Open house (Big time expansion part 2)

[When.There.Isnt.Enough.]

Well, today was our open house. I seriously did not think I was going to make it. After being at the office every day and all night for the past week, I was a little nervous on what the turnout was going to be. I have had open houses that were great (50 people) and not so great (25).

There is a song that is kind of like my "pick me up song" when I am not feeling "good enough". I don't hear it very often, but when I do hear it, it is very appropriate timing. Today, as I got in my car to go to the office, I sat in my car before I turned it on, and I asked God to help me, because I didn't know how it was going to go today. I started the car, and guess what song was on! (This was #3 time my eyes welled up) It was like reassurance that everything was going to be ok.

As organized as I thought we were, and as many volunteers that we had, we still were not fully prepared. There is no real way to count, but we collectivly estimate there were 250 - 300 people that came to our celebration!

I was overwhelmed by the support, excitement and positive feedback from everyone. I am not easily brought to tears, but in the past few days, I have welled up with tears at least 5 times.

We sold many pre-paid packages and VIP memberships (today was our launch of our VIP Club), and introduced some other new services and staff. We had some glitches with our speakers ( timing ), a couple of bumps in the road with the free services ( timing ). All of these problems could have been solved if I could just figure out how to clone myself. 7 more of me would have been great!

The vendors did not make very much money...they had some sales, but nothing stellar. It was a free event for them, though. I was grateful they were there, as they gave the guests something else to browse through as they were waiting for their services. Most people stayed outside only to eat.

We did not have enough therapists providing services for long enough to accommodate everyone. (the event was only from 12-3) FYI - Free brow waxes were a huge hit! Chair massage is always a huge hit.

We booked several appointments, but I am really curious to see what happens in the next couple of weeks, not to mention the holiday gift certificate sales!

Thanks for your interest. I have learned so much from this board from reading other poster's experiences. I am hoping someone will gain something from me in return.


Yeah me! :

 

[I Like Turtles]

Could you elaborate on your VIP membership please?

What type of advertising did you do for this event?

Congrats on the huge turn out!!

 

[waia2000]

That is wonderful!!! Congratulations! I LOVE it that your song was on when you started your car this morning!!!

 

[Nikki Tesla]

what a great post! i'm feeding off of your excitement - in a month i'm making a very similar transition. we'll be moving to a much larger space - right next door - and having a wellness open house. i've been a little nervous about planning it and the turn out. i'm sure i won't be doing things on the scale that you have, but you really have made me feel better and less... nervous. i HAVE learned a lot from your posts too.

congratulations! i hope you slept well last night!

amanda

 

[Leuco]

VIP Club - We will have to raise a few of our prices in December, so to ofset that increase for some of our clients we are starting the VIP Club. They pay $40 for a year's membership. In return they maintain the same rate as before, and receive periodic discounts, upgrades and gifts (every 5 treatments) They will get a card and it will be punched each time they come in, along with a form they will initial each time they come in (incase they lose their card, we will have it on file) The card will serve more like a marketing tool...they keep it with them to show others. They will also be privy to new services before we offer them to anyone else...guinea pigs! They can then give us feedback on if they are keeper services, or not. The response has been great!!!! It establishes loyalty (they will want to keep coming to us to keep getting their benefits) and a sense of "I know something you don't" as far as the new services go.



The advertising...I didn't really pay for much advertising. My client that does event planning has a HUGE contact base, and over the course of the past two weeks sent out several hundred emails. She sent them out about 3 times to the same people. She also sent out press releases to 70 media contacts (public information, you just have to track it down.) She also sent them press releases 2-3 times. I can send you a copy if you PM me. We were in several papers, and listed on local calenders. We asked our clients to take and hand out fliers, and they did. We sent 1000 paper newsletters to our exsisting client base, and email newsletter to our email contacts. We posted it on our website. We mentioned it to every person we came in contact with, and asked them to tell others. We asked every vendor to tell their friends to come out and support them.

My goal was to get our name out to as many people as possible, because I needed to hit the ground running with this expansion.

I could not have done it without the event planner. She put many, many hours into it. more than my life could allow! My husband works for Sysco (a food distribution company) so we were able to get all of the food at cost...that saved us a lot of money. We had a TON of food for about $180.

I could go on for days about it...

Here are the lyrics to the song I was telling you about...

http://www.musicsonglyrics.com/J/Jimmy Eat World/Jimmy Eat World - The Middle lyrics.htm

 

[Pompal 09.]

wow! this was a really successful and well-thought out event! i'm so impressed! and i love the song - it does very much for me too!

 

[The Hand That Feeds]

That is a great song!

 

[farnoush]

livingwell,

Something I learned from the event planner...ask everyone to help/donate. Don't even flinch if they say no, just say thanks for your time, and move on. Through her inquiries we received (free): litter bags from Waste Mangement (these became our "goody bas"), stress balls in the shape of the world from the recycling commitee, free admission to Mote Marine (a local aquarium/research lab), free appitizer cards from Applebee's, coloring pages and crayons (for the kids) from the environmental/ agricultural societies, discounts from the local health food store, coolie cups and pens from a bank, and there is more, but I can not remember it all. Remember, this was all promotion for their business as well!

As for the vendors, we had bee keepers, the bat society, discovery toys and a bounce house for the kids, a mortgage company, a woodcarver, two purse ladies, a jewlery lady, candles, a chiropractor (who may now join our team because of the response he saw) kids finger printing, and a fire truck for the kids to climb on.

I have not tallied up the receipts yet (I'm a lttle scared) but I imagine this open house cost me somewhere around $2500. I will know better tomorrow when I have the chance to count it all up.

Our sales were $1300+ (in packages and vip plans), and the amount of exposure we received was priceless.

I t was great to hear people say "I never knew you were here!" because we have built our business by word of mouth, and not too much actual advertising. This event brought a lot of awareness to many people, especially since a large spa just closed down a few months ago...their clients are looking for another place to go.

In regards to that spa, a client said to me "You are just like "blah blah" (spa name) now, except smaller, more affordable, and...less bankrupt!"

Uh, thanks?

 

[Jenx D]

hey, thanks for the specifics! i can't wait to get started with mine. the people in the suite next door move out by thanksgiving, and then the lanlord has to plumb for a washer/dryer (WOO HOO!!!) and a shower. once i know the date i can move in i will not only be able to plan the party but also order the float tank. i want the party about a week after the tank is supposed to arrive to give us plenty of time. and i hope this all happens far enough before christmas that i can get some of those sales!

anyway, your specifics will be huge help for us. thanks a million!
a

 

[caldwell]

Congrats on the successful open house. Great ideas too - thanks for sharing!