So you received your Affiliation approval from CFHQ, bought your equipment, finished the gym layout, and put in a ton of hours making it just right!
Time to celebrate with a Grand Opening! To get your gym flowing with people, you need to host a well planned grand opening. It can be a small event in which you invite your friends, neighbors, and business contacts. This could also be a huge event in which you invite the whole town!
Set a budget
Make a detailed list of all Grand Opening expenses and make sure it fits into your budget. Once you consider invitations, food, beverages, giveaways, you will know whether you can pull off your dream Grand Opening…. or need to scale it down a bit. Whatever the constraints your grand opening event budget will allow, work in as many event extras (live music, food, etc) as you can to make your grand opening feel that much more exciting.
Media Time
Invites and fliers take time to print and send out. Allow at least 2-3 months for this. You want as many people to attend as possible, so give them all plenty of notice. Blast it all over Social Media! Make an event on your FaceBook business page just for your Grand Opening, invite all your Facebook “friends”, post it on IG, Twitter, your website, etc.
*It is normal to host your Grand Opening a couple of months after you open the doors. This will help you work out schedule kinks, coaching issues, and make sure everything is smooth sailing.
Know who you are trying to reach
Your gym’s Grand Opening needs to target not only clients but the local community and media as well. It is your first big chance to begin building relationships within your community. Letting the media know you’re the new business in town is an excellent way to generate free publicity—both before and after your grand opening. The day of the event put up balloons, streamers, host workouts outside….anyone who drives by should see this party and want to stop in!
Make your event compatible with your business
You may want to give out free samples of products you carry, free On Ramp, or any gym related freebies. Have scheduled demo’s, workouts for them to try, challenges, nutrition lectures, etc. Show off your gym!
Think of the Grand Opening as a box Theme Party… you want to attract people. Host challenges and raffles with prizes. This not only brings people out (everyone wants to win something), but also gives them a taste of your awesome gym and encourages them to want more!
Have Reasonable Expectations
While your Grand Opening gets your business off to a good start, you will need to set up ongoing marketing strategies and considered awesome ideas like The Founders Club.
This post was written by Lindsey Marcelli, co-owner of CrossFit Eminence with her husband Kris.