Learn how to market a new business launch with a five-step strategy covering planning, branding, social media, PR, budgeting, and post-launch momentum.
Launching a business can become a full-time job made up of twenty smaller full-time jobs.
There is the logo, website, copy, photography, social rollout, print pieces, search setup, media plan, PR, partner outreach, and the technical work nobody notices unless it goes wrong.
And that’s just the marketing.
It can be tempting to put it off until later. When you’re putting together the beautiful new interior of your business, hiring your employees, or applying for your permits, posting on Instagram can seem like the least of your concerns.
But without the right marketing plan for your new business, all the other work you’re doing could be for nothing.
You need to generate enough awareness to convert curiosity about your new storefront into actual customer visits. That means starting your new business launch marketing before opening day—not after it.
But where do you even begin?
Lessons From the Field: Launching a New Memphis Business
MKC partnered with Ritual Coffee and Cocktails to launch its business, a new bar and coffee shop in Memphis’ South Main District.
Now that Ritual has successfully launched and celebrated its grand opening in May 2026 (woo hoo!), I wanted to share what works when marketing a new business.
You can read more in-depth about our work with Ritual Coffee and Cocktails in our case study. We started working with Ritual when the property had already been purchased, but the brand was still in development. Starting from scratch, MKC helped launch Ritual’s social channels, reaching more than 135,300 people and generating more than 6,000 likes, comments, shares, and other engagements. The business also drove 1,840 website visits and 104 phone calls through Google while earning 31 new five-star reviews.
We helped Ritual move from a storefront folks were curious about to the newest fixture of the South Main community.
And because we are not gatekeepers here at Megan Klein Consulting, I’m going to tell you how we did it.
How Do I Market the Launch of My Business?
To market a new business, begin with a clear strategy the who and what. Then develop a consistent brand, how you look, sound, and show up in the world. Third, and this is a biggie, establish your digital presence before opening. Create the social channels you’re willing to commit to, set up the Google Business Profile to collect reviews, have at least a landing page to control the information you share with the public.
Whew! Okay, now that you’ve come this far, it’s time to let people know. A ribbon cutting, kick-off party, or splash of local press and local collaborations is a nice way to get the word out. Then you just create a steady communications plan you can actually sustain to keep the momentum after launch day.
Think about your business launch marketing strategy like building a fire, you want a stead sustainable burn, not a firework that explodes on the scene but is gone in a moment.
There are five stages to a successful small business launch strategy:
- Set your strategy
- Develop your branding
- Establish your digital presence
- Make the PR push
- Create a system to carry that momentum forward
Let’s get into what each of those stages should look like.
1. Set Your Marketing Strategy
You don’t just want splashy attention on your new business. You want attention that will convert—into customers, partnerships, loyalty, and engagement.
That requires planning.
A strong startup marketing plan should define four things before you begin promoting your business: your market, your measures, your money, and your strategy.
The Market
When we worked with Ritual, we made sure to define its market: nearby residents, downtown workers, hotel guests, and tourists.
Knowing your audience allows you to tailor your messaging to their interests and create content that speaks to your prospective customers. If you’re unsure who your market should be, consider conducting market research to determine who your customers are, what they need, and what they might think about your business.
The Measures
There’s no way to know if your marketing strategy is actually working unless you can measure it.
Decide which metrics you’re going to use to evaluate your marketing success before you implement your strategy. There are hundreds of options, but useful business-launch marketing metrics may include:
- Lead generation rate
- Average cost per lead
- Social media reach and impressions
- Time spent on a page
- Total website visits
- Calls, bookings, or in-store visits
- Customer acquisition cost
Choose the metrics that connect most directly to what you want your launch campaign to accomplish.
The Money
Decide on a marketing budget. You don’t want to plan a whole strategy and then realize you lack the funds to actually implement it.
How much you should budget for your launch campaign varies widely based on factors including your existing funds, future potential profits, audience, unique marketing strategy, and current brand awareness.
Whatever the cost, figure out what’s realistic for your business. Know that a bigger budget doesn’t always mean a more effective campaign. If you’re smart and strategic, you can make a small budget punch way above its weight.
