Funeral Home Marketing Trends to Follow

Consumer preferences and communication styles are ever-evolving, which means it can be difficult to keep your finger on the pulse and know exactly how — and where — to reach your target audience. Although keeping pace with marketing trends, especially if you’re on a limited funeral home marketing budget, may not always be top of mind, paying attention to what channels and tactics are resonating most with today’s consumers will give your firm an advantage over competitors who fail to look ahead.

We’ve compiled the top funeral home marketing trends your firm should follow, test and participate in to connect with more prospective families in your community. Trends we’ll cover include:

 

Trend #1: Your Funeral Home’s Online Presence Matters

The world was going digital long before the coronavirus pandemic hit in 2020; however, it massively accelerated this process — especially in the funeral profession, where many firms lacked a strong online presence. As consumers have become accustomed to connecting with businesses online, it’s critical for funeral homes to invest in their online presence and digital marketing strategies. Below are some of the most effective digital marketing tools funeral homes should be employing today to grow their online presence:

Online Reviews

Every business is subject to online customer reviews, and it’s particularly crucial for those in service-related industries to have an impeccable online reputation to establish trust with prospective customers. To ensure your funeral home can receive online reviews, make sure you have set up your firm’s Google Business Profile. You can also set up business profiles on other popular listing sites like Yelp and Facebook. Once you set up your profiles, establish a schedule and set up automatic notifications to help you monitor your firm’s reputation on these sites and quickly answer questions and respond to customer reviews.

Social Media

Social media has tremendous power to position your funeral home as the top choice in your community. It allows you to inexpensively broadcast quality information about what you do and offer, generate discussion that provides insights into consumer wants and needs and address consumer questions you might not ordinarily know exist. When you invest time and resources into your social media strategy, you can increase your firm’s online presence and capture more market share.

Website

If your website exists simply to provide an online presence but fails to actively convert visitors into customers, you have a big opportunity for improvement. Today, you need a website specifically designed to increase case counts and promote revenue-producing services. The better your website’s user experience and search engine optimization (SEO), the better you brand your firm as the responsive and trusted option in your market, which means you can leverage your services for more revenue per call and outperform competition.

Trend #2: (Short-form) Video Is a Powerful Way to Connect with Consumers

Short-from video continues to rise in popularity because it’s easy for users to consume this type of content, and businesses can quickly make their point while showcasing their brand’s authenticity. This is likely why platforms like TikTok and formats like Reels have quickly gained marketing interest.

TikTok

TikTok, a popular social media app that allows users to create, watch and share short videos online, is the fourth largest social media platform, behind Facebook, YouTube and Instagram. While the majority of TikTok’s user base consists of Gen Z, you can still see this as an opportunity for your funeral home to interact with a much younger audience and start positively influencing the conversation about death and dying and the importance of planning ahead.

Reels

Reels, a content format popularized on Instagram, are vertically-filmed short-form videos heavily prioritized by Instagram’s recommendation algorithm. This means if your funeral home begins posting Reels, you have the best chance of getting in front of new people on Instagram. Fortunately, Reels don’t have to be professionally filmed and many users prefer content that’s true and genuine because it allows them to feel a greater sense of connection to the brand behind the video.

Trend #3: Crowdfunding Enables Families to Celebrate Their Loved Ones

Inflation is at an all-time high, and many consumers are struggling to keep up with it, especially in unpredictable circumstances like the sudden death of a loved one. Crowdfunding can help in these situations by providing families with an opportunity to remember and celebrate their loved ones in the ways they would have wanted. Treasured Memories Community Funding provides a safe solution to funeral service crowdfunding so funeral homes can proceed with services and know that the payment will come through a secure source, and families can focus on honoring their loved one.

Trend #4: Customer Experience Will Always Win

Great customer service is all about creating small yet memorable moments for your client families both online and offline. In fact, according to Zippia, 64% of consumers consider customer experience to be more important than price when making a purchase, whereas up to 89% of consumers have switched to a competitor following a poor customer experience. By adding more value to your services through personalization and improved customer experience, you can help your firm become the provider your community demands.

Trend #5: Consumers Are Beginning to View Death More Positively

Modern Western culture tends to avoid talking about death, but this is slowly starting to change as younger generations have begun to view death in a more positive light. Organizations like Remembering A Life provide educational tools to help families understand the value of a funeral, plan a meaningful service and begin the grief journey following the death of a loved one. Your funeral home can help spread awareness about death positivity by educating your community through blog content, social media, events and more. You can also lean on your firm’s brand advocates — those who had an exceptional experience with your firm and share about their experience with their family members and friends — to help start those important conversations about planning ahead.

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Many trends in consumer preferences and communication styles apply to how funeral professionals can effectively share their messages with their communities and earn their business. As you look for new ways to stand out in your community, consider how these trends can help you differentiate your funeral home’s marketing efforts.

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