You’ve hired and trained a great staff, secured all licenses, and created an amazing venue. Next on your plate is the grand opening to showcase it all. Grand openings are a crucial marketing strategy to jumpstart your successful business. A killer launch party with a big crowd will allow you to stand out from competitors in the area and bring early success to you if done right. Here are some tips and tricks we’ve come up with to ensure it’s a hit.
Soft Opening
The grand opening will be your first night dealing with customers and running the show. It’s wise to run a “dress rehearsal” to ensure you and your staff are ready for the task. A rehearsal will allow you to identify some of the problems that may arise in the venue and proactively prepare for those mishaps ahead of time. Make this soft opening a friends and family night to gather honest feedback. Ask them to provide you with their opinions on the service, drinks, staff, and experience before you officially open your doors.
Advertisements
To get customers into your door, they need to know where the door is. Advertisements prior to your grand opening will be imperative to increase awareness and hype. Through your social media accounts (Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) you can post a few times a day to attract followers and draw in a good crowd. Event pages and hashtags will also boost your online presence and give you exposure to customers who aren’t following your venue yet. After the event, you can continue to use your media tools to send DMs and feature any tagged photos from your venue onto your page.
Local Exposure
To make sure your venue is generating buzz, it is important to have relationships with media outlets, influencers, and promoters in your area. Reach out to newspapers, websites, and influencers with a personal invitation to your soft or grand opening in exchange for press passes or VIP entry. Anyone that can post about your venue, whether it’s a tag on social media or a full-length article, will put you on the map. Last, but not least, do not underestimate the power of a promotional team. Hire internal or external promoters with proven track records to make sure your venue is filled with new clients.
Venue Management
Finally, to make sure your grand opening runs without a hitch, invest in a powerful digital platform that will manage your venue, events, staff, and guests such as TablelistPro. With a monthly fee that starts at just $199, TablelistPro will track your client data, keep your employees in sync, and help you drive sales efficiently, ensuring that every night – especially your grand opening – will run according to plan. To learn more or schedule a free demo, visit our website.