One of the most effective ways to manage campus reps is through their smartphone or mobile device. By communicating through a mobile device, your company can expect faster response times and an easier way to monitor your campus reps.
Almost all (97%) of the nearly 80,000 respondents in a SnapChat survey indicated they own a smartphone.
Take a moment to let that sink in.
This is a generation that is always tethered to the world at large by their devices—and that is what differentiates them from past generations. It’s not just phones either, nearly 70% of respondents indicated they own a laptop or PC and 30% own tablets. Other devices this generation owns include: gaming consoles, feature phones, TV streaming sticks, smartwatches, e-readers, smart wristbands, and VR devices.
Given the widespread ownership of smartphones in this demographic, it makes sense that the importance of this device has increased from 47% in 2015 to 78% in 2018. Gen Z spends an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes on their phones each day, but multi-device usage is the norm—Gen Z accesses the internet using multiple screens.
Yet you are most likely making your campus reps interact with you through a website, dashboard or sending you an email. You’re going against the grain! Students now are mobile first — and your program should be too.
The Fix: Manage Your Campus Rep Program through Reps’ Mobile Devices
A mobile device offers many benefits both for you and your campus reps when it comes to executing a campaign. Not only does it allow for faster response time (have you noticed your reps respond more quickly to a short text than an email?), it allows you to more closely monitor your rep’s work.
There are already tools like a camera, video camera, notepad and GPS check-in on smartphones for students to log their hours and prove their work. For example, if you ask a student to put up flyers around campus, you could require your reps to send time-stamped photos with GPS data throughout the day. This allows you to see exactly where the flyers were posted and proves they are visible for whatever amount of time is necessary. Basically, you can see your rep didn’t hang one flyer, take pictures, and throw the rest in the trash. Another example could be asking a rep to video an event your brand is hosting on campus. This task is easy to do with a smartphone and the camera quality on many phones comes close to professional quality. This gives you reusable footage for social media or your website.
Don’t split up documentation tools between multiple websites, dashboards and other tools. For example, our company uses its proprietary Campus Commandos App.
Since using a single mobile view to manage our campus reps we have the ability to do more with less. For instance, one of our clients experienced three times the return on investment within 24 hours by showcasing their products at a sorority house’s “Shoe Lovers Party,” and a Fortune 500 beverage company reduced costs by $200,000 while increasing its reach by 50 percent. These campaigns were run by a small team in a central office.
Make sure you’re figuring out how to make it easier for both you and your campus reps to execute in a campus rep program.
For more information about doing more with less or managing reps through a mobile app, contact Campus Commandos.
