Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2012 | Page 30

Grow Market Lead

CMO
roundtable:
“How do you stage a successful
new store grand opening,
soup to nuts?”
David Buckley
Chief Marketing Officer
Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores

The first step to a
successful franchisee
grand opening is
disciplined advance
planning. Our
planning begins with
a review of our
cadence for chain-wide promotional
offers to select a date where we will have
the most attractive offers in the
marketplace. A successful grand opening
is built upon a solid promotional offer.
Once we have selected a date for our
grand opening, we will execute multiple
grand openings on the same date to
drive operational efficiencies. This
allows us to increase the effectiveness
of our budgeted investment for the
event. With advance planning we are
also able to leverage our existing media,
versioning the advertising to support
grand opening markets.
With the national support media
and promotions finalized, focus turns
to building local awareness and hype.
Franchisees are provided with a complete grand opening signing package
that includes interior signing, exterior
banners, and adversails. To prepare locally for the event, the franchisee plays
an important role in engaging with the
community. As the grand opening may
be the franchisee’s first retail store in
our business, F