Parting.com has been an exciting ride into the funeral industry. We would have never dreamt that in only 2 years we would have been able to help nearly a million families find funeral homes. The team here at Parting has gained so much from this experience that we felt it necessary to share what we’ve learned along the way.
After a million users, 3 million page views, and thousands of funeral home business pages, we’ve found that the following 4 things increased a funeral home’s likeliness to secure a call by more than 55%. These are simple and should be implemented TODAY.
1. Professional Photos of Your Funeral Home and Staff
You spend thousands, if not millions, renovating these beautiful buildings – but how would a family ever know? You operate a large event venue that can hold hundreds of people yet consumers are lucky to get a blurry cell phone picture or a Google Maps street view image. If you got it, flaunt it.
Thinking from the consumer’s perspective, think important questions you can answer with pictures that could be immediate plusses:
How many people can your chapel accommodate?
California Mortuary, Downey, CA
What style is the decor?
Rose Hills, Skyrose Chapel, Whittier, CA
Do you have an area for a reception?
Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home, Big Spring, TX
2. Unique Differentiators
If you are specialized in a culture, religion, affordability, etc., you should do what you can to let everyone know what differentiates your service. Some of our best Parting.com customers were ones that spoke certain languages and served specific religions.
Some argued that they were trying to appeal to everyone. What happened was they ended up sounding generic and appealing to no one. It’s better to stand out at something than stand out at nothing.
3. Fair, Honest, and Transparent Pricing
This is a hotly debated topic, but the best performing funeral homes didn’t just have the most affordable prices. The ones that found the most success had the most justifiable prices. As a business owner, you should be free to charge as much, or as little, as you want.
If your overhead charges include keeping the lights on in a 5,000 square-foot facility, then yes, you are completely justified in charging more than the cremation society down the street. Fair and honest will mean different things to everyone, but there is a reasonable range.
4. Respond Immediately to Phone Calls, Emails, and Messages
With all the ways people communicate and gather information, no one is going to sit by the phone and wait for you to call them back. If you don’t think this is important or that you’re saving time by screening your calls, you’re wrong. Funeral homes that answered calls immediately saw over 100x more connections than those who called back over 30 mins later.
When a potential customer calls looking for answers and they don’t get it from you, they are going to get it somewhere else. Inbound calls are what we call “hot leads” and should be treated like gold.
Being a funeral home owner is not easy. You’re balancing customer service, emotion, licensing, the FTC, all with the added stress of making sure you can pay your employees and keep a roof over your family’s head. Even still, you’re a business that needs to make sales. Don’t sell yourself short!