It has been a year since I saw my son, his wife and two grandchildren in Boston. It has been more than six months since I saw my daughter, her husband and two grandchildren. They popped in for an hour or so on their way to Bethany Beach for a week’s vacation, from Pittsburgh, to drop off Mavis, the Labradoodle dog.
It has also been a year since I got a haircut, but then again, there’s not much to cut.
After a year of living virtually, looking into screens large and small I am eager to return to real life and see my family again; to be able to hug them, kiss them, hold hands, walk along a beach or on a trail in the forest without wearing a mask.
This has been a year of adjustments, of fear and of getting over fear. It was a year of inconveniences, of wearing masks, of staying 6 feet apart and learning not to complain too much because like my dear friend and neighbor, Phil, you could have been on a ventilator and died.
For bowling proprietors. Like many other small businesses, it was a year of survival; of making it through the next day; of waiting for the next PPP check or disaster relief loan. It was a year of looking long time employees in the eyes and telling them you couldn’t pay them anymore. It was a year where you and your families missed a lot of paychecks. Basically, it was a year from hell!
It also brought a year of revelation; looking at the poorest amongst us who suffered the most while the top 1% went on their merry way continuing to prosper.
Most of all 2020 brought me a renewed sense of what “being together means.” Whether it be with family, friends, clients, neighbors, or anyone else in my circle of life, the words “I miss you” resonate so much louder and stronger now.
I suspect I’m not the only one. Many of your customers and prospects want to be together with their families and friends as well.
So, I strongly, strongly encourage you that as you embark on a new marketing journey for the summer, Continue to Emphasize the Benefits of Being Together at Your Center. Think of other together activities that can be played at the center. Set up games that adults and kids can play as well, maybe ring toss or darts or adult child pool tournaments. I’m sure you will think of “something.”
Write blogs; tell stories about families, being together, talk about what you did and how you felt not seeing family and friends. Be real. Be authentic
Be together.
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