You already know that aftercare is an important part of your funeral home’s marketing plan. If you haven’t already developed an aftercare program or are looking for ways to reach customers in a more personalized and non-intrusive way, consider text messaging.
Texting has proven to be one of the most efficient and effective methods of communication in the modern world. The amount of people who send and receive text messages is predicted to rise globally to 5.9 billion by 2025, according to this article.
Think of how many times you’ve silenced an email notification or sent it to your ‘promotions’ folder to be dealt with later (maybe), yet immediately responded to a text. It’s a lot, right? In fact, 60% of people will read a text within one to five minutes, whereas only 6% check their other notifications within two to four hours. In today’s busy world, people are more likely to send and respond to texts because it’s considered a more personal form of communication, and personalized service is what makes a lasting impact on customers.
While texting is not a typical form of communications for the funeral industry, it may be time to consider adding a new option to your aftercare program. According to this report, 27% more businesses on average use text marketing now compared to this time last year.
Let’s review three case studies of real funeral home customers who utilized our text-based aftercare program.
success story one
In 2018, Clark Legacy Center in Nicholasville, Kentucky began using our text-based aftercare program. They sent out texts to 280 of their client families who had recently experienced a loss and were grieving their loved ones. Here’s what the text said:
“Hi [First Name], this is Elizabeth with Clark Legacy Center. David asked me to reach out to you and let you know we were thinking about you today and wanted to check in and see how you were doing. We know how challenging these first few days and weeks can be. Please let me know if there is anything we can do for you.”
Within just two hours, 113 people had responded to the texts that were sent out, resulting in a 40% response rate. Responses from client families ranged from gratitude, encouragement and general questions for the funeral home. In addition, within the first three days, 14 people posted positive reviews for the funeral home to Google reviews, raising Clark Legacy Center’s rating from 4.2 to 4.7 stars! To view Clark Legacy Center’s full success story, click here.
success story two
Posey Funeral Home in South Carolina began their text-based aftercare program by sending out 53 texts to families who had received services in the prior two months. Of the 53 client families that were texted, 31 replied with responses of gratitude, which is an impressive 58% response rate. Here are some actual responses:
“Bless all of you! Thank you for reaching out, it is greatly appreciated. We have each to lean on and to share our memories. Let Walker know I miss seeing him (Diablos). Thank you again!!! We do love Posey Funeral Home!”
“Thank you for everything you all have done. It's been hard but we have had more good days than bad lately. You all have made what is the saddest time in our lives easier to deal with. Again thank you for all your care and concern for our family”
Within the first three days of implementing text-based aftercare, the funeral home also received 13 5-star Google reviews from their client families! To view Posey Funeral Home’s full success story, click here.
success story three
Hummel Funeral Home in Akron, Ohio began using text-based aftercare by sending out an initial text to 208 families they served in the previous two months’ time. From that first text alone, they received a 40% response rate from client families. In total, through the initial texts and follow-up responses, 416 texts were sent out on Hummel Funeral Home’s behalf, all through the work of our text-based aftercare program. Here is a response from someone who received an initial text:
“Good morning thank you so much for thinking of us I am doing as best as I can... At the moment don't need anything but I just thank you guys for handling us with care and taking time out of your busy day to think about us!”
Within the first three days, the funeral home’s Google reviews increased by 300%, resulting in 12 additional 5-star reviews for the experience they provided to their client families! To view Hummel Funeral Home’s full success story, click here.
In a recent survey conducted by Attentive, out of more than 5,000 US consumers who responded, 74% stated they would like a human to respond to their text.
That’s why kind, empathetic messages are sent out from real people on your behalf, adding a personal outreach to client families following their loss. Each text is crafted in a way that doesn’t necessary require a response but is rather a message of thoughtfulness and empathy from your funeral home. Any responses we receive back are managed by our highly-trained team, and funeral home customers receive a detailed report so they know exactly what the conversations entail for future reference. We use local 10-digit phone numbers, instead of 5-digit short codes, so that the number is familiar to recipients. In turn, client families who engage with the program often post positive online reviews. This reflects favorably on your business and helps generate future customers who turn to the internet in search of quality funeral service providers in your area.
We know you care deeply about your client families or you probably wouldn’t be in the funeral industry in the first place! Realistically though, you don’t have enough time in the day to pick up the phone and have lengthy, meaningful chats with all your client families. Implementing text-based aftercare not only provides an exceptional experience, but it ensures that your funeral home’s communication with a family can continue after their loved one’s service. Each funeral home partner has a dedicated account support representative to help manage their program, so your aftercare strategy can be streamlined, yet still personable.
What does your current aftercare program look like? Contact your Account Executive to learn more about how using text-based aftercare can transform your business.
