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Permalink Reply by Heath Henley on April 3, 2009 at 2:21pm

I was discussing this with a local shop recently, they were concerned about being overwhelmed (a good a bad thing) with orders and keeping people waiting too long for drinks. We thought offering small cups for free self-serve drip with samples of select baked goods would reduce pressure on the bar/register.

Also make sure you have plenty of product- don't want to run out of things (I've heard of that happening too) :)

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Permalink Reply by Mike Spence on April 3, 2009 at 2:50pm

Heath has a good suggestion on product. I have two or three customers in the last year that opened stores and completely ran out of coffee during the grand opening! In order to bring people to the store - I have had customers bring in the local fire department, the mayor, combine the opening with a local fundraising or get a local radio station to broadcast from the location. Also, if you use an electronic gift card, do everything you can to get them in the habit of buying them upfront - they get in the habit and you lock in the money.

Congrats on making it this far and definitely let us know how the grand opening goes!

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Permalink Reply by Rob on April 5, 2009 at 10:34am

Thanks Mike,
We're pretty pumped about how things have gone so far and are really looking forward to a killer grand opening. We'll be chatting with our roaster about having enough product on hand so we don't run out (thanks to you and Heath for mentioning that)! Any thoughts on give aways like tshirts etc with our logo on? I don't want to waste a limited budget on advertising ideas that are useless but I also want to generate and maintain the buzz that is happening through word of mouth lately.

Thanks again!

Mike Spence said:

Heath has a good suggestion on product. I have two or three customers in the last year that opened stores and completely ran out of coffee during the grand opening! In order to bring people to the store - I have had customers bring in the local fire department, the mayor, combine the opening with a local fundraising or get a local radio station to broadcast from the location. Also, if you use an electronic gift card, do everything you can to get them in the habit of buying them upfront - they get in the habit and you lock in the money.

Congrats on making it this far and definitely let us know how the grand opening goes!

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Permalink Reply by James Doyle on April 5, 2009 at 10:46am

Do cheap doubles all day. It's a great way to show your shop is about quality and will win you many regular espresso drinkers.

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Permalink Reply by Bryan Wray on April 5, 2009 at 1:32pm

James Doyle said:

Do cheap doubles all day. It's a great way to show your shop is about quality and will win you many regular espresso drinkers.

We do this sale like once every other month (really cheap, at least half off) and it always gets a fantastic response. People that say things like, "Well I normally hate espresso, but I'll try it" after we mention how our espresso isn't like the sbux crap they have gotten in the past. It normally increases our small drink sales by 10-12 drinks a day after the sale is over. Slowly but surely we're working on them there Michiganders... haha.

Rob, a couple suggestions:
-Businesses: Let business know that you will have a bowl where they can drop off their business cards. Draw out a name every hour or so and get in touch with that business about how many employees they have. Get a "ticket" made for each employee for a free drink of some sort on a specific day (or if it's some 1,500+ employee company, then maybe a discount). When that day rolls around let your employees know what's going on, perhaps staff up for the day in anticipation of more business.
-Students: 10% off with valid student ID is always a great selling point.

Don't know what kind of crowd you are going after, but maybe get in touch with some local bands/DJs. We partnered up with the local college radio station about getting some of their DJs in on certain nights and it has brought in a ton of student business.

Contact your local paper about doing a feature article. Good selling points to have them do an article is to explain how what you are doing is way different than what other people are doing and how you are bringing a unique idea to the forefront.

Just a couple quick ideas.

-bry

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Permalink Reply by Bwynn on April 5, 2009 at 7:55pm

Dont forget to join your Chamber of Commerce. They will in our town do a ribbon cutting and newspaper time for it. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Mike Spence on April 6, 2009 at 9:49am

This is a great idea as well - Also, make sure you contact your local newspaper and any other community papers.

Bwynn said:

Dont forget to join your Chamber of Commerce. They will in our town do a ribbon cutting and newspaper time for it. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by keith Bronson on April 10, 2009 at 11:21am

If you have not purchased any banners, posters or signs to help you advertise your Grand Opening we invite you to check out what we have to offer at http://www.bannersandsigns.biz/grand_opening_Ideas.html . All our price are very low and which might help a start up company get off the ground with out over paying for temporary signage.

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Permalink Reply by Kevin Kerkhof on April 14, 2009 at 8:01pm

Get one of those big inflatable gorillas from a car dealership.

kidding...well, maybe =) Our shop is on the corner of a major intersection and I can picture in my head having to drive a car under something like that on a one way street would be hilarious and attention getting, however my counterparts would think it's tacky (yet still funny)

Behold the power of free samples & tastings, etc. Ever go to Whole Foods? Sample out some goodies that will leave a lasting impression, or something they are going to want to come back for and order the next time.

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