OPEN FOR BUSINESS: MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO HAVE A GRAND OPENING

Congratulations! Your business is now open and ready to service the public, but how do you attract new customers? We’ve identified some of the most effective ways to start your business with a successful grand opening.

Advertise on Public Event Sites

Websites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Eventbrite allow you to list your event and make it searchable to the public for free. This should be one of the first strategies you adopt to advertise your grand opening especially if you do not have a large existing customer base. It allows those curious customers that are browsing local events for the weekend to discover your business.

Traditional Local Marketing Tactics

Traditional marketing is still an effective form of marketing if you do it the right way. When marketing your opening, establish a local radius of potential clients and distribute flyers in those neighborhoods. If you are a business such as a restaurant or retail store that relies on foot traffic, capturing your local marketing is imperative. Do not be afraid to talk to other local business owners to see if they would grand you space in their establishment to leave your flyers for other customers to take.

Public Relations

Another great way to tell the world, or at least your local neighborhood, about your grand opening event is to contact the local press. Different publications will have different procedures and stories that they choose to publish, so do not be discouraged if one publication says no. This is an effective way to capture the attention of those customers that are loyal to that local publication.

Countdown to Opening Day

Get your customers just as excited about your event as you are with a public countdown. This can be done in many ways including on social media or signage at your brick-and-mortar establishment. We suggest beginning at least 4 weeks in advance. Post through your various social media pages or update your signage on a consistent basis leading to the event. You can even post teaser pictures of what you plan to offer.

Soft Opening

To gather feedback before officially opening, you can host a soft opening for a small group of customers. This will give those customers a chance to sample your product or service and provide useful suggestions for you to improve before you fully open to the public. Provide yourself enough time to make any necessary adjustments.

Represent your Brand

Your grand opening is most likely the first time that your customers are truly experiencing your brand. The experience goes beyond just matching to colors on-site to your brand but includes the total feel of the event. If your brand is about elegance, your decorations, entertainment, and every other aspect of your event should portray elegance.

Focus on Customer Experience

Above everything else, the one thing that will generate repeat business is a great customer experience. Your goal should be to make each and every customer feel special. These initial customers are taking the leap of faith to patronize your business before you have a chance to perfect it. How you treat these customers is critical to the future success of your business.

If you have already opened your business, you can still take these concepts and host an open house. This will have the same effectiveness of a grand opening. You may attract those customers that have been curious about what your business does, but this simple invite may push them over the top to actually patronizing your business.

To suggest the most effective tactics for a grand opening, we will need to know exactly what your business does. If you are interested in learning how we can help your business grow, schedule a free consultation.