You’ve decided to pursue your dream of opening a salon. Congratulations!
Before your first day serving clients, you invest a lot in your business. The average cost to open a new salon ranges from $120,000 to $600,000. Not to mention the early mornings and late nights you spent doing everything from drafting business plans to hanging mirrors and shelving.
Now it’s time for the big unveiling. You’ll need some salon grand opening ideas to make sure it’s a huge hit.
A thoughtful opening plan can help you create buzz, attract attention, and build early momentum for your new salon. These 18 salon grand opening ideas will make sure everyone knows your shop is a cut above the rest.
18 salon grand opening ideas
Your passion for quality coifs and unparalleled updos is obvious. Make sure everyone knows what to expect from your salon from the first day with these salon grand opening ideas.
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1. Tease your opening on social
Anticipation is a powerful feeling to evoke leading up to your salon’s grand opening.
If you’ve ever seen a line of shoppers wrapped around the block, waiting to buy the newest Apple product or Nike sneakers, you know the power of building excitement ahead of a big launch.
You can create similar sentiments around your salon opening. Start teasing your grand opening in social media posts, but don’t give away all the surprises! Leave some details secret. That way, if people want to see what your opening is all about, they’ll just have to attend to find out.
2. Invite your family and friends
Now is the time to call on your squad to support you. Launching a business is a big deal; those who care about you will be more than happy to attend your grand opening events.
The secret to maximizing turnout is sending personal invitations. The mass Facebook invite or social blasts are fine for getting the word out to strangers and acquaintances. But for those you know personally, make an effort to send individual notes. People are much more excited to attend when they feel you sincerely want them to be there.
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3. Do something special for VIPs
People go to the salon to be pampered and cared for. You can start setting that tone with some special VIP treatment as part of your grand opening festivities.
Consider creating a special event just for your VIPs like family, friends, past clients, or local influencers. Some VIP event ideas include:
- A behind-the-scenes tour of your new salon space.
- A champagne toast or cocktail hour before your other guests arrive.
- A free hair or beauty consultation ahead of your grand opening.
Offering special extras for VIPs helps build loyalty early with these future clients, and if they share about it on social media, that generates additional buzz around your opening.
4. Create social-worthy moments
Speaking of social media, it’s a wise idea to design your salon’s grand opening event with visuals and activities meant to go viral.
We all know what makes for a shareable social post: cohesive style, beautiful aesthetics, and a fun and exciting vibe. You can create a shareable moment by:
- Hosting a ribbon cutting in front of your new salon.
- Decorating your salon with festive elements (balloons, streamers, floral arrangements).
- Renting a photo booth or creating a “selfie station” for your opening party.
An eye-catching grand opening will encourage your guests to take out their phones and start snapping and posting. The content they create and share on social media will provide you with weeks of organic content as your guests share it (and you re-share it!).
5. Offer a special discount for opening weekend
It may feel counterintuitive to cut your prices on your first days in business, but offering a discount for the big day is one of the best salon grand opening ideas because it’ll draw new people in who may have otherwise passed.
Identifying creative ways to encourage prospective clients to try your salon is crucial, especially in a service business that requires a high degree of trust. Anyone who’s ever been burned by a bad haircut, painful wax job, or chipped manicure understands why many are averse to trying a new salon.
By offering a special discount, you incentivize people to give your salon a chance—even if they really love their current provider.
6. Give some free advice
If you are hesitant to discount your paid service right away, consider offering a free teaser during your salon’s grand opening.
Advertising free consultations or demos as part of your opening festivities can again help attract prospective clients. When you share some of your expertise, you can begin to build trust.
Once you’ve gotten your foot in the door with a prospective new client, you can keep in touch post-grand opening and continue to nurture that lead until they’re ready to become a customer.
7. Send people off with a gift
By offering your grand opening attendees a thoughtful gift, you stand to create positive associations with your brand from day one.
The key word there is thoughtful. We’ve all gotten kind-of-useless swag from brands in the past (who needs another logo pen?), and chances are, it’s made absolutely zero impression on you.
If you’re going to spend the money to buy gifts, make them count. Think about what your new clients might actually like, then deliver on it! Some ideas to get you started:
- A branded item that’s related to your business, like a hairbrush or hand mirror, with your salon logo.
- A goodie bag with sample-sized bottles of some of your favorite hair care products, nail care items, or other beauty tools.
- Mini desserts (cupcakes or chocolates) with your salon logo printed on them.
8. Provide a prize to the first clients
If you don’t want to go the goodie bag route, you might consider investing a bit more in a nicer, limited-quantity prize or giveaway. This could be a physical gift, or it could be a certificate for a future service at your salon.
