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Intro: What to do for Grand Opening
A grand opening is a major milestone for any business, and it can be overwhelming to plan one without proper preparation. Whether you’re opening a new facility, relocating a store, or expanding your business, you want to make sure your grand opening is a memorable event that connects with your community.
This guide will provide you with insights on 7 important things to ensure a successful grand opening, from planning and promotion to logistics and execution.
Pro Tips 1: Make Your Brand Known
To create brand awareness and get people excited about your grand opening, connect with your target audiences via social media. You can create a specific Facebook page, flyer, or paid social ad that shares all essential information for the event.
If your event is private/invite-only, focus on getting the message out there through all your channels, such as email lists and private Facebook events. Be sure to emphasize what makes your event special and why their participation matters.
When promoting your grand opening, mention if you’re serving food and drinks and who’s providing it. This will whet appetites and increase interest. In the invitation, give them a sneak peek of the event and what they will be doing.
Depending on your budget, put together a nice door gift for attendees. Fill your bag with unique goodies that people will actually use and are related to the company’s grand opening. Here are some other generic ideas for freebies to hand out at your grand opening event:
- Travel hand sanitisers: These are always useful because people tend to be more concerned about hygiene.
- Pure Honey in a glass bottle: For healthy and beauty purpose.
- Travel chargers: These can help your guests stay connected on the go.
- Customised items: Customised tote bags, tote bags, perfumes or handmade cookies.
Consider also making a branded hashtag that everyone can use during your grand opening and after it’s over.
Pro Tips 2: Create a Guest List
Another big first step is to create the guest list for grand opening. After all, a grand opening is nothing without people. Talk to your current customers, potential customers, local business owners, suppliers, city officials, and media partners about your upcoming event. Let them know how much you value their support and are interested in strengthening your relationships.
Pro Tips 3: Display Signage of Grand opening
When people walk into your grand opening, they should know what they’re doing and where they’re going. Welcome signage is essential. It will make them feel welcome and give them a good first impression. Other signs, such as an itinerary or directionals to specific spaces for speeches, tours, and workshops, are also important.
Below is the example of Grand opening signage and program flow.
Pro Tips 4: Serve Food and Beverages During Grand Opening
Let’s be honest: some people will come to your grand opening for the food and drinks. That’s okay! A creative station full of delicious eats and Instagrammable displays is often the highlight of any event. Well-displayed snacks and drinks will help people relax and start conversations.
Grand opening catering doesn’t have to be expensive. You can consider simple but presentable finger food catering for your guests. Click here to learn more about finger food catering and how to cater budget-friendly events.
Pro Tips 5: Introduce the Facilities to Guests or Ongoing Activities
If you have a brand new facility, people will want to explore it. Appoint staff to give tours so guests can get a better feel for the space. If you have a new learning lab or interactive space, spend time explaining its creation and what it means to your business.
Meanwhile, to keep guests engaged, provide less-structured activities that they can pick up casually. Here are some popular grand opening ideas:
A) Photo booth:
This is a fun and interactive way for guests to take photos and create memories. Bonus points if you have branded props to use.
B) Arts and crafts:
This is a great way for guests to be creative and express themselves and to keep both kids and adult entertained.
C) Selfie wall:
This is a great way for guests to take photos and share them on social media. Not to forget they can apply grand opening event hashtag.
Pro Tips 6: Invite a Guest Speaker to Host Grand Opening
A guest speaker can elevate your grand opening event, especially if they are an expert in your industry or have a connection to your brand. A famous or credible speaker can draw in guests and create buzz, but even a qualified speaker can provide memorable takeaways and help customers engage with your store.
Pro Tips 7: Plan for Parking & Logistics
Your store’s normal parking spaces may not be enough for a grand opening event, especially if it’s scheduled during neighboring businesses’ hours of operation. Insufficient parking can deter guests or lead to violations and fines.
Plan in advance by ensuring there is additional parking on nearby streets or overflow lots. You may need to pay for this extra parking, but you can also scout the area or ask nearby businesses.
Communicate the location of the extra parking to guests before the event.
Sure, here is the rephrased text with the keyphrase “things to know about grand opening” added:
Things to know about grand opening parking
- Your store’s normal parking spaces may not be enough for a grand opening event.
- Insufficient parking can deter guests or lead to violations and fines.
- Plan in advance by ensuring there is additional parking on nearby streets or overflow lots.
- You may need to pay for this extra parking, but you can also scout the area or ask nearby businesses.
- Communicate the location of the extra parking to guests before the event.
- Consider offering valet parking or shuttle service to help guests find parking.
- Make sure to have signs clearly marked so guests can easily find the parking.
By planning ahead and taking these factors into account, you can ensure that your grand opening event is a success and that guests have a positive experience.
Image Source From: New Straits Time
Let’s continue since we still have more to discuss about what to expect or plan in advance for your grand opening event.
Pro Tips 8: Share Your Location Map for Grand Opening
To make it easy for people to find your grand opening location, share a map and directions. Pictures of the place are helpful too, so people know what to look for.
Claim your Google My Business page and make sure the information is up-to-date, especially the location. This is what people click on to get directions via GPS navigation app.
Include a link to your Google Maps location on all digital communications about the grand opening, such as landing pages, webpages, emails, Facebook event pages, etc. You can add a screenshot or an embedded Google Maps window.
Image Source From: YP Mac Technology
Pro Tips 9: Offer Exclusive Discounts & Deals
Here are some things to know about grand openings. To attract customers, consider offering discounts and exclusive deals at your grand opening. Extend the discounts for at least a week after the event so that people who couldn’t attend can still take advantage of them.
Promote the discounts prominently in your advertising and include the expiration date so that customers know how long they have to take advantage of them.
Pro Tips 10: Have a Social Media Photo Contest
Last but not least, to increase brand awareness, boost your digital presence, and collect user-generated content (UGC), turn your grand opening into a social media contest.
Choose a prize, such as free products, services or gift cards and allow attendees to enter the contest by posting photos from your event on Facebook or Instagram. Require the poster to follow and tag your business account and use any hashtags you are targeting.
Publish the rules on your social media accounts and include them on the grand opening event page. It is also helpful to have in-person reminders throughout the grand opening space, especially near particularly selfie-worthy backdrops.
After the event, select the winning photo at random or by vote. Then, share a post announcing the winner and their prize.
Conclusion: Things that You Need To Know About Grand Opening
Starting a business is an exciting endeavor. It is a chance to bring your vision to life and share it with the world. A grand opening is a great way to celebrate this milestone and introduce your business to potential customers.
Here are some other things to consider:
- Plan your grand opening well in advance. This includes setting a budget, choosing a date and time, and promoting the event.
- Make sure your store is ready for the grand opening. This includes cleaning the store, stocking up on inventory, and training your staff.
- Be prepared for a large crowd. Have enough staff on hand to handle the influx of customers.
- Have a contingency plan in case of bad weather. This could include moving the event indoors or postponing it.
- Most importantly, have fun and enjoy the experience! Your grand opening is a special event, so make sure to celebrate it.
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