Your salon’s grand opening is a landmark occasion in your entrepreneurial career. It’s your most important opportunity to make waves in your community. On the first day of business, your first customers will set the standard for all future salon service. Gathering support from the community near your salon will provide you with regular business during the difficult first months. Plan far ahead in time for opening day with these tips for a successful salon grand opening. A memorable opening event can give you the extra impact your salon needs.
Promote Your Business
The first step to any small business’s grand opening is an effective promotion campaign. People need to know the event is happening in advance, especially for a salon’s grand opening. Advertise on social media, the newspaper, local news websites, signs—any form of media you can get people to look at. Don’t wait until the last minute to promote your event!
Incentives
Sometimes potential customers need an extra push to get them to attend a salon’s grand opening. This extra push generally comes in the form of gifts, raffles, or supporter bonuses. One of the most impactful tips for a successful salon grand opening is to incentivize guests with these methods. When advertising your business’s opening day event, be sure to entice people with free stuff. However, don’t spend so much on incentives for customers or you go into the negatives. You may need to limit any freebies to the first 20 guests or less depending on your opening day budget.
If you have a wide web of supporters that have donated to you before opening day, consider exclusive rewards to make them feel special. Exclusive promotions may incentivize new supporters to sign up for the program or donate.
Event Planning
A grand opening is an event, above all. It’s a cause to celebrate and socialize—when safe, of course. When planning the grand opening, ready an itinerary and cater tasty food for your guests. If you’re planning for your grand opening to occur during the pandemic, though, hosting an event may not be possible. You’ll still need to provide special treatment for your guests and make it an exciting day, even if your guests can’t mingle in the reception room.
Prepare the Salon
You’ve been anticipating your grand opening for an excruciatingly long time now, but before you open those doors, you must run through a checklist of salon maintenance to make sure everything goes smoothly. Your salon needs to focus on customer satisfaction from day one or you could build a bad reputation right off the bat through online reviews or word of mouth. Remember, after every satisfied customer you must clean and sanitize—or risk both your and your guests’ health. Equipment mishaps or malfunctions can happen at any time, and it’s essential you’re prepared for the worst.
