Not only does a robust preneed program help ensure the long-term security of your firm, but it also provides a service that families really want and need. But preneed can also have a valuable impact on your at-need business – beyond just growing market share. Below, we’ve included four ways your preneed program can help improve your at-need services.
Funeral homes that actively communicate the benefits of advance funeral planning are doing right by their communities by empowering them with information about a service they want and need. When you provide what your client families want, you’ll have an important opportunity to increase the profitability of your funeral home.
Funeral directors must navigate many challenges each day in order to operate a successful funeral home business. With so many factors to consider, you don’t have time to waste on potential solutions that don’t work. Focusing attention on your preneed funeral planning services is a solution that can work — and there are many reasons why.
Not all families have an opportunity to prepare for or understand their loved one’s end-of-life wishes. In situations where death occurs unexpectedly, the process of planning a meaningful service or celebration of life without their loved one’s input can take an emotional and financial toll on the family members they left behind. That is why it is important to ensure families know that making advance funeral plans can help relieve that burden for their loved ones. Learn why you should discuss the importance of making advance funeral plans with families and discover preneed trends and resources to help you have productive conversations.
As Baby Boomers begin thinking about end-of-life issues, funeral professionals should understand their attitudes and preferences. Whether or not someone from this generation is ready to make advance funeral plans for themself, their perceptions of funeral service will shape how funeral professionals promote the value of their services.
Homesteaders’ focus group research indicates that members of the Silent Generation may be the most receptive to the benefits of advance funeral planning. Their responses demonstrate their keen understanding of the importance of prearranging and their belief that acting on those benefits is a smart thing to do.
People who prearrange their funerals report high levels of satisfaction with their decision, but what gets them to the point where they’re ready to complete and fund their prearrangement? Major purchasing decisions start with awareness of a problem. In this case, the problem is that we’ll all inevitably die—and someone will have to take care of arrangements (both logistically and financially).
In this guide, learn how to increase awareness about preneed funeral planning among families and discover tips for success when serving preneed client families and questions to start the conversation.
Whether we admit it or not, many of us would like to have a say in how we are remembered. With that in mind, the role of a preneed professional becomes crucial in ensuring clients’ prearrangements truly reflect their lives.
Clients can benefit from your expertise in turning their life stories into plans for meaningful memorialization. These plans can bring peace of mind and tremendous comfort to the family when preneed arrangements become an at-need funeral. Here are a few important things to consider as you help clients tell their stories through advance funeral planning:
Many families can be caught off-guard by the number of tasks that must be completed within a day or two of a loved one’s death. Even those who have planned a funeral before may find themselves overwhelmed by the decisions that need to be made and details that must be coordinated. Discover several examples of the funeral to-do list tasks that should be taken into account when making advance funeral plans.
Planning ahead can be so beneficial for families because it allows them to carefully consider their choices without the added stress and pressure of a recent loss. Once the service details have been selected, it’s time to think about preneed funding options. Here are answers to a few common questions about this important step in the advance funeral planning process:
There are many factors that lead people to prearrange and there is certainly an average age people begin to do so, based on data we’ve collected. However, even the average data doesn’t tell the whole story. Discover the most common factors that lead people to prearrange, average ages to prearrange and the benefits of prearranging at a younger age.
Funeral professionals have an increasing number of resources available to help families begin conversations about memorialization. When you facilitate these important discussions among family members, you’ll establish your firm as a resource that families can turn to when they need your services. Here are a few tips to help you get started:
Talking to your parent or another loved one about funeral planning might be one of the hardest conversations you’ll ever have, but it might also be one of the most crucial conversations. Starting a conversation about memorialization preferences now can help remove this burden and ensure your loved one’s wishes will be met.
Too many consumers still do not know they can plan and fund their funerals in advance. Plain and simple, it all boils down to awareness. Can it really be this straightforward? Here are a few key reasons why your preneed program may not be performing to your expectations:
Branding is a cornerstone of effective marketing. It distinguishes you from your competitors and helps to keep your firm top-of-mind. Branding is a feeling you get when you walk into a business and an understanding of what a business stands for without having to point it out.
Once you have confirmed that your firm’s branding is effective in your community, you can start ensuring all your services — including your preneed program — are seamlessly integrated. Discover four simple things you can do to align your preneed program with your funeral home brand:
Even staff members who are not solely focused on advance funeral planning can play an important part in the success of your preneed business — sometimes in unexpected ways. Keep reading to discover a few tips to help you develop a preneed team that can help your firm achieve its goals while ensuring families receive exceptional service.
The funeral professionals who are driven to get better and learn new techniques are the ones who see results. That’s why it’s so important to participate in valuable opportunities to develop the skills you have and learn from others who share your passion for the profession. Here are a few key considerations that will help you make the most out of your chances to grow:
It’s important to make an investment in your own professional training and development to be better equipped to meet your high expectations for yourself and your business. There are many benefits of continuing education for funeral directors and preneed professionals. Here are just a few of the reasons continuing education can help you perform to the best of your ability:
There are more ways than ever to connect with preneed families. The challenge is to find the methods that are effective for your funeral home and community – and implement them well. Discover several proven methods for earning and retaining a client family’s business. You may find that these efforts offer something new that could resonate with your community and grow your firm’s preneed business.
Establishing meaningful connections with client families is a key component to any successful funeral home business plan, and growth in preneed services is essential to help ensure your firm's sustainability. Setting up preneed appointments over the phone is one of the best ways to build brand awareness within your community, increase your preneed sales and help secure your at-need market share.
Funeral providers that have an active preneed program aim to generate quality leads by casting a wide net in their community. However, this process takes time, and you often need to nurture these individuals over a longer period until they feel ready to prearrange their own funeral. Discover three common opportunities funeral providers miss when trying to capture more preneed sales.
One of the most valuable gifts funeral professionals have to offer families is the ability to facilitate important conversations about final wishes. Your expertise allows you to educate people about the value of planning ahead to ensure their memorialization preferences will be honored.
In addition to the discussions, you have with families every day, there are many other ways to reach out to members of your community. Your funeral home’s social media channels offer another place to encourage those important conversations. The content you post could be the starting point for a family to contact you for further information about your services.
Online funeral sales succeed when they are connected to a strong, established funeral business that knows when it’s time to shift alongside their client families. Technology has become even more integrated into our daily lives, and consumers are very receptive to the concept of viewing, selecting and purchasing their funeral plans online. We know it’s important to meet the growing demand for online services, but how do we do that effectively?
Texas consumers visit www.prepaidfunerals.texas.gov for more information.
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