I read an article written in Funeral Business Advisor by Danielle Burmeister, a daughter of two funeral professionals. https://funeralbusinessadvisor.com/what-growing-up-in-a-funeral-home-taught-me-about-marketing/funeral-business-advisor She grew up in an apartment above her parents funeral home and in this article, she makes a few valid points. Here are two of them along with my thoughts as well;
1. Your personal brand matters;
Families don’t do business with a funeral home. They did business with a funeral director. When families need to talk about end-of-life care, they want to talk with someone they know – they don’t necessarily want to cold call a funeral home. Because funeral service is relational, not transactional, this is likely true in the communities you serve as well. Often, a family feels more connected to the funeral home staff than they do to the funeral home business. That’s where personal branding comes into play.
The link between you and your business brand can be a very good thing – think of it in terms of exponential growth. When you have the ability to educate your community, the positive perception of your business brand increases at the same rate as your personal brand.
We have been developing a series of one on one video’s for our clients. https://funeralmarketingservices.com/video-interview-with-funeral-directors/ Let your community get to know you through a series of one on one videos designed to personalize you and the valuable services you provide.
2. Your reputation matters;
The shortest distance between two people is not a straight line. It’s a compelling story. I think this is especially true when it comes to brand advocates (testimonials) – those consumers who have compelling stories to share about their experience with your funeral home. By far, word of mouth referrals are best, but an “at need” who isn’t referred will lean heavily on the reviews and opinions posted online. Reviews can and will have a huge impact on the number of services you do over the next 12 months and beyond. We encourage our client base to build fresh, positive reviews from the families they serve through our review dashboard. The method in which we help funeral directors acquire reviews from the families they serve is unmatched in our industry. Set up a free demo with us. We will show you how to stand out above your competition in the demographic you serve.