If you’re starting a new business, you might not think having a launch party for it is a top priority, but this isn’t the case. A startup launch party can be important for a number of reasons.
No matter the industry you’re in, if you’re preparing to launch a startup, it can be valuable to make an investment into a launch party because it’s going to build buzz and allow you to engage face-to-face with people who may be important to the future success of your company.
A launch party gives you a chance to outline your vision for where you are and where you’re going, and you can get press coverage out of it.
Plus, a launch party can give you great material to share on social media which can be important if you’re just starting out.
The following are some key things to keep in mind to plan a startup launch party that’s going to be memorable for everyone.
Branding
Your entire party needs to be built around the new brand of your company. You want people to not only have your brand be front and center while they’re at the party in the form of things like reusable branded balloons and party decorations, but you also want to give them items they can take with them.
Have pens made, or maybe create little gift bags that everyone can take as they leave the party. This way, your name and your logo are floating around in the world, which can have more of an impact than you might think in the early days of a startup.
Choose your location carefully
You might think you can have a startup launch party anywhere, but the location you choose is going to be something that people take away from your event if it’s memorable.
Take your time and choose a location that’s interesting and compelling on its own, but if possible also a location that’s somehow in line with your startup’s brand.
As you’re choosing a venue, be careful of a few things. First, you’ll need to check and see if there are any required food and beverage spending minimums. That can have a big impact on your budget.
Also, think about the size of the space. If you have a space that’s too small, it’s going to feel cramped and overwhelming. However, a space that’s too big can see empty and cavernous even if you have a good turnout.
As a side note, you want your venue to be unique and distinctive, but you also want it to be in line with your brand and your objective as much as possible.
Outline your goals and objectives
When you’re planning a party, you should be thinking of it as an investment in your brand and your business. As with any other investment, you want to be able to show a strong ROI. That means you need to have measurable outcomes that stem from your party.
Set some very specific goals for what you want to achieve at your launch party. For example, maybe your goal is to get emails to start building a list of people you can send marketing emails to, or maybe your primary goal is getting as much press attention as possible.
Whatever the goal is or the objectives are, know them specifically and be ready to measure outcomes.
There are a lot of different ways you can track how well you meet your objectives. These methods can include tracking your press mentions, or your social media mentions. To do this, you might want to create an event hashtag everyone can use. You might also count the number of new email addresses you get, how many people download your product or the number of blog subscribers you get following the event.
Take your time with your invite list
Finally, when you’re throwing a startup party, you may be tempted to add every person you’ve ever met to the invite list.
Rethink that strategy, however. You want first and foremost to make sure that you’re not overspending and usually the more people you have come to a launch party, the more expensive it’s going to be.
You also want to be able to spend time with everyone who comes and start building real relationships. If you have too many attendees, this isn’t going to be possible.
Focus on your niche and the key influencers and relevant people within that niche. Again, if the goal is return on investment, then you want to make sure that the people who come to your startup launch party are able to help you meet that objective.