Grand Openings Should be Just That!

Grand Openings are a great way for a business to become known to a community or industry.  Usually they take place after things have been operating normally and have been stabilized for a while.  However, grand openings really need to happen sooner than later.  A grand opening should inform, entertain and create a memory like any business event, but on a grander scale.

A grand opening can offer a great first impression not only for new or potential clients but the community at large.  This alone is why a business would want to make the event feel grand, be memorable and a true experience to absorb.

A business will want to inform attendees at a grand opening of the following: 

1. What they do, 

2. How they do something better or differently, 

3. Why people need their services,

4. When the best time is for people to plan ahead to use their services.

Its important to remember that the purpose of a grand opening is not merely to educate the public about a business, but it is crucial to offer an experience that is memorable.  An event is the perfect opportunity to set up a business to not be victim of the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality.  The purpose is to make the event one that will be remembered by anyone and everyone in a community and hopefully come up in conversations after the grand opening. Swag bags aren't just for convenience.  We have all experienced someone coming home with a swag bag filled with goodies and soon, those items are distributed to other members of a household or friends with a business name on them.  

Future business events with a more specific clientele in mind would be designed differently to have a narrower appeal.  Compared to other types of events that a business could host, a grand opening needs to offer more variety in the activities with a broader appeal that can be tailored to educate and almost be a family-friendly event.  It's a lot easier for an adult to attend if their children are allowed.  This might not work well if a business poses a danger to children.  Special accommodations can be made so that kids could be entertained in a separate area and that might suffice. You can hire childcare companies who do nothing but provide childcare for events.  One option if it was too dangerous for children to be present, would be to promote that there will be things to take home to surprise your children.  It's the world we live in. 

A grand opening is really about an introduction to all the members of a community to help a business gather more ambassadors and foster more conversations around the community.  If a business incorporates a food drive with a grand opening, it is a great way to show that a business cares about the community.  It's the perfect time to make a great impression because a business' grand opening is remembered all unto itself.  Other events can sometimes be blurred with other companies events, but a grand opening is different because it is new to everyone.  A business can and should claim a grand opening as its very own in a unique way.  It is all about being different from the competition especially with hosting events.

You'll notice a common thread in my blog posts, seminars and presentations about events of any kind and that is that any event needs to appeal to the five senses plus one more I refer to as "Quiet".  That's an entire blog post on its own!

Stay tuned for more information on how you can boost your business with successful events!

If you would like to learn more about our live seminars, teleseminars, webinars or speaking engagements, come on over to our Greatest of Days website and we'll be in touch!

"Events are unlike other forms of marketing.

They cannot be deleted or thrown away because they create permanent memories".