Verba Software and NACS Media Solutions (NMS) are pleased to announce a new partnership that will make cutting-edge web-based tools more widely available to the campus store community. The partnership aims to increase bookstore competitiveness by helping stores capture and act upon a range of critical business data – from faculty adoptions decisions to student purchasing behavior – with greater efficiency.
“Helping the college store channel expand the breadth and sophistication of its e-business capabilities is a critical part of the NMS strategy,” says Mark R. Nelson, VP for Strategy and Development. “We see Verba Software as providing a unique and cutting-edge solution that can help stores with HEOA compliance, course adoptions, and price comparison shopping. The data analytics they can provide will further enable collegiate retailers to be effective and efficient managers, while the various tools expand the quality and range of services stores provide to both students and faculty.”
In the coming months, Verba and NMS will jointly promote the BookLink Enterprise suite of applications. BookLink Enterprise employs automatic email notifications, a faculty-friendly user interface, and adoptions process management tools to bring bookstores more digital adoptions data with less effort. Client stores have more time to obtain high-margin used books and concentrate resources on the impending rush.
Beyond adoptions management, BookLink Enterprise offers stores a swift path to HEOA textbook disclosure compliance, and an innovative approach to online competition. Verba’s price comparison technology brings real-time item listings from popular online retailers onto the bookstore’s website, helping stores secure student loyalty, while enabling them to profit when students purchase from the competition. Most importantly, BookLink Enterprise offers bookstore staff daily insight into student purchasing decisions across the marketplace, helping them rapidly adapt their pricing and marketing strategies to keep pace with today’s fast-moving market.
“Verba offers a great opportunity to college stores to increase their revenue by offering online comparative shopping. It promotes transparency and strengthens loyalty to the college store,” says Karen Hernandez, Director of Retail Services at Normandale Community College. “We tried it and our students love it.”
As the collegiate retailing industry’s leading resource for R&D outreach, technology review, trend analysis, strategy assessment, and knowledge sharing, NMS has recognized Verba’s shared commitment to innovation in the campus store community. “NMS is the clear leader when it comes to identifying new technologies for campus stores,” says Ryan Petersen, Verba CEO. “We’re proud to partner with them to make stores more competitive, and bring more value to students.”
NACS Media Solutions LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Association of College Stores and is headquartered in Oberlin, OH, USA. Founded in 2008, NACS Media Solutions and its network of partners develops and supports technology and content solutions that enable collegiate retailers to become an effective and vibrant channel for the delivery of digitally-enhanced products and services, helping to support faculty choice and redefining the learning experiences of college students. Contact: Ed Schlichenmayer, President and Chief Operating Officer; 800-622-7498 ext. 2250 or e-mail to: eschlichenmayer@nacs.org.
Verba Software is a privately-held technology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Verba’s web applications help campus bookstores capture critical business information, and enable clients to quickly act upon that data. By promoting nimbleness within the campus store community, Verba strives to make bookstores more competitive in a rapidly evolving marketplace, and to be a valuable partner in their efforts to provide greater value to students. Contact: Ryan Petersen, President and Chief Executive Officer; 617-395-9052, or e-mail to ryan.petersen@verbasoftware.com.
