As the parent of a toddler, I've made my rounds to places catered to wearing out energetic children.
First of all, the person that decided that it would be a good idea to rent out a space and fill it with big blow up houses, obstacles, big balls, and toys - and then charge people to bring their kids there should be commended. Seriously. What did parents do before places like Monkey Joe's???
Today, I made my way to a place called Sandy Springs Funhouse. What's interesting about the place when you first walk in is that there seems to be a lot of "stuff" crammed in what is probably a large space. It's like they took games you would see at Dave and Buster's and stuffed it into a strip mall store.
The jungle gym and bouncy house were against the wall - while all the arcade games went straight down the middle. I think Chuck E. Cheese downsized and didn't want to get rid of all his stuff.
All I know is that the price of entry was $5.00. But it quickly added up to more than that because the games took 2 tokens ($.50) at the minimum. And nothing distracts a boy from playing in a bouncy house or jungle gym more than big interactive arcade games.
In my mind, I thought that this place was trying to be a play place for all people, of all ages. Or, maybe it was targeting much older children.
Places like Jump-Jump, Hippo Hop, and even Monkey Joe's appear to have a model that knows exactly the customer they are targeting. They know exactly who they are and I think it's because they focus on their core that they will continue to be successful. (For those of you that have not been to Jump-Jump - Go!)
So that's my advice for any business owner. Admit to what and who you are and then market and sell the hell out of it.
If you 1.) Try to be all things to all people, or 2.) Market to something that you aren't, failure and pain is sure to follow.
First of all, the person that decided that it would be a good idea to rent out a space and fill it with big blow up houses, obstacles, big balls, and toys - and then charge people to bring their kids there should be commended. Seriously. What did parents do before places like Monkey Joe's???
Today, I made my way to a place called Sandy Springs Funhouse. What's interesting about the place when you first walk in is that there seems to be a lot of "stuff" crammed in what is probably a large space. It's like they took games you would see at Dave and Buster's and stuffed it into a strip mall store.
The jungle gym and bouncy house were against the wall - while all the arcade games went straight down the middle. I think Chuck E. Cheese downsized and didn't want to get rid of all his stuff.
All I know is that the price of entry was $5.00. But it quickly added up to more than that because the games took 2 tokens ($.50) at the minimum. And nothing distracts a boy from playing in a bouncy house or jungle gym more than big interactive arcade games.
In my mind, I thought that this place was trying to be a play place for all people, of all ages. Or, maybe it was targeting much older children.
Places like Jump-Jump, Hippo Hop, and even Monkey Joe's appear to have a model that knows exactly the customer they are targeting. They know exactly who they are and I think it's because they focus on their core that they will continue to be successful. (For those of you that have not been to Jump-Jump - Go!)
So that's my advice for any business owner. Admit to what and who you are and then market and sell the hell out of it.
If you 1.) Try to be all things to all people, or 2.) Market to something that you aren't, failure and pain is sure to follow.
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