Launching for growth

Whether you are opening for the first time, adding a new product or moving to a new location, a launch is a chance to get attention. But a launch is only the start. Growth comes from what happens in the weeks after it.

Before the launch

1. Be ready to deliver. Have enough stock, staff and systems to serve the extra customers. A launch that runs out of stock in an hour creates disappointed customers, not loyal ones.
2. Warm up your audience. Tell existing customers, your WhatsApp contacts and community groups what is coming two to three weeks in advance. Share behind-the-scenes photos.
3. Give people a reason to come now. A launch-week offer, a free sample, or an event, such as a tasting, a demonstration or a music session.
4. Line up help. Ask friends, family and early customers to share your posts and bring one person each.

Launch day

• Make it easy to find you: signs, a pinned location, clear directions.
• Capture contacts. Ask every customer if they would like updates, and record their consent (see B5, lesson 6).
• Take photos and short videos, with permission, to use afterwards.
• Watch what sells and what customers ask about.

After the launch: the part most people skip

The weeks after a launch decide whether the business grows.

• Follow up with everyone who visited or enquired. Thank them, and invite them back.
• Ask for reviews on your Google Business Profile (see B6, lesson 4).
• Fix problems quickly. Read complaints as free advice.
• Make the second visit easy: a loyalty card, a reminder message, or a "bring a friend" offer.

Getting a first-time customer to come back a second time is usually cheaper than finding a new one, and repeat customers become your best marketers.

Grow from what works

Track where your new customers came from: WhatsApp, a poster, a referral, Google. After a month, put more effort into the two channels that worked and stop spending time on the ones that didn't.

A South African example

Mandla opened a kota and chips shop near a technical college in Bloemfontein. He gave free chips to the first 50 customers on launch day and collected WhatsApp numbers with permission. A week later, he messaged everyone a lunchtime special. A third of them came back, and many brought classmates. Within two months, most of his lunchtime trade came from repeat customers and their friends.