Opening promotion: How to launch a new business

Promotion is crucial for any new business and involves an investment of time and resources that brings benefits from day one.

It is an active process that needs careful planning to obtain the best results.

The strategies for opening promotions are practically infinite. Its objective is to publicize a product or service, according to a list of priorities that may include:  

• Increasing brand awareness.
• Reaching potential customers 
• Providing adequate information.
• Increasing customer traffic.
• Generating sales and profits.

Pre-launch marketing

Pre-launch marketing is marketing prior to the start-up of a business. Its objective is to create brand awareness and generate consumer interest. 

It also allows you to  start conversations with potential customers, collect feedback and generate engagement.

To plan the opening promotion of a business, you must take into account: 

• The customer profile you want to reach (age, gender, interests, purchasing power, geographic location, etc.). 
• The type of products or services you offer. 
• The business environment of your business (location, competition, etc.).
• How customers can acquire your products or services (sales channels).

The steps you should follow to create a winning pre-launch marketing campaign are: 

1. Analyze your competition.  In other words, research your target audience.  Find out where to get information so you can choose the most interesting promotion channels.
2. Create a social media follower base.  Ideally, you should increase your presence in social media progressively and through interesting threads. That way, you'll generate expectations about your new company, product or service. 
3. Prepare content and promotions.  The pre-opening strategy for a business includes planning what kind of content or promotions you are going to run, from press releases to discounts, VIP cards, contests, etc.  
4. Develop an email marketing campaign. This type of initiative makes it possible to generate an initial database. These first contacts are relevant because they can become prescribers who will recommend your brand or who will write positive reviews about it.
5. Create a budget. It is essential that you know how much to invest in the opening promotion of your business. The budget may vary depending on the type of campaign, the medium, the target audience, etc.

Launch Strategy

Promotions

Opening promotions attract new customers. Some of the alternatives you can consider are: 

• Price promotions.
• Quantity promotions.
• Promotions for special dates.
• Promotions by type of payment.
• Promotions with additional gifts.
• Promotions for coupons, points and discount cards.
• Cross-selling promotions.

Online and offline visibility

Visibility is important when starting up any business. 

Depending on your audience and your competition, you’ll be able to choose the best online and offline media and channels to promote your company. 

Some examples are: 

• Billboards.
• Presence in blogs. 
• Advertising in traditional media, such as radio stations, newspapers, specialized magazines or local television stations.
• Social Media
• Printed publicity (mass mailing, flyers, etc) 
• E-mail marketing.  
  
  

Launch party

Organizing a housewarming party is a classic way to promote the opening of a business. 

It's a good time to get to know your potential customers better, with whom you can talk in person and ask for suggestions or doubts. 

It's essential that the party is related to what you offer, and that it is congruent with your philosophy. If, for example, you are opening a fitness center, don't serve fast food. It may be a better option to choose healthy catering and healthy products. 

At the opening you should present your products or services, and there should be some incentive to attend (samples, gifts, raffles, discounts, a very exclusive event, etc.). 

Attractiveness of your physical store

An attractive local or physical store is always a plus: remember that a well-kept image is an important attraction in an opening promotion. 

You can also take advantage of special dates to place thematic and eye-catching decorations (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine's Day, etc.) around your new business.

Post-launch advice

From Jeff we advise our entrepreneurs on how to promote the opening of a business, and we give them the best tools to achieve it. 

We help you analyze your competition, choose the best communication channels and select ideas that are interesting to you. 

We also facilitate your presence on social media (Facebook and Instagram) and offline media (business cards, brochures, etc.)

For example, in the case of Fit Jeff, opening promotions include more affordable subscription plans and promotional classes for customers. Also an email base for emailing campaigns and for your partners to activate fitness center notifications via WhatsApp. 

After the launch, we advise our entrepreneurs and give them useful tips to develop their own promotional strategies. The ultimate goal is to help them make a positive impact on their customers and improve their bottom line. 

 If you are about to open your business, start organizing your opening strategy in good time.  At Jeff, we also help all our partners with this important step. If you have any questions just write to us, and we'll answer them!