaping team culture and testing senior management's patience and commitment to the campus market.

Six Common Questions About Building a Campus Market

1: How to Define Your Campus Team
Answer: Base it on your company's corporate culture, fused with the realities of the campus market. Find a team culture within your product and student demographic that suits your company, and consistently instill and reinforce it.

2: How to Answer Candidates' Questions About Benefits and Compensation
Answer: Survival of the fittest—reward based on contribution! Beyond material incentives, we place greater emphasis on developing our team members' capabilities.

3: How to Define the Work Content of Your Campus Team
Answer: It depends on your original purpose for entering the campus market. If your goal is to drive new user acquisitions and orders, be direct and straightforward. If your aim is brand awareness, guide them through启发式 (inspirational) coaching.

4: What to Do If Communication with Your Campus Team Is Always Unsatisfactory
Answer: When dealing with current students, you need patience—patience, and more patience. Combine systems and culture, but remember: people are fundamental.

5: How to Launch Relevant Campus Activities
Answer: Consider abandoning top-down approaches and adopting a bottom-up model. Let team members write the plans and execute them themselves. Only they truly understand their own school's context, enabling them to design the most effective activities based on reality.

6: How to Handle Malicious Slander
Answer: Justice resides in people's hearts. Just remember this!

Finally, one more emphasis: The success or failure of your campus market depends not only on the leader's ability and the team's combat effectiveness but also on the status and resource allocation the campus market holds within the company. If you only want to run a single campus event, don't go through the trouble of building a full campus team! Also, campus marketing requires large-unit operations. Trying to succeed in a single school rarely yields visible results and can easily kill your campus ambitions. Pilots are fine, but don't expect a pilot's success to replicate nationwide. The strategy of "surrounding the cities from the countryside" applies perfectly to campus promotion. As always: think clearly, think thoroughly, and then act!

A Sample Campus Team Recruitment Post

"Campus Call to Action: Only for the Most Passionate You"

Are you still troubled by the平淡 (ordinary) nature of your college days?

Are you still uneasy about the comfort and ease of campus life?

While everyone else is striving toward their goals,

are you also, like them, anticipating a challenge?

Here, there are no superficial interpersonal games—only what you can achieve!

Here, material rewards aren't abundant—but if you're willing, that's all that matters!

And we promise: what we give you will be exactly what you need!

Giving someone a fish feeds them for a day; teaching them to fish feeds them for a lifetime!

We offer you the most authentic workplace atmosphere, letting you experience a real work team.

We give you the most challenging work goals, letting you taste the wild joy of victory!

We, in this warm spring season,

extend our arms once again to students across the nation's universities.

Welcome to join us, welcome to stand side by side with us,

so together we can hack through thorns and understand the true meaning of teamwork,

creating a legend worthy of this blooming spring.

We pursue wolf-pack culture; we yearn for geek spirit.

We hope we share a common dream,

we hope we march in step.

Here, ability speaks.

Here, results determine success or failure.

Qualifications:

1. Currently enrolled student at a university nationwide, with sufficient time and energy.

2. Familiar with your own campus, possessing a strong network and influence there.

3. Aligned with company culture, passionate and confident in your ability to persevere.

4. Obedient to team management, hardworking, high execution ability, able to withstand intense work pressure.

5. Responsible, with team collaboration skills, communication skills, and expression abilities.

6. Able to work according to your school's actual conditions and complete monthly tasks.

Compensation and Benefits:

1. Earn a certain amount of working allowance.

2. Campus BDs who complete six months and pass evaluation can receive an internship certificate from the company.

3. Campus BDs who complete six months may be promoted to Provincial Team Assistant or Provincial Team Head.

4. Outstanding Campus BDs can receive exquisite gifts.

5. All national Campus BDs are eligible to participate in the annual Outstanding Campus BD selection held each semester.

If you're interested, if you want to become part of us,

please send your resume to the following email: XX