Organising a successful launch event for your store opening: 7 ideas to create buzz

Start by promoting your opening event on social media. 

1. Create a hashtag for the event: make it simple, short and easy to remember. Post frequently and consistently about the event across your social media profiles, always including the hashtag you created
   
2. Launch a challenge on Instagram or TikTok: invite your followers and your social media audience to share about the event, tag their friends, use the hashtag or participate in any other active interaction that can boost your social media content. In exchange, you can offer the winner a gift or an exclusive in-store experience.
   
3. Reach out to local influencers: influencer marketing can be expensive and challenging to manage, which is why starting with local, niche influencers is a great tactic. Collaborating with micro-influencers that speak to your target audience is a great way to build credibility and awareness.

Inviting the press and influencers to your store opening can create buzz and interest for the event, and most importantly, guarantee you visibility and awareness if they decide to include your story in their next publications. 

Make sure to reach out to your local press and invite them to your store opening event. To increase the chances that a journalist will write about your opening, you need to provide them with a compelling angle, a view of your story that can spike the interest of their readers. Simple facts will not suffice, be sure to share something personal about your store, and celebrate the uniqueness of your shop and your brand. 

Example: Focus on passionately explaining your value proposition, your business story within the economic context, and how your shop’s activity will benefit the local community. 

When inviting press and influencers to your event, select people who match your brand identity and can speak to your target audience. 

Show them around your store, present your key products and why you chose them, and talk about your expected community impact. 

Pro tip: Prepare a press kit that tells the story of your store. Include nice visuals, details about the shop opening event, and key information about the company. 

Also, offer a little treat while you tell your shop’s story; it could be a sample of your products, a drink, or some food. This can help improve the disposition of your audience to listen to you.

Attract customers to your event by offering special introductory offers. Consider giving out free samples of a product to everyone participating in the opening event, or offering an attractive discount valid only during the opening event. Imagine exclusive discounts, gifts for first-time customers, or special event packages.

To further incentivise event participation, create a sense of urgency by clearly communicating that the offer will be valid only for the day of the event.
Make sure to highlight these special offers on all your communication channels, especially on social media, but also on your website. Make them visible and attractive, to arouse the interest of your target audience.

To further increase the hype around your event, consider inviting special guests such as artists, the producers behind the products you sell, or experts on topics closely related to your brand identity. 

For example, if you are opening a store focused on organic and vegan products, you can invite an expert to talk about how to be environmentally conscious as a consumer. You can also invite a local DJ or musician to play music during the event.

This helps you attract a wider audience to your opening event and play as a differentiation factor from your competitors, promoting your event and enhancing your store’s appeal.

Food is a great way to attract participants and create a friendly and memorable experience at your opening event. You can offer a taste of your store products if you sell any grocery brand, or you can hire a local catering service to offer some appetisers or drinks. 

To energise your event, organise a fun challenge to encourage interaction and purchases. 

For example, you can offer a gift to those who take three fun pictures in your store and post them on Instagram, tagging your shop and location. 

Add some music to create some ambience and set the mood of the event. It can be live music or even a simple Spotify playlist. 

By offering food and drinks and making the event interactive, you create a welcoming and engaging environment that encourages participation and enhances the overall customer experience. This helps to foster a positive impression of your boutique and encourages attendees to become loyal customers.

Your opening event is an excellent opportunity to collect data on your potential customers. Set up a registration system to collect key information such as names and email addresses. 

You can add a registration form on your website or create an event page on providers like Eventbrite. 

Be transparent about how this information will be used, and reassure your customers that their data will remain confidential.

This data will be invaluable for your post-event communications. You’ll be able to personalise your messages, send targeted offers, and keep in contact with your customers.

By collecting participant data, you can build a database for future marketing efforts, ensuring you maintain engagement with your new customers and foster brand loyalty.

Even though the opening event will be one day only, the buzz it creates should last much longer.

To maximise the impact of the opening event, you can continue building hype even after the opening.

1. Share photos and videos on your social media channels for 10-15 days after the event. Tag the attendees when possible and encourage them to share their pictures and videos about the event, as well as commenting on their experience. 
2. Send a personalised thank you email to all the participants. Consider offering them an exclusive promo code for their next visit. It’s a great way to show your appreciation and encourage customers to return to your store.
3. Offer post-event special deals. For example, you could offer a special promotion for the first 15 days after the opening of your store.

Organising a successful opening event for your store requires careful planning and a comprehensive communication strategy. By implementing these 7 ideas, you’ll create buzz, attract the attention of your target audience and generate sales from day one.

Don’t forget to adapt these ideas to your context and brand identity. The aim is to create a coherent, memorable event that reflects your company’s values and personality.

A successful opening event is just the beginning of your entrepreneurial adventure. Continue to nurture the relationship with your customers by offering unique experiences, quality service and regular communication. Building customer loyalty right from the start will enable you to build a solid foundation for the future development of your business.