Are you planning a pop-up shop event?
A pop-up shop event is an incredible opportunity for any businesses to showcase their products or services. Even in a small period of time, a pop-up shop event will bring attention to your business and create an exciting buzz.
Today, marketing professionals spend close to 600 billion dollars on brand activations. Of these activations, pop-up shops have become some of the most popular means.
Even still, knowing exactly how to do a pop-up shop event from start to finish isn't always a straightforward task. If you're wondering how to do a pop-up shop the right way, you've come to the right place. We're showcasing our twelve best tips on how to create the best pop-up shop possible.
After reading this helpful guide, you can look forward to planning your event with the utmost fun and confidence.
1. Create a Budget
First and foremost, you're going to want to begin by determining a realistic budget.
This should be the budget for the venue itself as well as all of the necessary elements of the operation. These are costs such as employees, utilities, products, advertising, and merchandise.
Remember, a short-term rental is often going to come at a premium as compared to standard, long-term rental. In determining your budget, you're going to want to take this fact into consideration.
But it isn't all bad news when it comes to the budget. In fact, pop-up shops are reported to cost up to 80 percent less to launch compared to a full-time store. So, if the venue itself is a little on the pricer end, this doesn't have to feel like the end of the world.
2. Find the Right Venue
Now that you've established your budget, it's time to finalize the perfect venue to host your pop-up shop event.
To find the perfect event space, you're going to have to take into consideration a number of factors. For example:
- Budget - how much are you willing to spend on the venue itself?
- Capacity - how many people do you plan to host?
- Physical space - what sort of space does your event require?
- Systems - does your event require a sound system or a stage?
- Location - what type of location best suits your event?
- Ambiance - what is your desired overall aesthetic?
- Parking and transit - do you need somewhere that can host a number of cars or is on the transit line?
In pre-determining the answers to these questions, you're going to be better equipped to find a suitable venue.
3. Confirm Venue Inclusions
Next, it's time to determine what's included in the venue that you've selected.
For example, is all of the existing furniture and decor included in the venue or are you expected to bring your own? Also, are all of the systems included or do you need to install some for your own use?
It's also helpful to know what sort of utilities are included in your rental period. For example, does the cost of the venue include all utilities such as heat, hydro, water, and the internet? Or, are you expected to pay for your usage in addition to the cost of the venue?
It's essential to know these factors in advance and to budget for them ahead of time. The last thing you want is to be surprised with an added cost or expense at the finale of your event.
4. Determine Your Payment System
Most pop-up shop events are going to require some form of payment system.
After all, isn't the purpose of most pop-up shops to generate at least some income? If you're interested in turning a profit, it's essential to understand how your payment system is going to work.
In reality, not all venues for rent will include a payment system. Even if they do, it can be complicated in understanding how exactly that system works. Before signing on the dotted line, be sure to inquire about that venue's payment system.
For example, are you able to use their payment system or do you have to supply your own? If you need to supply your own, you're going to have to locate a portable credit machine. Or, you're going to have to plan to operate on a cash-only basis.
5. Attain the Necessary Permits and Licenses
Before you open your pop-up shop event to that public, it's crucial to ensure that you have all the right permits and licenses in place.
If you're caught without the necessary permits, you can bet that your pop-up shop event will be shut down pretty quickly. It's also likely that your business will face a number of fines.
If you plan to serve alcohol at your event, you'll likely require a permit to do so. Some venues might even require you to hire security in the event that alcohol is going to be present.
Either way, do your research beforehand to determine exactly what permits you're venue and event will require. In this type of scenario, it's always better to be safe than to be sorry.
6. Get Insurance
Some venues and some businesses are going to require you to have insurance throughout your rental period.
Even if insurance isn't entirely required, it's always a good idea. For a small added cost, you can look forward to having peace of mind in the event that something unfavorable happens.
This is going to help protect you if something happens to the venue or if anyone gets hurt within the space.
7. Hire Your Staff
Now that you have your venue picked out and the proper permits and insurance, it's officially time to hire your employees!
If you have pre-existing employees, you're likely going to choose a handful to work at this pop-up shop event. In the event that you don't yet have employees, it's time to start fresh. You can even look into hiring temporary employees or those looking for short-term hire.
