Small Business Success | Small Business Mentoring

If You are Going to "Me Too" – Me Too Bigger & Better

Happy Halloween everyone! It’s Hallow’s Eve and what a fun time to look at marketing Halloween-style.

My family and I love to be silly and dress up for Halloween. For years, we’ve thrown a big party for the kiddoes, perhaps that’s why we are keenly aware of the Halloween retailers in our area.

Each year, Spirit Halloween, the largest Halloween retailer in the area, rents out locations that have been sitting unleased for months and moves in a spirited collection of all things Halloween for just a month. After October 31st Halloweens gone, and so is the store. I always thoughts this was the ultimate in creative retailing! Most of the locations they’ve chosen to lease have been sitting vacant for months – what a win-win!

The Spirit stores have largely dominated our market (I believe they are a national operation). Until last year, I did not see ANY ‘me too’ competitors (this is my concocted term for competitors that basically take someone else’s concept and implement almost exactly like the original). Last year, another store did almost the exact same thing – leased a space, threw up a banner, stocked the store. Big deal. What makes me want to go to your store over the one I’ve shopped at for YEARS?

By the way, I don’t know if you know this, but Halloween is BIG business. Some stores report that they do more than 50 percent of their annual sales during Halloween and it has grown into a multi-billion dollar holiday!

Imagine my surprise (and delight) when I saw Cow Halloween this year! Another “me too” concept store; however, with a definite twist! First, Cow Halloween makes a statement with its Cows and big orange dinosaur out in front. Right off the bat, they are bigger (and better) looking than the original. But, then they got clever in a lot of other ways, too.

They leased a restaurant space in a PRIME location. Most Spirit stores take over locations that are off the beaten path or in less desirable locations. Not Cow Halloween. These guys set up shop right between TWO of the hottest shopping spots in our town – Target and Wal Mart – in the ‘fru fru’ area – West Plano!

Hmmm, let’s see here. You think being in a location where the average median household is over $150,000 might boost sales? Bingo!

The store also has not one (like Spirit), but THREE industrial spotlights so that there is NO WAY to miss this store at night. If one is good, is three better? J

Last Saturday, Cow Halloween was so jammed packed we couldn’t even get a parking space. My curiosity MADE me drop by Spirit to see how they were doing. And, the foot traffic was NO comparison.

Five things you can learn from Cow Halloween:

1. The ‘me too’ game can work for you too – find a model, tweak it and make it yours (and better).
2. Don’t expect the *best* customers to come to you – go to them – if you are doing a seminar, hold it near your target prospects, for example.
3. Be yourself and be bold! Dare to have some fun! What does a dinosaur have to do with Halloween? Or a cow? I don’t know, but it sure got my attention.
4. Make a statement. This location is across from the ritziest mall in the area, a Hummer dealership, and in between two of the busiest stores in the area. It is also right around the corner from Porsche, Ferrari and Audi. Does it match? No. Does it matter? No.
5. Don’t let your good ideas get away! So many times I hear people say, “Oh, someone else did it already.” I’ve even thought it myself. Next time that happens, think of Cow and Spirit Halloween!

Where would you shop?