A grand opening event is exciting for any business, whether you’re launching your new small business or you’re an established business opening a new venue, or planning a relaunch or rebrand.
A grand opening can help you successfully launch your business but before you start planning one, there are a few crucial things you need to consider.
Are grand openings necessary?
A grand opening isn’t strictly necessary, and some businesses may choose not to have one, however, a grand opening event does have many benefits. Holding a grand opening raises the profile of your business and makes people aware of who you are and what you do.
It grabs people’s attention and gives them a reason to pay a visit to your new business.
Your grand opening event also gives people the first impression of your business and should demonstrate what your company is about, whether that’s being environmentally responsible or offering a touch of luxury.
Holding an event also helps you to build relationships with potential customers and other businesses in the area.
Planning your grand opening
For your grand business opening to be a success, you’ll need to do some forward-planning. Firstly, it’s important to set goals for your event – what are you trying to achieve and how will the grand opening help you do this?
Do you want to build a mailing list? Make sales? Or create a memorable event in your local area to raise awareness of your brand?
You should also consider the all-important details of your grand opening, such as the budget, where and when it will take place, any entertainment or refreshments you’ll provide, and if you’ll need to arrange any special insurance for the event. Hiring a few local business events and functions photographers to take pictures of your event is also something that can help with the promotional material of it after the event!
Once you have all the finer details smoothed out, the next step will be promoting your grand opening event and encouraging people to attend.
Promoting your brand and the opening
With your grand opening event organised, you now need to let people know that it’s happening.
As your premises aren’t officially open yet, it can be difficult for you to maintain a physical presence that will remind people about the launch, but a visible sign on your door or window announcing the event will let passers-by know about your upcoming launch date.
You could also try displaying leaflets in other local businesses or venues (with their permission) or handing out flyers for your grand opening.
You should also make sure you have an online presence, by creating a website and signing up for social media accounts on at least a couple of the major platforms. You can use these to tease information about your business and advertise your launch.
Media coverage is also a great way to spread the word, so contact local news reporters or relevant magazines who might be interested.
You may even want to invite social media influencers to your grand opening so they can generate a buzz about your upcoming event and raise awareness of your brand.
After your grand opening
Don’t let people’s interest fade after your grand opening is over. Be sure to keep in touch with attendees by encouraging them to leave their contact details on the day itself. That way you can add them to your mailing list and keep them informed about your business.
You should also keep in contact with any influencers or press who attended to maintain that friendly connection for the future. If you were posting regularly on social media throughout the event, try to keep this up and be active on your platforms every day.
If you’re too busy to create and post content daily and engage with your social media followers, you may want to consider social media management to help you with this side of your business or hire a social media assistant to help your business maintain a lively online presence.
