Our easy 5 step process for Grand Openings
A Grand Opening is more than just a ribbon cutting ceremony or party, it can establish the future success of the business. Here are five essential steps to growing your business, all starting from the big opening day!
Step One: Look at your Timeline
Your client may give you a gracious 3-4 months to prepare or a 1 month turn-around for their grand opening. Regardless, you need to make a plan. Take a look at your timeline and factor in when you want to begin establishing media relations. To inform your audience that there will be a grand opening, you have to ensure the media knows about the opening too. Getting media attention that fits into your timeline will dramatically help your client’s grand opening.
Step Two: Activations
Activations before the grand opening will give the business’s grand opening a creative edge. Planning activations brings excitement around the business and results in great coverage for the brand. Stay true to the brand and create an activation that people will be thrilled to be a part of.
Step Three: Influencers
Influencers are a great way to reach a large and unique audience. Bring out micro and macro influencers that are relevant to your brand to have them visit the business and all the services the business has to offer. Give your influencers clear expectations of what is expected of them to secure coverage on their page. To enhance the work you are doing with influencers, even offer to do a collaboration with them! Whether it’s a promo code or gift card to your client’s business, it will get more of the influencer’s audience involved in your client’s brand.
Step Four: Friends and Family
To add a personal touch to your client’s grand opening, consider involving friends and family of the business to create traction before, during and after the grand opening. Give friends and family an exclusive chance to experience components of the brand. From a special friends and family dinner to exclusive deals, you can bring in another interested audience, all in time for the grand opening.
Step Five: Time for your Grand Opening!
You have done all the preparation for the grand opening, now it’s time to open the business! The grand opening of the business should be exciting and fun for all your guests. While the grand opening will be all fun and games for your guests, make sure you are prepared. Approach the grand opening with a strategy so you can collect their information to inform them about upcoming deals and events for your client’s business.
A grand opening can be a stressful event to manage but with these five tips, you and your client will be prepared. For more tips for all things PR related, be sure to check out True Stories podcast each week to keep learning and staying up to date on your PR game! Listen to this podcast episode here!
