The start of a new year is an opportunity to set goals for business growth for the next 12 months – and beyond. Looking ahead to opportunities for the future, we have compiled a list of four key focus areas to work on and pay attention to this year.
1. Take a Fresh Look at Your Preneed Program.
Preneed offers many benefits for the people in your community, including opportunities to make their own plans for how they want to be remembered, reduce stress for their loved ones and help relieve financial burdens. Sign up to get the new 7th edition of Preneed Motivators, a report that provides new consumer data and trends, as you navigate building or refreshing your preneed program.
Part of building your preneed program is choosing a strong preneed partner. Homesteaders recently announced a growth rate increase on new and in-force business, which will take effect January 15. This growth rate increase is one of the benefits of our strategic investments, which help our company and our funeral home partners remain financially strong and continue to prepare for the future.
2. Build Stronger Community Connections.
Data published in our Preneed Motivators report shows that more than 70% of preneed policy owners only considered one funeral home for their advance funeral plans. This means that your connection to the community and your funeral home’s reputation is very important to the success of your business.
At Homesteaders, one of the resources we offer to help you connect with your community is our Community Engagement Program. This program is designed with tools that help you execute successful presentations with planning guides and promotion materials.
Our new digital holiday and event toolkits offer additional options to help you create valuable experiences for your community. For example, the Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) digital toolkit offers numerous resources that you can share and use to plan your own event. Be on the lookout for more toolkits and resources coming later this year.
In addition, a great way to reach the community is through personalized touchpoints, such as text-based aftercare. Sending follow-up text messages to families who have been grieving is a great way to build a connection and a relationship with them. Text-based aftercare can increase your customer satisfaction and boost your word-of-mouth referrals. Read this article for more information on setting up a text-based after care service.
3. Manage Business Costs.
Inflation continues to be an important topic for firms to monitor as they plan for the future. Firms need to find ways to manage costs while maintaining a high level of quality for the families they serve.
One important opportunity to help protect against inflation is to lock in today’s prices with our P3 Price Protection Plan®. The plan makes it possible for firms to lock in the current wholesale cost of a Matthews Aurora casket or urn on a qualifying Homesteaders-funded policy. This helps you to minimize increasing expenses and risk for your funeral home and your client families.
4. Focus on the Long-Term Future.
It’s important to think of your firm’s long-term success and goals. For those who wish to expand their firm and looking for financing to keep business momentum going, the Funeral Home Conventional Loan Program offered by The Bancorp and Homesteaders is an option to consider. This program is designed for independent funeral home owners seeking loans between $5 million and $20 million.
Another item to think about for your firm’s future is succession planning, which is an important step for maintaining the longevity of your funeral home business. Even if this plan won’t be needed in the near future, having a succession plan is important for a smooth transition. This article provides a helpful list of action items.
Online funeral planning is another topic to pay attention to as you plan for your firm’s future. With the ongoing changes in technology, more people are considering digital services. A digital storefront through eFuneral can make online funeral planning possible. eFuneral acts as an extension to your brand and is a great way to reach new potential customers. Check out this guide to help you set up online funeral planning for your funeral home.
Setting goals for this year does not just end with 2024. Start making long-term goals that extend over multiple years and plan for your firm’s future growth.
