“Tis the season” (to start thinking about the next season.) We all know the cycle. This is particularly true for franchise brands planning their grand opening strategy for 2025. You have your goal for the year and now are looking at how to support openings to ensure success. It’s not just how to scale and manage events consistently (and efficiently)—it’s also how to prevent the most dreaded phrase in franchise development.
It is referred to by many names. The infamous Flash and Fade—or the Splash and Slide. It is also known as the Bang and Splat. All these phrases refer to the same thing: a strong opening followed by a decline in traffic over the next 30, 60, or 90 days below where it needs to be.
The good news? It’s avoidable. Certainly, it will be hard to sustain the jolt in sales and traffic from a well-executed opening, but there are ways to ensure you are not creating a “one-and-done” experience.
Build community—and relationships
We all know the importance of becoming part of the local community. Teachers, police, healthcare workers, sports teams, parent groups—there are multiple opportunities near your location. The key is to go further. Look for complementary small businesses or brands in the area that have similar customers. If you sell healthy drinks, ask the local yoga studio or gym if they would be interested in a cross-promo handing out each other’s flyers. The key is building a share of like-minded customers in a local area.
Don’t let your bounce backs collect dust
We all use them for our openings, but don’t just put a stack on the counter. Make sure they get passed out. I know that’s hard with so much going on at an opening. Assign someone, train the staff, or hire a brand ambassador for the day . Also, don’t stop at just handing them out at the opening. Give a stack of them to the local school, hospital, fire station, office, apartment building, or any business nearby.
Offer (local) brand swag
Everyone loves free stuff. Make it count. Your swag should be unique, useful—and promote the SPECIFIC location. It should be localized depending on the area, but as importantly, remind people of the location AND the brand, not just the brand.
Think longer-term with your spend
Too often, our grand opening budget ends after the event. Plan the opening over 30, 60, or 90 days. Don’t spend every dollar over one or two days. Make sure you carve out some of it to drive traffic and keep momentum. There are countless ways to do this at a low cost. (Hint: ask us.)
Sample in new ways
Another no-brainer, right? Yes and no. Sampling on site is great, but have you thought about sampling at the local high school game? How about doing a tasting in the lobby of the big apartment building right down the road? Sometimes, the best way to drive traffic to the store is to do it somewhere else.
Engage the franchisee
Who knows the area better than the franchisee? Get them involved. They have the connections, they know the community, and they WANT to help in ways they can add value. Be organized and focused with their tasks and they will make it happen.
Use brand ambassadors
Yes, it adds cost, but passionate brand ambassadors will ensure your customers are engaged. They’ll hand out your bounce backs, answer questions, and manage your activities while your team focuses on a great customer experience in your store. You can create standards and training materials to ensure they reflect your brand consistently across the country.
Partner with an expert
OK, it seems like a shameless plug but it’s true. Add a partner that specializes in planning and executing—with a vendor network to keep your costs down and your brand on-point anywhere and everywhere. If you are in field marketing, they become your easy button so you can focus on the million other things you have to do.
A successful grand opening happens when the objective is to bring people back, not simply bring them in. Make that your objective and you are giving the new location a fast start that it can sustain.