A store’s grand opening is an exciting time, and probably the best time to draw new customers in to check out your offerings. Yet, most new stores do not make the best use of this opportunity that they could. Do not let a mediocre new store opening happen to your business! Here are three ideas you should use to make your store’s grand opening an enormous success:
Include a celebrity appearance
Advertising that one (or more) celebrities will be in attendance can be an excellent way to get the attention of your target audience. You might have a special sale, with the discounts offered only while the celebrity is on the premises, to motivate the masses even further. You can have the celebrity autograph some of your promotional material, so customers have a keepsake which also keeps your store top-of-mind when they consider who to go to in the future.
Have a surprise gift for customers
Since most people now have some form of mobile communications device(s), surprise gifts can be a great way to get your customers buzzing even more about your store’s opening. Encourage them to call, text, or otherwise inform their friends of the special giveaway, and you will soon have more customers interested in the opening. You can also include other special prizes for those customers who are able to pull in the highest number of friends to the store’s grand opening. This friendly competition can get people very excited, and talking about your store for quite a while afterwards.
Include a raffle with prizes for your customers
A raffle is a great grand opening strategy, since you can advertise it beforehand, and build up even more excitement amongst your customer base. In addition to raffle tickets, you might include door prizes, or other incentives to increase the publicity of your new store, and create a strong impression on potential customers. For continuing sales, your raffle prizes might include a gift certificate which can only be redeemed at the store at later date(s). This can get customers into the habit of frequenting your store, leading to continued sales in the future.
Thus, by including celebrity appearances, using surprise gifts, and holding a raffle for your customers, it is possible to have a grand opening, which is also a grand success for the start of your new business. This can give you a great advantage over the current competition, and ensure that customers think of you first in the future.
Copyright 2010, by Marc Mays