You did it…
You came up with an otherworldly business plan, you picked a food truck concept, you made your menus, you hired an employee or two, you figured out your locations, you tackled permits and regulations, you raised enough money to buy a food truck (and then you bought a food truck), and you are now ready to enter the mobile kitchen industry. In addition, you have notified your friends and family about this life-changing career, and you have also built up your social media following. What’s next?
Well, now the real fun begins. Now you will get to see if you have what it takes to be a food truck owner. Now, the blood, sweat and tears are really going to kick into gear. Bring on the 10-hour days and your mobile kitchen business being your entire life.
However, the next official step is doing your grand opening. In the spirit of your grand opening being on the horizon, we will be providing some tips so you can get the most out of this big day. Side note: If you want, you can also make your food truck’s grand opening last a couple of days, or an entire week.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Food Truck Grand Opening
- Promote Your Lunch Truck Like No Other
- Figure Out Your Menu(s)
- Get To Know Your Customers
- Take It All In — And Learn
Promote Your Lunch Truck Like No Other
If you don’t promote your food truck’s grand opening, then how are people going to know that your grand opening is going down? Folks, this is where social media really comes into play.
With social media alone, you can reach your target audience — and then some — with a few posts. During this social media journey, you need to continue to remind your followers that your grand opening is going down on, well, pick a date and then stick to it, and then relay that message over and over again.
Just to create a little bit of buzz, you can also give stuff away for free that your followers/customers will have to collect at your grand opening. You know, like free shirts/hats with your food truck’s logo on it, drinks, desserts, sides or even free meals.
Just make sure you are promoting your food truck’s grand opening early and often, or else people aren’t going to know about it.
If you are trying to break into the food truck industry, make sure to check out these food trucks for sale!
Figure Out Your Menu(s)
Wait, wasn’t figuring out the menu part of the start-up process? Yes, you definitely needed to make your menu and decide what you wanted to cook early on, but your food truck’s grand opening could have different menus than what you are planning to serve on a daily basis.
For example, you might go with a simplified menu to ensure success, and to also make things on you easy for this big day. You might also want to pull out all of the stops by incorporating a different menu for every single day of the week. The choice is yours to make, and if you decide to go with your normal menu, then that is completely fine.
Get To Know Your Customers
This step is so important, and we really can’t hammer that home enough. Quality customer service is invaluable in the food truck industry. If you don’t treat your customers right, especially at your grand opening, then you won’t retain any, and you might even get some bad reviews, which could wreck your mobile kitchen in no time.
The customers are the ones who are buying — and enjoying your product — so you should want to get to know them, and treat them nicely, out of principle. On top of that, and this is especially important when you are first breaking into this industry, your customers can give you valuable feedback.
You joined this industry to make food and then to make folks happy with it, so don’t be afraid to make new friends by getting to know your customers at your grand opening. Don’t just take their orders, interact with them.
Take It All In — And Learn
You are doing it — you are following your dream! You are finally a chef and your grand opening is just the beginning. While a grand opening could bring on a great amount of stress for the simple fact that you want to crush it, make sure you have fun. Make sure you take everything in.
Not to mention, make sure you learn from your mistakes. The more you learn now, the easier your food truck journey will be in the long run.
Food truck owners, a grand opening is a very exciting time. It’s literally a celebration for the opening of your business. It might even mark the beginning of the summer, which is one more reason for you and your customers to get excited. Just make sure you don’t take anything for granted, because you entered this industry for a more fulfilling life, and the grand opening is just the beginning.
Have fun!
Two more tips: Stay within your means, and try to do your grand opening in the spring/summer. While, yes, your grand opening is very important, you don’t want it to set you too far back in the money department. As for the spring/summer, well, that is when this industry is booming.
If you are looking to break into this industry, make sure to request a custom quote!
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