Today we thought we’d take a look at a few of the stronger pieces of hate mail we’ve received in the last year to see whether we’ve made any serious errors. Given that we advertise and generally do business online, we garner a fair share of mean comments and emails, but today is an opportunity for us to re-examine both ourselves and the industry.
The first and worst (at least as measured by number of swear words per sentence) concerns a marketing email we sent to prospective clients about the state of the pandemic. Obviously, studio businesses were hit hard by the lockdown and its residual effects. Plenty of owners had to close their doors permanently and, in this industry, that means not only losing a livelihood, but also a community.
“We, of course, don’t enjoy thinking of ourselves as warts.”
As we’ve said and will continue to say ad nauseum, no one opens a dance studio because they think they’ll get rich. For many owners we talked to, losing money wasn’t the biggest fear, it was losing out on the community connections. Most owners (and staff) drive to work everyday not for the paycheck but for that student who needs dance (martial arts, fitness, parkour, whatever) to stay centered, to address their weaknesses, to make friends, to wring some meaning out of their day. And as the great psychological toll of the pandemic became more apparent, it was clear that these kinds of benefits were exactly the kinds of social connections that would help keep everyone sane, if only studios were able/allowed to open their doors.
Amid this atmosphere we sent out the above mentioned email posing a question about how many students studios were losing. One owner who received it was incensed and felt, I believe, that we were a buncha insensitive warts lacking even the basic class and tact that God gave a vulture, and said so in no uncertain terms.
We, of course, don’t enjoy thinking of ourselves as warts, so the opening discussion centers on how a business can both market itself provocatively and conscientiously. Could we have done better? What should we do in the future?
And that’s just one hate letter. For the rest, listen below.