Resources

Are you a funeral director trying to reach people in your community about your services? We hope then that you’ve considered how to enhance your marketing efforts in order to hit your target audience. Below, we’re going to give you 5 ways to improve your funeral home marketing. 

1. Digital Marketing for Funeral Homes

Maybe we’re biased, but we truly believe in online marketing. The most powerful tool people have nowadays is a search engine. On there, one can find an answer to almost every question they may have. For most people, all the details that come with how to plan a funeral is something they are going to have to search for at some point. That’s whether it’s for family members or even for themselves. There are many ways that you can utilize digital marketing. This includes a social media strategy, an email marketing campaign, and having your name rank highest on the SERPs (or Search Engine Results Page). In order to have your business on the top of the list, your marketing strategy should include something called SEO, or Search Engine Optimization. This is how search engines read your website and find out who you are. It lives in the backend of your site. What’s an amazing benefit if you decided to list your company on FuneralHomes.com as part of your marketing strategy is that we actually can handle this part for you to some degree. We have our own SEO experts working on our website, so that your business page comes up first because we come up first, as the #1 funeral home directory in the country. 

Plus, did we mention that online marketing is eco friendly?

Family members of a certain age may be wondering about how and when to buy a cemetery plot for themselves or their loved ones. Is it a task done prior to one’s passing or afterward? We’re here to tell you why it’s a good idea to purchase a cemetery plot in advance, as opposed to waiting.

Saving Money and Time

When you buy cemetery plots, interestingly enough you’re really purchasing real estate. You are purchasing the right to be buried on that piece of land, which is also called “Interment Rights.” 

As with real estate, you will want to shop around and find a good deal, which means you and your family members will need the time to do so. Leaving your family without a preplanned funeral can pile stress onto an already difficult situation. One way to help them, and save money, is to buy a gravesite in advance.

With respect to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic we’re living in, times are tragic, traumatic, and tricky. We are left with so many questions about how to console one another, and ourselves. People we love are passing away, friends are losing their loved ones. In addition to people we love dying of COVID-19, we are unsure how to lay to rest our departed and how to appropriately comfort those we love who are mourning. So, let’s take a minute to address the elephant in the room — should we be attending funerals during this pandemic?

Should I Attend a Funeral Service During the Pandemic?

There are two answers to this. First, it depends on your level of comfort being around others or if you prefer to stay at home for safety. Second, and even more importantly, it depends on what the family has decided to do for the funeral arrangements. Families are deciding between a few options for funerals. If the family does decide to hold an in-person service, they may limit the number of people in attendance or keep the gathering to immediate family members. Some might even postpone services until after social distancing guidelines are lifted.
Funeral home staff members have been particularly helpful with providing alternative solutions for funeral arrangements. Some funeral homes are offering virtual services, such as live streams of memorials or other tributes. Others are providing online guest books where friends can leave notes of condolences and other personal anecdotes.
If the family prefers to hold an in-person funeral service, whether you choose to attend in person will depend on your level of comfort. For instance, if you have a family member at home who is immunocompromised, you may not feel comfortable attending the service and potentially increasing you and your loved one’s exposure to the coronavirus. However, if you do feel comfortable with personally attending the memorial to offer your condolences and pay your respects, the funeral home will most likely be observing social distancing measures recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to increase the safety of all those in attendance.

If I Go, Do I Need to Wear a Mask?

Most likely, yes. However, beyond the practice of wearing masks, the most important factor to preserve yours and others’ safety while attending an in-personal funeral service is to engage in social distancing. In adherence to social distancing guidelines, you may be attending an outdoor funeral with seating, six feet apart from one another. You will want to keep distanced from anyone who does not live with you in your household. Make sure to wash your hands often as well. It is an unfortunate and difficult fact of these sensitive circumstances to not be able to show affection as support for your family members and friends, but it’s best for now. You can hug and kiss those in your household who are accompanying you to the service, but otherwise your presence will serve as the best demonstration of love and support you can give.

The loss of a loved one is one of the most difficult situations to face in life. This can be especially trying if you are in charge of making the funeral arrangements. Our family here at FuneralHomes.com would like to share with your family some points from experienced funeral directors that will help you in such a troubling time.

Many people think that when arranging a funeral, there is only once decision to make – choosing a funeral home. FuneralHomes.com provides a user-friendly, online directory of funeral homes with descriptions in all 50 states and hundreds of cities across the US. (Click here to find the funeral home that fits your needs).

But in addition to the funeral home, there are other items to consider:

Every family is different, and not everyone wants the same type of funeral. Funeral practices are influenced by religious and cultural traditions, costs and personal preferences. These factors help determine whether the funeral will be elaborate or simple, public or private, religious or secular, and where it will be held. They also influence whether the body will be present at the funeral, if there will be a viewing or visitation, and if so, whether the casket will be open or closed, and whether the remains will be buried or cremated.

Among the choices you’ll need to make are whether you want one of these basic types of funerals, or something in between.

“Traditional” full-service funeral

This type of funeral, often referred to by funeral providers as a “traditional” funeral, usually includes a viewing or visitation and formal funeral service, use of a hearse to transport the body to the funeral site and cemetery, and burial, entombment or cremation of the remains.

Consumers often select a funeral home or cemetery because it’s close to home, has served the family in the past, or has been recommended by someone they trust. But people who limit their search to just one funeral home may risk paying more than necessary for the funeral or narrowing their choice of goods and services.

Compare Different Funeral Home Packages

Comparison shopping need not be difficult, especially if it’s done before the need for a funeral arises. If you visit a funeral home in person, the funeral provider is required by law to give you a general price list itemizing the cost of the items and services the home offers. If the general price list does not include specific prices of caskets or outer burial containers, the law requires the funeral director to show you the price lists for those items before showing you the items.

Price Shop Funeral Homes Through Email or Phone

Sometimes it’s more convenient and less stressful to “price shop” funeral homes by telephone. The Funeral Rule requires funeral directors to provide price information over the phone to any caller who asks for it. In addition, many funeral homes are happy to mail you their price lists, although that is not required by law.

Nobody particular wants to spend their day visiting a funeral home. Especially if no one has passed on. Yet, every day across America thousands of people make plans to sit down with a professional and map out instructions when the time comes.

Why? Because they are thinking ahead and arranging their last moments on earth;
and in doing so, they are helping their families through one of the most difficult situations they will ever encounter.

At one time pre-planning a funeral was considered somewhat taboo. That attitude has changed significantly over the years. Now many financial experts recommend pre-planning a funeral as a very practical and sound way for an individual to alleviate a major burden his or her survivors will encounter.

Trust accounts are basically a pre-payment for funeral services deposited in a bank or with a trust company. Because the bank is federally insured by the US government, the funds are 100% totally secure.

If the funds are put into a larger, pooled trust, such as the state-controlled New Jersey Trust Fund, they may earn a more competitive high rate of interest.

Regulations regarding trusts vary from state to state

You will need to ask your local licensed funeral director about the programs available in your area.

Pre-need insurance is a form of “life insurance”. At one time, it was referred to as “death insurance” but the term was changed to “pre-need insurance” or “funeral insurance” to make it more acceptable.

Every pre-need insurance company has different approaches

Generally, a person either pays for a whole-life policy to cover the funeral costs in one lump sum, or they can pay over a 3, 5 or 10 year-period depending upon the insurance company and a person’s age, health history and other factors.

Benefits of pre-need insurance

One benefit of pre-need insurance policies is that some times they may actually pay higher dividends than trust accounts. It’s possible your survivors could receive some money back from the policy after the cost of the funeral is covered.