When it comes to creating beautiful, effective funeral websites, we aren’t ashamed to say that funeralOne is one of the best companies out there (and we aren’t shy about sharing the stories that back up our claims).

But we didn’t just start creating amazing funeral home websites overnight… we’ve spent years and years studying what today’s families want from a funeral home website, including the content and keywords that make them click on your website, the information that encourages them to choose your services, and even the mistakes that cause them to choose your competitors.

Over time, it’s safe to say that we’ve become funeral website ninjas…learning all of the ins and outs, best practices and do’s and don’ts for creating a website that not only brings value to the families in your community, but also brings success to your funeral home.

And today, we’re letting some of these secrets out of the bag. Here are four of our biggest insider tips for creating a valuable funeral home website that drives families to your business and establishes you as a leader in your community.

1. Open Their Mind Up To The Possibilities

Hearing stories of families who regret the funeral service that they planned for their loved one, or wishing that they had done something differently for their service is one of the worst things you can hear about as a funeral professional. But unfortunately, it happens all of the time.

And the truly upsetting part of listening to these families’ regrets or unhappiness stems from the fact that most funeral professionals know that those feelings probably could have been avoided, if only their funeral director had provided them with a little more information or education about the possibilities for their loved one’s funeral service.

The truth is, most people think that funeral service options are very black and white. You either have an open casket service with a traditional burial, or you order a direct cremation and that’s the end of it. But as funeral professionals, we know that there are a rainbow of options in between, no matter what budget or type of service a family wants. So it’s our job to convey these possibilities to the families that we serve, both so that we can ensure that they are getting a service that they appreciate and will help them heal, and so that we can open up service options that actually provide value.

McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home features an Explore The Possibilities tool right at the top of their services page, so that they can open up their families’ minds before they even get into details like pricing or funeral packages.

How to do it: One way that we recommend opening up your families’ mind to the possibilities of a personalized, unique service is give them a full scope of the services right on your website. We love using the f1Connect’s Explore The Possibilities tool (see image above), because it gives families a wide variety of inspiration, from the ultra traditional to the out of this world. (Literally… it educates people on how they can shoot their loved one’s ashes into space! Talk about a funeral service with a bang.)

2. Offer Families A Place To Share Stories And Memories

Losing someone that you love tends to leave you with a constant craving for connection. Maybe that connection is swapping stories with someone who shared great memories with your loved one, or maybe it’s writing a message to your loved one themselves, saying the words that you didn’t get a chance to say. Whatever type of connection your families may be seeking after their loved one passes away, it’s important that your website be that resource for sharing comforting dialogue.

Providing your families with a central place to share stories and memories (like in an online guest book or social memorial page) can not only be a great lifelong keepsake for the family that you’re serving, but it can also help with healing. We’ve seen time and time again that people who share photos or tell stories are actually forming memory connections with one another, which can be a very powerful tool early on in the healing process.

Even science says that sharing nostalgic memories or looking back on past relationships has been shown to counteract loneliness, boredom and anxiety. And on cold days, people use nostalgia to literally feel warmer. So take the opportunity to be that sense of warmth in your community with meaningful social memorial websites.

One of B.C. Bailey’s social memorial pages went viral when floods of support came in for the family of Benjamin Andrew Wheeler days, months and even years after his funeral service.

How to do it: Provide a designated place on your website for families to share stories, offer expressions of support, and even upload their favorite photos and videos of their loved one. f1Connect’s social memorial pages (above) are a popular integration for many funeral homes across the country because they do just that… and tons more! Families can log in to have conversations with their friends and family, they can watch their loved one’s memorial video, and they can even upload virtual gifts when words aren’t enough.

To learn more about how you can get f1Connect’s social memorial pages on your funeral home website, click here to talk with one of our website success specialists.

3. Make Yourself The Go-To Resource For Death And Grief In Your Community

One of the biggest mistakes that we see many funeral homes make when it comes to creating their website is focusing it 100% on the funeral planning process itself. But death doesn’t start and end with a funeral… families begin looking for support all the way from when they first start pre-planning or attend their first funeral, all the way through to months and years after their loved one’s funeral ends.

So it only makes sense that, as the resident expert on death and funerals in your community, your website should support them all the way through the process, from before they enter your funeral home, to long after they’ve gone. Why? Because it will align you as an expert that families can come to and rely on when they are facing a hardship in this arena. And if they can count on you to support them through death education, pre-planning, grief support, why wouldn’t they count on you to to help them plan a meaningful funeral service?

Jason Troyer said it best in his recent ICCFA session: if families are coming to you during a time of loss or when they they need grief support because they know you are the best resource in your community, do you really think they’re going to comparison shop when it comes to choosing a funeral service provider?

Roche Funeral Home’s pre-planning page not only features a number of helpful written resources that walk families through the entire pre-planning process, but they also feature information videos – great for those who prefer to watch a video over reading a long website.

How to do it: Your funeral home website should be chock-full of education-based resources and value-based content that helps inform your audience of why they use your services and what they will be getting when they come to your funeral home. You could achieve this through frequently asked question pages, local resource links, educational blogs, price comparison charts, and even informative videos that answer all of their funeral-related questions before they even think to ask them.

Roche Funeral Home does a great job of this (above) by featuring f1Connect’s ‘Why You Should Pre-Plan’ video right on their pre-planning page, so that families have a quick and easy way to learn all that they need to know about this important service without having to dig deep into the website content.

4. Walk Them Through The Value Of What You Do

Last, but most certainly not least, one of the most important things that your website should do is help families understand the value of the products and services that you provide. After all, how customers perceive your pricing is just as important (if not more so) than the price itself. So if families see the products that you offer as helpful, comforting, valuable and essential, they will not only better understand your pricing strategy, but they will happily pay for all of the costs associated with an exceptional service.

The value of your funeral home can literally be expressed on every single page of your funeral home website, from the expertise and personal background on your About Me page to free downloadable checklists and planning resources that you offer to families on your Funeral Planning pages. They key is to keep offering families resources, help and support before they even ask for it.

It’s even possible to get the value of your higher price point services through to the budget and comparison shoppers visiting your website… if you lay out your prices in the right way. It’s all about being clear and transparent, and letting families see for themselves the added value they are getting in your more expensive packages through comparison sheets.

O’Connor Mortuary pricing plans are all about the value – laying out for families exactly what kind of care and service they are getting from each price option.

How to do it: Don’t try and hide your prices at the bottom of your website pages in the smallest possible font. Instead, be up front with families and express the value, hard work and care that is behind every single one of the packages or products that you offer. Take a look at O’Connor Mortuary’s Cremation Package pricing (above). They break down all of the valuable details that go into each one of their cremation packages, so families know just what value they are getting when they opt for the high-end packages (and what they’re missing out on when they go for starting price point).

Are you ready to upgrade your funeral home website and start creating more value for your families and your community?

 
Contact funeralOne today to learn about how our website success specialists can bring things like value-based education and pricing, social memorial websites, and Explore The Possibility tools into your website in order to bring success to your funeral home and your families.

Rilee Chastain

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