Last updated on March 2nd, 2022 at 04:58 pm
Grand opening events are great for drumming up interest in your new business. Grand openings can be held both in person or virtually, depending on the kind of business you have. If you run an eCommerce business, it wouldn’t make much sense to have an in-person grand opening, but if you have both an online and brick-and-mortar store, you could do both. Whether you are advertising an open house or a new salon, you want to make sure your grand opening stands out. Check out how to spread the word about your business with our grand opening ideas that’ll help you maximize exposure and have a successful grand opening.
Grand opening ideas
After successfully launching your new business, the next step is planning for your grand opening event. Fortunately, there are a variety of excellent ideas for grand opening events. One is sure to work for your business. The key to a successful grand opening is offering experiences that will benefit your potential customers and leave them satisfied after attending your grand opening.
Ready to start the planning process? Read on for ideas that are guaranteed to give you the inspiration you need.
Offer free samples or discounts
Depending on what your business is, you could offer free samples or discounts to promote your products or services. Pick a few key items that you can afford to offer free samples of or provide a discount on your hottest service that is impossible to turn down. You could even put together a small sample bag for your customers to try different products, which will help them determine which ones they prefer. This idea works exceptionally well for food businesses.
Give away promotional products
This is one of the most common and effective opening event ideas because everybody loves free stuff; that’s just a fact. Have a table with some free products advertising your business. Reusable tote bags are a hot commodity these days with society’s commitment to going green. Customize them to fit your brand with your logo and slogan and you are good to go. Custom stickers are also a popular giveaway item. Custom circle stickers are a great way to keep your marketing efforts alive. Once you give one to someone, they will most likely put it on an item of theirs, such as a laptop or water bottle. Whenever they take that item out in public, people will see that sticker and become aware of your brand.
Host a contest or giveaway
One of the best grand opening ideas for a small business is hosting a contest or giveaway, After all, if you can incentivize someone, they are more likely to take the action you want them to. For example, if you want someone to attend your grand opening event, you may want to offer them something in return. Consider offering a limited number of prizes for your first 25 attendees or raffle off a higher value item such as a service or product you offer.
How-to classes
If your business provides a service, such as hair services, consider offering to teach your attendees a skill related to your service. For a hair salon, you could offer to teach your guests different styling techniques, such as how to use a curling iron or a flat iron. Then you can prepare gift packages, including the items and products they will need to recreate the style at home.
Host a virtual grand opening
If you don’t have a brick-and-mortar store, or you simply cannot host an in-person grand opening, you can still have an online event. Consider offering a day of discounts at your online store or host a video event. In the age of social media, live streaming events are quite simple to do. What you would have done in person, such as a product demonstration or a how-to guide, can also be done online! Plus, by hosting a virtual grand opening, you extend your reach beyond the local community.
Spread the word beforehand
Now that you’ve successfully planned your grand opening event, you’ll want to advertise it. No one will attend your grand opening if they don’t know it’s happening. Help spread the word before the big day by reaching out to your target audience both online and in person.
Send postcards
If you’re opening a new business in a well-populated residential area, a great way to attract more attention is a direct mail campaign. Utilize USPS’s Every Door Direct Mail tool to view mailing routes in your area to figure out how many people you can reach. Once you’ve nailed down your mailing audience, create postcards advertising your grand opening event. Make sure to include all relevant information, such as the date, time and location. Creating an eye-catching design with a call to action that can’t be ignored will be sure to gain you some new customers.
Post custom grand opening flyers
Many coffee shops and small businesses have spaces on their walls dedicated to community events. You can look into posting business flyers advertising your grand opening in these spaces to reach potential customers. Take care in your design to help your flyer stand out from the many others that are bound to be posted there. You can take this one step further and post a digital rendering of the flyer to your social media pages and encourage your followers to share. Never underestimate the power of social media.
Once you’ve hosted your successful event using our grand opening ideas, make sure you continue to engage with your audience via social media. Post fun images from the event and peruse your followers’ feeds to see if they posted anything you can share. People love receiving recognition from their favorite brands, so sharing a post from a follower is an easy way to make their day.