You could limit it to the first 25 clients through the door or choose to give gifts at random intervals throughout the grand opening weekend (“Every 20th customer gets a prize.”)
9. Run a giveaway or sweepstakes
If you’d like to expand the giveaways beyond those who make it into your salon during your grand opening, you might run an online giveaway or sweepstakes.
The benefit of this approach is that it allows more people to participate. And if the prize you select is a free service at your salon, you also get to bring new clients through the door in the future.
10. Throw a party
You’ve been hard at work preparing your new salon. Why not throw a party to celebrate your tremendous accomplishment?
A grand opening party is more than simply a celebration. It’s also a marketing opportunity. Your party doesn’t need to be anything revolutionary; we all know what makes a good event! Serve up some bubbly, provide finger foods, turn on a great playlist, and let friends, family, and prospective clients stop by to see your beautiful new space.
Combine this tactic with several others mentioned above (have a ribbon-cutting photo-op before you let guests in, for example) to get even more out of your party.
11. Pick a theme for your grand opening event
If you want to make your grand opening a little more memorable, consider going with a theme. You can get creative with the concept. You could call it a bachelorette party weekend and hand out sashes and tiaras as people enter. Or perhaps you design it as a girl’s spa day, light aromatherapy candles, and serve wellness-focused snacks and drinks.
Regardless of how you approach your theme, remember to infuse it into all elements of your grand opening. When you do so, you create a more cohesive event and make it something guests will continue to talk about afterward.
12. Create unique party games
This is another opportunity to get creative, lean into your event theme, and make more ‘gram-worthy moments at your party.
How can you put a salon-friendly twist on classic party games? Maybe you create a “pin the hair extension on the model” station or run a March Madness-style bracket that pits different hairstyles against each other (Mohawk v. mullet? Shag v. asymmetrical bob?).
13. Bring in live entertainment
Another way to level up your salon’s grand opening is to bring in some live entertainment.
If you’re hosting a party, you could hire a beloved local band or DJ to play some tunes. Or, if you want to create a family-friendly vibe, you might hire a face painter for the kids so they have something to do while mom gets a consultation about her next cut and color.
14. Pair up with another local business
Partnering with another neighborhood business is a decision that can benefit both of your brands.
You get an attendance and promotional boost for your salon as your partner tells their customers about your grand opening and invites them to stop by. Likewise, your partner meets the people already in your network and builds new connections with them.
There are no limits on who you can partner with. Asking the day spa down the street to set up a back rub station certainly leans into the pampering vibes at your grand opening. But you can just as easily tap a local restaurant or brewery to provide food or drinks for your party.
15. Highlight what makes your salon unique
When you’re the new salon in town, sometimes you have to brag about yourself a little. Your grand opening is perfect for spreading the word about what makes your business special.
Do you have an area of expertise? Are you a certified master colorist? Do you offer special nail treatments people won’t find at other local salons? Does your team specialize in bridal party hair? Whatever skills, talents, or offerings you have, let the people know!
16. Get your printed collateral together
In this digital age, sometimes it’s nice to give people beautifully printed material to remember you by. This is especially true when you’re launching a new business. Provide visitors at your grand opening with a physical reminder that your salon is here. It’ll encourage them to return at a future date.
You might create several types of printed collateral, including business cards, postcards, coupon cards, and service and pricing guides. No matter what you choose to print, consider adding a QR code to your design so you can direct people to your online booking platform.
17. Offer a promo code for their next visit
It’s exciting when a new client stops in for their first service during your grand opening. Attracting new business takes a lot of hard work. An oft-quoted statistic from Harvard Business Review says it’s five to 25 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to retain an existing one.
Once someone’s in your salon chair, you’ve cleared that essential first hurdle. Consider handing these new customers a special discount code or coupon to show appreciation and encourage their next visit.
18. Create a loyalty program
Looking for another way to incentivize return visits? Announce a loyalty program at your grand opening event. Whether you create a punch card or a package deal for recurring services, loyalty programs can help your new clients establish a habit of coming to your salon.
Make your salon grand opening a cut above the rest
Creating a cohesive salon grand opening plan helps your business gain momentum from day one. Use these ideas to create anticipation, host a stellar grand opening event, and stay top-of-mind with your new connections.
- Tease your opening on social
- Invite your family and friends
- Do something special for VIPs
- Create social-worthy moments
- Offer a special discount on opening weekend
- Give some free advice
- Send people off with a gift
- Provide a prize to the first X clients
- Run a giveaway or sweepstakes
- Throw a party
- Pick a theme for your grand opening event
- Create unique party games
- Bring in live entertainment
- Pair up with another local business
- Highlight what makes your salon unique
- Get your printed collateral together
- Offer a promo code for their next visit
- Create a loyalty program
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