The Marketing Strategy
Once you’ve figured out the market, measures, and money you’re working with, you can build your strategy. Ask yourself: With the resources I have, what is the most effective way to get my audience interested in—and through the doors of—my business?
In our work with Ritual Coffee and Cocktails, our strategy was to pair a strong social foundation with intentional local collaborations. We began earning attention and loyalty on social media by creating content that showcased the new coffee shop through authentic, distinctive storytelling. At the same time, we formed intentional partnerships with organizations and other businesses.
2. Develop Your Branding for a New Business
Your brand is a visual reflection of what you want your business to be. Or, as my Social Media Coordinators would say, “the vibe” you want your business to give off.
In our very, very visual world, branding for a new business is a critical part of the launch process.
Developing your brand doesn’t just mean designing a logo. When we worked with Ritual, we built a foundational brand deck and a practical standards system that included multiple logos for digital and physical media, typography, color codes, and voice direction. We advised the team on how to design the interior and exterior of the Ritual building to reinforce those brand standards, and we even coordinated signage manufacturing and installation.
All of this work was designed to curate and solidify the brand so customers knew who Ritual was and what kind of experience they would have in-store—whether they encountered the brand on social media, through its website, or while walking by on the street.
3. Establish Your Digital Presence Before Opening
The next step is to create a website and social media platforms that showcase your brand.
Think about how you discover a new business these days. Most of the time, you see an Instagram Reel or a Facebook post promoting it. Maybe you even see a video made by a local influencer talking about their first visit to the shop.
Then, you look up reviews on Google or Yelp to see if it’s any good.
A social media and web presence is non-negotiable if you want a successful business launch. If you’re wondering how to advertise a new business, start by making sure potential customers can find it, understand it, and trust it online.
With this in mind, we built Ritual’s social media presence from the ground up and created a customized content strategy for the pre-opening period.
We connected the client with an affordable professional photoshoot, supplying the team with a content library it could use across media platforms. When posting, we focused on storytelling, gave viewers a behind-the-scenes peek into the renovation process, and created spontaneous collaborations with local content creators and other businesses in the neighborhood.
We also established Ritual’s Google Business Profile so that Google reviews could become a source of credibility from day one.
4. Make the PR Push
If you’re a small, local business, PR might sound above your pay grade. In reality, a public relations strategy is an accessible and important part of how to promote a new business.
You can create press releases, pursue event sponsorships, get on local radio, advertise in newspapers, or invite local journalists to write about your grand opening.
Promoting your own content is great, but it helps to have other people and organizations with established audiences publicize and put in a good word for your new enterprise.
In a coffee-crazed town like Memphis, PR was a big part of our strategy—but not an expensive one.
MKC used local relationships to organize Ritual’s first event with a women’s networking group, which in turn supported Ritual on social media. We also promoted Ritual’s participation in the local coffee shop competition, the Edible Memphis ChampionSip. We used that event to create buzz, generate photography, and pique the interest of local foodies.
Even better, Ritual gained a ton of publicity by actually winning the Judge’s Choice Award in the competition!
5. Create a System to Maintain Momentum
Your marketing campaign doesn’t end at launch.
After all, running a business is a marathon, not a race.
A good launch campaign activates the channels and creates the materials needed to keep your marketing going long after opening day.
MKC laid the foundation for Ritual’s long-term success by creating brand standards, signage, a library of professional photography, integrated social channels, local collaborations, and a well-planned rollout strategy. We made sure the systems and strategies we implemented could be sustained without our assistance.
Even doing small things—like responding thoughtfully and promptly to customer reviews—showed customers that they were appreciated and would be welcomed back any time.
By activating those channels and creating those materials long before the grand opening, MKC was able to set Ritual up for success long after our partnership ended.
Prepare for that marathon the right way, and you’ll feel pretty good once you get running.
Ready to Market Your New Business?
When starting your own business, it’s hard to know where to begin. While these guidelines can help you get started, every business launch is different and deserves a unique, tailored strategy for success.
Are you about to launch a new business? You might be in the market for a fractional CMO. Megan Klein Consulting can help you activate the channels, create the materials, and build the local buy-in you need to reach liftoff when you launch.
Schedule a free consultation today to get started.
