For existing businesses, hosting a customer appreciation event is a good idea any time of year. But if you are just starting out, and are looking to create a high-impact grand opening, the price tag associated with doing so might make it seem out of your reach. So how can you realistically afford to create one and then still have enough marketing dollars left to spread the word?

If you want to be sure that your coming out party is a smashing success, all you’ll need is a little creativity and the right digital and new media tools. Here are a few ideas for using SMS marketing and multi-channel marketing to create and promote fun-filled, lively events that will engage your audience and encourage your ideal customers to keep your business in mind the next time they have a need for your products or services.

• Send-out a post-card, inviting people to RSVP to attend your event by texting a mobile keyword like ICECREAM to a short code like 69302. One idea is to give people who are planning to attend a chance to win a year’s worth of free soft-serve yogurt or sundaes. Simply prepare them to enter and win by answering questions like, what is the most unusual flavor of ice cream you’ve ever tasted?
• Make your event more engaging by using mobile voting and text-to-screen technology. Just display your questions on the screen. Then ask your audience to type in the answers to your questions. You’ll unleash a load of fun as audience members read each other’s answers and interact in real-time.
• Why not use social media and email to promote your event and your interactive contest? Throw-in a few local home-town celebrities to judge the competition. Whether it is a pie-eating contest or a “hottest dog” competition – which, according to a recent New York Times article, seemed to gain local and national media attention recently – you’ll maximize your chances of pulling-off a successful event by sending out your message using multiple marketing channels.

With smart ideas like these, you’ll gain a competitive advantage without the high costs that are often just part of the package when it comes to planning grand opening events, giveaways and other promotions.

So whether you are hosting a casual, community-building event for a few hundred dollars or a big gala, costing you several thousand, Trumpia’s All-In-One Marketing platform lets you reach 100 percent of your audience and better engage your potential customers with your launch party message. Then, you can focus your budget into making your big day the most memorable that it can be. You’ll then be able to make your debut and put more of your money back into kick-starting your business.