Running a Small Business Pop-Up? Your 3 Steps to Success

Your pop-up event, whether it’s a seasonal bar pop-up or a free sample giveaway, needs to bring your business one step closer toward its goals. There’s no point holding an event if there’s no clear benefit, so make sure that you’ve identified your objectives first.

Here are some ideas:

• Increased exposure – The most common reason for holding a pop-up event is for better brand visibility. To measure the success of this objective, you could evaluate event attendance, your social media following after the pop-up, or how much media coverage it led to.
• Product testing – Pop-ups are a fantastic opportunity to test the quality of your products in a controlled environment. You can record how potential customers are interacting with your goods, or note down real-time feedback to make improvements, which might include adjusting your product pricing or tweaking your marketing.
• Generate sales – If you’re holding a retail pop-up shop, your main objective might be to increase sales. You can easily measure your success by counting up total sales or revenue once the event is over.

💰 Need ideas for a pop-up that won’t break the bank? See our guide on affordable experiential marketing ideas

Though you might be dreaming of a huge turnout at your pop-up event, that dream can quickly turn into a nightmare if your team isn’t prepared.

Your staff will be representing your brand on the big day, so don’t slack on the training process. Make sure that they know how to positively engage with visitors, respond to common customer issues, and best represent the brand and its values.

To give your pop-up staff a helping hand, use technology to streamline the event’s operations. For example, you could have iPad kiosks on display so visitors can view important information, or use QR codes to easily gather customer data like email sign-ups or feedback. Additionally, your staff may need to be trained on how to use point of sale if you’re taking in-person payments.

🤝 To help prepare your staff, we also have a list of common customer service phrases they can use

Even if your pop-up ran smoothly and your visitors looked happy, you still need to make sure that you’ve collected enough customer feedback. With this crucial customer data, you can identify customer preferences and better understand how they perceive your brand, or discover ways to refine future events.

If you’re unsure how to collect customer feedback during or after your event, here are a few ideas to get you started:

• Collect real-time feedback – If you have interactive tablets at your pop-up, you can get feedback from visitors in real-time. This could be through a short SurveyMonkey form, or a simple screen that asks customers to tap on a facial expression that represents their experience as they’re leaving.
• Send out a follow-up survey – If you’ve collected contact details during the pop-up, you could send out a customer follow-up survey link via email or SMS. Don’t leave it too late though, since you’ll want attendees to answer your questions with the event still fresh in their minds.

With these three handy tips, you’re now ready to host a small business pop-up event that’ll benefit your brand and your customers.

However, remember to keep cultivating the new customer relationships you’ve formed long after the event is over. To keep your business in their mind, use social media or email marketing to keep them updated online, and let them know about any future events you’re planning to hold.