Back to: Proven New Store Openings That WOW

Overview & Key Stages

Great, now that you understand the big picture, let’s look at the key stages of opening a new store.

  • Pre-Opening,
  • Grand Opening, and
  • Post-Opening

Pre-Opening Activities

The activities to do prior to being open for business. These are ways to connect with your neighborhood, and planning activities to prepare for your Grand Opening.

Grand Opening Activities

The Grand Opening Event and related activities. We recommend hosting a Friends & Family Event as a rehearsal for your employees. The main Grand Opening event is where you invite your customers, neighbors, city leaders, celebrities, and your charity partner for an official ribbon cutting and event.

Post-Opening Activities

To maintain the momentum of your opening, we recommend events that go beyond a single opening day or event.

In-Store / Out-of-Store

For each key strategy, we break your marketing activities into in-store and out-of-store activities.

  • In-store activities are things that take place at or within your new location. For example: Now Open banner or In-Store Signage.
  • Out-of-store activities are things that take place away from your store. For example: newspaper ad, sampling (or demonstrations) in a park.

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The most successful store openings are more than a Grand Opening event, they are a combination of activities you do before you open (to build awareness), the grand opening (to create excitement), and after you open (to build momentum).