In today's marketplace, more than 35 percent of U.S. employees consider themselves to be "gig" specific employees. As compared to even a half-decade ago, a growing number of people are open to short-term employment opportunities. This is an employment pattern that happens to work incredibly well for pop-up shop events!
Before hiring your staff, ensure that the venue doesn't have a minimum or a maximum number of employees required for the space. While this isn't always the case, some venues do have this type of rule in place.
8. Create Branded Material
Before you begin advertising your event, you're going to want to start by creating branded materials.
After all, you want to provide people with something physical to remember your pop-up shop event. This could be anything from a flyer and a postcard to free merchandise such as branded apparel or branded treats.
The goal is to familiarize the public with your brand and get them excited about your pending pop-up shop event. With your branded materials, encourage the public to "like" your social media pages and connect with your business online.
You can also create branded window signs to advertise in your venue before the pop-up shop event. This is a simple yet effective means of creating a sense of excitement and anticipation for your event.
9. Advertise Your Event Locally
It's officially time to start promoting your event to your neighbors!
You can begin by handing out flyers outside of your soon-to-be-venue. To take it one step further, you can hand out free branded merchandise to get local shoppers and businesses excited.
You can also work with local businesses and encourage them to market your event as well. Make a point in dropping by surrounding businesses and introducing yourself and your pop-up shop event. You can even leave them with branded materials that they can offer to their own customers.
Remember, local businesses are almost always happy to promote local events. This helps to bring more people to the local area and encourage more people to visit their own business. At the end of the day, this type of event is typically a win-win for local businesses.
10. Create a Facebook Event and Advertise Online
It's safe to say that we live in an online world.
In general, this is where we get the bulk of our information, communicate with friends and family and conduct our spending and business. Let's consider that the average adult consumes five times more information every single day than we would have fifty years ago.
In understanding this fact, we can register firsthand just how important it is to advertise online. This is where you'll reach consumers that are outside of your immediate network.
In order to advertise your event online, you're going to want to create a Facebook event page. This page will include venue location, time and what to expect from the event. Here, visitors can click "attending" and invite friends and family to digitally join the event as well.
Once you have created your event page, you can begin to advertise this page online. Fortunately, Facebook makes it incredibly simple to create aesthetically pleasing online advertisements. In a matter of minutes, you will be able to create an eye-catching advertisement, choose your target audience and turn your advertisement on and off.
11. Invite Your Friends and Family
In hopes of creating a full house, you're going to want to extend the invite to anyone and everyone you know. This includes strangers on the internet that saw your advertisement as well as neighbors that are local to your event venue.
At the same time, you also want your pop-up shop event to feel like a warm and comfortable space for strangers to join. In order to help achieve this, you're going to want your friends and family present at your pop-up shop event. This helps to create a warm and friendly environment for all.
In reality, having familiar faces that you're comfortable around will make the event even more successful. This will allow you to feel more relaxed, comfortable and confident in your event altogether.
12. Offer Incentives to Visitors on Opening Day
Let's be honest, nothing gets the public more excited than free stuff, contests, and friendly incentives.
A chance to win a $100 gift certificate? It's time to brace for the crowds!
If you're really looking to appeal to a mass number of folks, why not offer something of value to visitors in return? Showing your gratitude to your visitors is a great way to encourage them to engage with your business in the future.
Of course, incentives are going to entice more customers to visit your pop-up shop in the first place. But it's also going to create a more elevated sense of excitement and enthusiasm at your pop-up shop event altogether.
How to Do a Pop-Up Shop
In today's marketplace, hosting a pop-up shop event is a great way to generate a buzz for your business.
In doing so, you're creating the opportunity to interact with your customers and spread the word about your business. It's also sure to be a fun and exciting event for all parties involved!
Still, pop-up shops are a relatively new concept and not all business owners feel confident in hosting such an event. If you're wondering how to do a pop-up shop the right way, allow this guide to inspire you.
From start to finish, this guide will provide you with the exact details of what your pop-up shop event needs to flourish. In doing so, you can rest assured that your pop-up shop will boost your brand awareness, allow you to gain valuable consumer feedback and even generate some income.
If you're always on the hunt for the best event planning tips and tricks, be sure to bookmark our page. Go on, it's time to create a pop-up shop event that is sure to go down in history!
