Your business’ grand opening should be exactly that – grand. It should have high foot traffic and even higher sales numbers and the hustle and bustle of the holiday retail experience, but focused solely on your new storefront. Unfortunately, however, this is not the reality they experience for many franchises.
Many grand openings fall flat because they are thrown together at the last minute with minimal forethought, or the planning focuses on things that don’t matter to customers. Door prizes, free food, and other draws won’t get you anywhere if no one knows about your grand opening or if it is so poorly managed that customers don’t stick around.
If you want your grand opening to be your first big sales day in the books, these are the five elements you need to focus on:
Choose a good date.
The date of your grand opening matters much more than you think. You don’t want to conflict with a holiday, a bigger event such as a concert, or a typically slow day for your business (such as a Monday). Ideally, you want to open on the weekend during your busy season when little else is going on in your area. This will make your event attractive to shoppers and draw more attention on social media sites.
Plan for overflow parking.
You may think that your typically parking lot will suffice, but if your grand opening goes as planned, you’ll have max capacity at your location and want to prepare for it accordingly. There is no greater parking nightmare than having guests either receive parking tickets, leave, or congest neighboring businesses’ parking lots on your big day. Plan in advance either in partnership with neighboring businesses or public parking areas to ensure your customers have plenty of space.
Schedule a soft opening first.
This step is optional, but a soft opening often helps businesses plan their grand opening with greater success. If you open a week or two before your event, you can get into a rhythm and provide fundamental training for staff so they can operate smoothly on the big day. For smaller businesses, this can also help you develop a local following without the draw from a major franchise name.
Generate leads.
Your grand opening isn’t solely an event for big sales – it’s a long-term marketing strategy to immediately get your most eager customers into your database. You want to gather emails, phone numbers, social media likes, and other touchpoints with your guests to ensure you can turn them into regular customers.
Spend to earn.
Marketing your grand opening is critical for long-term success no matter what kind of business you operate. By spending early on digital advertising and social media, you can develop a strong presence in your area and attract loyal customers early. And, with Purple Penguin Digital, your grand opening expenses are simplified with our straightforward pricing plan:
We offer a single flat rate for marketing management and an unlimited ad spend budget depending on your goals. We understand that this is a costly time for businesses and want to help you succeed without a bigger marketing bill to foot. As a result, Purple Penguin guarantees a bigger grand opening for your business than local competitors, and we have the results to prove it:
“We can’t thank Purple Penguin Digital marketing enough for the success of our Grand Opening this past June! We were able to get the word out fast, and it worked! We grossed the largest Grand Opening revenue in our nearly 300 location franchise. We couldn’t have done it without you, thank you Purple Penguin Digital!”
~ Play It Again Sports Owner
With a strong marketing team behind you and these strategies for success in your arsenal, there is no reason your grand opening can’t be a highly successful sales day. To learn more about our grand opening services, schedule a consultation here.