The Ultimate Guide to Serving Baby Boomers
July 25th, 2012
“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company… simply by spending his money somewhere else.”
– Sam Walton, Founder of Wal-Mart
The 2010 Census reports that there are currently 79 million Baby Boomers in the U.S. – making up 26% of our population.
With an increasing number of Boomers reaching 65 and older, they’re slowly beginning to dominate your customer demographic – and with them, they bring nearly $3.2 trillion in annual spending power.
Commonly referred to as the “me” Generation, Boomers do it their way, and the funeral industry is no exception. Boomers are embracing new technology, using social media, browsing the web and seeking personalized funeral services more than ever before.
So how can you adapt to those changes?
There isn’t just one answer, and there’s certainly no special formula, but with a little time and your reading glasses, this guide will put you well on your way to better serving Baby Boomers.
Why You Need to Adapt to Baby Boomers’ Changing Needs
The Real Reason the Cremation Rate is Rising
Former funeral director Lajos Szabo explains why Boomers see the value of a funeral service differently, and why we need to adapt to that change.
5 Paradigm Shifts that Will Save the Funeral Service
Lajos Szabo explains 5 ways funeral professionals should adapt to better meet the needs of families today.
Get Online- Web 2.0
Almost 80% of Baby Boomers are online- and spend between 36.5-39.3 hours browsing the web every month. 10 years ago, if families wanted to find your funeral home, they would look in a newspaper or in the Yellow Pages. Things are different today. If you want to stay in business, your first step is creating a website for your funeral home.
Check out these articles to see how your funeral home website stacks up:
Is Your Funeral Home Website Hurting Your Business?
The difference between a mediocre and a great funeral home website (complete with pictures and examples).
What Families Want in a Funeral Home Website Part 1
funeralOne CEO Joe Joachim shares three goals the content on your funeral home website should achieve to rise above the online clutter. He invites you to evaluate your website by asking 4 questions that determine whether or not your site engages potential families.
What Families Want in a Funeral Home Website Part 2
Joe Joachim offers 3 ideas to better serve your families through your website.
What Families Want in a Funeral Home Part 3
Think you have a good grasp of how to engage and serve your families with your website? Joe Joachim shares 6 reasons why a social memorial website should serve as a gathering place for families – and how to position it as just that.
Go Social with Facebook and Twitter
Baby Boomers are the fastest growing demographic of Facebook users, so it’s no secret that your funeral home should follow suit. Why? Because 67% of companies have acquired a customer through Facebook – and with a demographic who makes up the majority of our workforce (and buying power), it’s important for your business to use social media to attract the families of today.
Here are some helpful articles on how to use social media for your funeral home:
What is a Tweet, and Why Do I Care?
An introduction to social media for the funeral profession.
6 Ways to Use Social Media to Build Relationships with Your Families
A simple tutorial on ways social media beginners can start engaging with their families on Facebook and Twitter.
5 (Easy) Steps to Mastering Twitter for Your Funeral Home
funeralOne social media maven Emily Black walks you through the step-by-step process of using Twitter for your funeral home. It’s easy, resourceful, and entertaining read on social media for the funeral profession.
4 Secrets to Successfully Marketing Your Funeral Home on Facebook
Emily Black explains the new Facebook Timeline, and 4 ways you can use its new features to attract more families and boost your social presence.
Offer Personalized Services
In just ten years, personalized funeral services have gone from being virtually non-existent to dominating one-third of all funeral ceremonies. Boomers feel a personalized service is a more meaningful way to memorialize a loved one – in fact, 62% of those wanting a funeral service prefer some sort of personalization.
Check out these guides to offering personalized services below:
3 Do-It-Yourself Personalized Services Changing the Game for Funeral Home
Families are searching for more unique and personal ways to memorialize their loved one. Try these 3 do-it-yourself personalization tricks.
The Impact Tribute Videos Have on Your Families
Funeral Director Walker Posey shares a story of how offering a tribute video to his own family has helped him increase the support he provide his client families.
4 Ways Personalized Funeral Services Can Help Your Business
Why offering personalized services can bring more value to your services, increase your level of care, create lasting relationships with families and grow your business.
Embrace Technology
Businesses in virtually every industry have adapted new technologies to better serve Baby Boomers… and the funeral profession is next. In order for our profession to survive, we’ll have to embrace technology to meet the needs of Boomers.
Here are some awesome articles that talk about what technologies are up-and-coming in our profession, and how you can leverage them:
5 Ways to Serve Your Families After the Funeral Service
A complete guide to offering grief support to your families online.
Why the Standard Obituary is Dead (And What You Can do About It)
Kim Stacey explains how to embrace social media to revamp the old, tired obituary.
Funeral Webcasting… It really is that easy.
A video tutorial illustrating the importance of webcasting in the funeral profession, and how to set-up webcasting for your funeral home.
Funeral eCommerce is the Next Big Thing
Funeral Business Advisor explains why eCommerce is the next big technology for the funeral profession, and how you can leverage it to generate revenue for your funeral home.
Still Looking For More Resources?
If you want to start attracting the families of today, look no further. funeralOne can help you add value to your services, increase your level of care and grow your business with innovative products like:
– Life Tributes All-in-One Personalization Software
– F1Connect Website Platform
– eAftercare services
– The Sympathy Store
To learn more about our products, or to request a 30-day free trial, call (800)-798-2575 or click here.
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