Open for Business: What Should Be in Your Go-to-Market Strategy?
Opening a new location is a milestone. But from a marketing perspective, the work starts long before the doors officially open.
After supporting countless franchise and multi-unit launches across the country, we’ve seen firsthand what can turn a new opening into a true market entrance, and what can cause even a strong brand to get lost in the noise.
Whether it’s a brand entering an entirely new state or opening location number five in an established market, a strong go-to-market strategy should do more than announce an address and opening date. It should introduce the brand to the community, give people a reason to care and build enough familiarity that when the doors finally open, customers are already paying attention.
Here are five lessons we’ve seen play out time and time again.
Lesson 1: Every Market Deserves Its Own Story (and Angle)
Your brand promise may stay the same from one location to the next, but your story shouldn’t.
Every community has different priorities, personalities and needs. Understanding those nuances can be the difference between simply announcing a new business and creating a story that feels genuinely relevant to the people who live there.
When Lightbridge Academy prepared to open its first Ohio child care center in Centerville, for example, the story was bigger than a new location. Our team worked with an Ohio representative to highlight the growing need for quality child care in the area, giving local media a timely issue to explore alongside the opening.
That distinction matters. A new address may be important to the brand, but identifying why that opening matters to the community is what can make it newsworthy.
Before entering a market, consider what’s happening locally. Is the community experiencing rapid growth? Is the concept bringing something new to the area? Is there a local connection through the franchisee or ownership team? The strongest angles often live at the intersection of the brand story and the community story.
Lesson 2: PR Starts Long Before Opening Day
One of the biggest mistakes brands can make is treating opening day as the beginning of their communications strategy.
There are often months of opportunities leading up to it.
Owner introductions, real estate announcements, hiring initiatives, construction milestones, community partnerships, sneak peeks and groundbreaking events can all help build awareness before customers ever walk through the doors.
This can be especially valuable when a brand is expanding from a city where it already has a strong presence into a surrounding suburb. When Fogo de Chão expanded into the Portland suburbs, for example, existing familiarity with the brand provided a foundation to build on. Rather than starting from zero, the expansion could tap into excitement that already existed within the broader market.
Think of opening day as the culmination of a story, not necessarily the first chapter.
Lesson 3: Timing Shapes the Results
Having a strong story is only part of the equation. Knowing when to tell it is just as important.
Media outlets need time to plan coverage. Influencers need time to create content. Community organizations need time to activate partnerships. And consumers often need to hear about a new business more than once before it registers.
That means waiting until a week before opening to begin outreach can significantly limit the opportunities available.
Timing becomes even more important as a brand grows within an existing market. The first location naturally comes with a built-in headline: something new is coming to town. The second, third or fourth location may require a more thoughtful approach.
When Fogo de Chão prepared to open its second Las Vegas location, for example, the story couldn’t rely solely on the novelty of the brand entering the market. Additional locations give marketers an opportunity to explore different angles around demand, growth, neighborhoods, local partnerships or what makes that particular location unique.
A strong launch timeline gives those stories room to develop.
Lesson 4: Consumers Need Multiple Touchpoints
People rarely discover a new business in just one place anymore.
Someone might first see a local news story, encounter an influencer visiting the location a week later, notice a sponsored social post and then drive past the storefront before finally deciding to visit.
That’s why the most effective go-to-market strategies don’t rely on a single channel.
Earned media can establish credibility. Social content can build anticipation and showcase personality. Influencers can introduce the experience through a trusted, authentic voice. Local partnerships can establish community connections. Events can turn awareness into an actual experience.
Influencer strategy, for example, has become an important part of many franchise and multi-unit openings we support because creators can translate a corporate announcement into something much more personal: Here’s what I tried. Here’s what the space looks like. Here’s why you might want to visit.
Individually, each touchpoint serves a purpose. Together, they create familiarity.
Lesson 5: The Best Launch Strategies Are Built to Scale
Opening one location is one thing. Opening 10, 20 or 50 requires an entirely different level of organization.
As franchise and multi-unit brands grow, the challenge becomes maintaining consistency without making every launch feel identical.
That’s where repeatable frameworks become invaluable.
Brands can establish consistent timelines, communication processes, media materials, influencer strategies and measurement plans while still leaving room for local storytelling. The framework creates efficiency; the local insights create relevance.
This approach also gives teams the opportunity to learn from every opening. Which stories earned the most coverage? When did influencer content perform best? Which partnerships drove engagement? What should happen earlier next time?
Each opening becomes an opportunity to make the next one stronger.
Make the Opening Bigger Than Opening Day
A successful launch isn’t built around one ribbon cutting, press release or Instagram post.
It’s built through a series of moments that introduce the brand, establish its place within the community and give people multiple reasons to pay attention.
The strongest go-to-market strategies start early, think locally and bring PR, social, influencer and community engagement together around one cohesive story.
Because by the time the “Now Open” sign goes up, the goal shouldn’t be to introduce yourself for the first time.
It should feel like the community has been waiting for you to open the doors.