Preparing for a Grand Opening

A grand opening is a great opportunity to get the word out and immediately establish your new business in the community. There are so many reasons to use your opening as a marketing initiative, such as:

• Create press, awareness, and establish the tone of your brand

• Meet members of the community, attract new customers, build word-of-mouth marketing, and start relationships

• Build a social media following; build user-generated content and testimonials

• Capture phone and email information from new customers so that you can more easily market to them in the future

Here's are a few suggested activities and option to get you thinking about how you'd like to approach your own grand opening and get the word out ...

Set the date and set your goals.

What do you want to achieve with your grand opening? Sales targets? Number of attendees? Reach from across neighborhoods?

Once' you've set your strategy and goals, schedule your grand opening and ribbon cutting with Lawrence Township; a ribbon cutting ceremony is a great way to get the party started. Lawrence Township want to celebrate your business's grand opening and can be a great ally.

Engage members of the media

Members of the press can be great allies and they want you to success — thriving businesses equate to a thriving community and good content. Start with a press release:

1. Share it in advance of your opening and provide a balance of visionary and transactional content — why you matter and what you're offering.

2. Don't forget to include things like your store hours, sale information, incentives, address, phone, URL, social media, etc.

3. More information and a template are available here.

Then, invite the press to the grand opening. Give them a part to play, too. Offer them samples, give them an interview, invite them to come back.

Host a sale or provide incentives

A Grand Opening sale is a great way to get customers into your store, but it's not the only way. Incentives that tie into a loyalty program, giveaways and promotional products, free food, and opportunities meet others are also great reasons for the community to show up. If you give away promos, make sure they're branded and have your business's info.

Consider using promo codes or coupons with pre-registration online to capture leads and then send reminders as your event approaches.

Host a charity event at your opening

Does your business have a charity partner? If not, think about how your brand could align with other organizations to support the greater good and ally with a charity partner. Then, work with your charity to turn your grand opening into a fundraising event. You'll not only raise money for your charity from a portion of proceeds, but you can activate your combined networks for a bigger reach and larger attendance.

Use a drip/teaser campaign along with grassroots activities

Start your social media and email marketing campaign well in advance of your opening. If you're renovating a space, invite your audiences to see your progress and build up to the big reveal. Countdown clocks on your website and in social media build anticipation; add a lead-capture form and offer incentives that tie to milestones of your preparations.

Use social media conversationally, ask opinions, and invite your prospective customers to participate in the discussion as you build toward launching. And, don't forget to join existing online forums and community groups, like those of Facebook.

Hang flyers (where permitted) and ask other businesses if they'll allow you to put out postcards or marketing materials.

Make your event fun!

Nothing attracts like fun and games. So, what can you do at your grand opening that's fun? How about a scavenger hunt? Games? Music? Prizes and awards?

If allowed, set up the start of the game and a portion of your event outside. This is particularly important in malls as you can invite walk-by prospects to come inside and join the festivities.

Show vendor and network appreciation

Inviting your family, friends, employees, and vendors to join the festivities — especially if they're local too — is a perfect way to celebrate your community and gives you great social media content and the opportunity to tag and tap into an expanded network.

What other ideas do you have for our local Lawrence businesses? Share them in the comments, below.