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Marketing For Funeral Homes: How You Can Attract Customers

Find out in this blog how to improve your marketing for funeral home strategies and attract new clients.

Marketing for funeral homes has a lot of similarities with marketing for other industry branches, but it also has some specifics that require a unique approach and well-utilized strategy that will bring results in a form and shape your business need for further growth and clients base expansion. 

The first thing to consider when making a marketing plan for a funeral home (and any other business) has a lot to do with knowing yourself, and your business in detail. That implies that you know well all your advantages, but also your weaknesses.

Why is that?

Well, it is very simple. Knowing your strongest and less strong sides you can emphasize or work on them. Either way, you won’t be caught by surprise by your competition or clientele in a competitive market battle.

In your battle to attract customers to a funeral home, it’s very important to start by gathering all the information about your own business and of course your competitors.

Know yourself – your strong and less strong sides

A major part of marketing for funeral home strategy is to really know your business from top to bottom. Get a pen and paper and write down all the strengths and weaknesses of your funeral services. What is the level of accommodation in your facility? How equipped your facility is? Do you have an adequate customer approach? Are your prices lower or higher than the rest? Do you offer a flexible payment plan? Is your staff highly qualified? Compare your answers to data you collected about competitors and you will see where you have space for improvement. Every idea of an improvement in any area of your business performance contributes to a better marketing strategy.
Of course, consulting with a marketing agency that deals in digital marketing for funeral homes is highly recommended, as it can save you time and a headache of strategising on your own.

Know your customers

Always follow up with your customers and try to collect their experience regarding your services. For one, people like it when you show interest, even after you sold them your services, and they will appreciate that gesture. The people who use your funeral services can give you important clues about why they have chosen you over other providers and what is their level of satisfaction with the services you provided. That is a powerful insight into what you are doing good and what you can improve or change. You can consider the option of creating a small survey that they can fill in and send back to you via email.

Get to know your competition

Grab a pen and paper again and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of your rivals. You can also research what trends and strategies the major funeral groups are developing. In the process, you’ll discover what your competitive advantages are, what aspects of your business you need to improve and what services you need to highlight in your marketing plan for funeral homes, as these are what make you unique and special.

Now that you got to know the battlefield, it’s time to develop strategies for selling funeral services. The first and most important part of your marketing for funeral homes plan is to show the world that you exist.

Marketing for the funeral home plan

Most customers search the internet to find out what a funeral home looks like before visiting it in person. That way they are narrowing down the number of suitable facilities based on what they find out and see on your website. That’s why it’s essential to make sure that future customers find you online and that you have valuable content to show them. Fill your website with informative and helpful content, like blogs and articles, that you can also share on your social media. Optimize your website well, so it appears in an organic Google search. You can do that by SEO optimization and relevant keyword strategy. Social media promotions are also a very valuable marketing tool as well. If you are unfamiliar with SEO (search engine optimization) and what are its benefits, you can contact a marketing agency that specialises in digital marketing for funeral homes

Create a unique website experience

Never sabotage yourself with the poor visual or written content on your website. That is essential.

Your website is a mirror of your business, so you should do everything in your power to look the best in that mirror, wouldn’t you?!

Content is the first and basic thing you should pay attention to on your funeral home website.  Try to anticipate the needs of potential customers and provide them with reach, captivating and informative content. The best thing to do is to think about your own experience when you are looking for some kind of service. Basically, there are four things you want to know: location, what the facility looks like, what services it offers, and pricing.

Include video content

A brief video presentation of your funeral home will bring you a lot. Remember that this will be the first impression your clients will receive, so be straightforward and attractive. Video content has high value because it comes in a pure and direct form and people like to see things with their own eyes and in the most natural form.

Utilize website gallery

Add pictures of your facility. Galeries are the most-visited parts of the majority of websites because people like to see where they are going and what that space looks like, no matter what service they are seaking for. Consider gallery as your showroom, so the images should be nice, pleasant, attractive, and of high quality. If a camera is not your thing, use a professional photographer. It is worth it and their services are not very expensive.

Increase your transparency

The keys to this section of your website are clarity and transparency. No one likes to find a lot of small print or to feel cheated because the price does not, for example, include taxes and they didn’t know that in advance. You can also create a chatroom where you will address customers directly, answer their questions and get real-time feedback. By doing that you will make things a lot easier for them.

Don’t forget to include your address, and contact information like phone number, e-mail, and social media accounts addresses, and all that should be placed on a visible spot on the front page of your website. Google maps are also a very useful tool for businesses, so you should consider integrate them also.

Marketing through aftercare

Aftercare is the easiest place to implement a more cost-effective funeral home marketing strategy. You’ve already served these clients, so you don’t have any initial investment in lead generation or fostering brand awareness. Plus, satisfied customers serve as the most compelling brand ambassadors.

Take a careful look at your current aftercare offerings. How are you reaching these families after their time of need? Consider ways you can build community among these clients. Try hosting a weekly social club, a monthly grief support group, or even an annual memorial service. By implementing aftercare you will create a strong community of loyal brand ambasadors.

Social media marketing

In the digital era we live in, social media platforms are a necessary part of every successful business marketing strategy. That includes marketing for funeral homes as well.

Too often, funeral professionals rely on auto-published obituaries to drive their funeral home social media content. While that’s important information to include on your pages, it’s not the only thing you can contribute to the digital conversation.

As well as for the other parts of your marketing strategies, social media strategy for funeral home has to be well designd and adapted for the nature of business and audience you addressing to.

Make sure you post relevant content, respectful one, and that you don’t have gaps in publishing on social media, because the audience loves engagement and consistency.

Be always there for their comments, questions, and suggestions, and that way you will gain their respect and trust and will establish a strong community base.

There you go. By following these tips, you’re on your way to improve the image of your business, increase brand awareness, and bring in those leads.

Photo by The Good Funeral Guide on Unsplash

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