The Shocking Truth About Your Families
April 11th, 2012
One of the key components to growing your funeral firm, is to grow the number of families you serve. However, in order to effectively attract more families—especially the less traditional families of today—you need to understand who they are.
But how well do you really know your families?
In today’s blog post, I’m going to uncover some of the shocking truths about your families that will help you adapt your funeral firm to better meet their needs!
They research products and services online
You may still think that your families are flipping through the Yellow Pages to find product and service information, but they’re not.
The truth is, 89% of people research products and services online first before making a purchase. To add to that, 20% of the 11+ billion searches performed every month on Google are for local businesses.
Sure, you might have a website, but is it up to par? In order to attract families, your funeral home website needs to effectively communicate the value of the services your firm offers and how you can help families during their time of need.
They’re impatient
Just like you, your families are busy. The popularity of smartphones and tablets have made it easy for them to always have instant access to information through the Internet, which in turn, has made them impatient.
Statistics show that 7% of Internet users never look past the second page in Google search results. Make sure your website is optimized to appear ahead of your competitors and ideally, on the first page of search results.
They shop for sympathy gifts and flowers online
It may come as a surprise to you, but your families have joined the eCommerce revolution and are shopping online. According to eCommerce.com, there are currently almost 2 billion people shopping online, and by 2014, eCommerce will account for 53% of all retail sales in the U.S.
Believe it or not, consumers are actually spending $240 million a year on sympathy gifts and flowers online. By allowing your community to conveniently shop for sympathy gifts and flowers directly from your funeral home website, you have the ability to tap into a multi-million dollar industry and make money from your website.
They live for social media
Have you been skeptical of social media; thinking of it as just a passing fad? You’re not alone. However, the truth is your families live for social media. It’s a way for them to connect with friends and family, and share their life experiences.
Statistics show that social media is the number one web activity. And not just among the younger generations. Social networking usage of Internet users ages 50 and older nearly doubled in 2010. In fact, there are nearly 16 million people 55 and older using Facebook in the United States alone.
By integrating social media into your funeral home website with social memorial websites, you’re making it easier for your families to connect with their network of supporters during this difficult time in their lives.
They find videos on your website engaging
You may not think that a video on your funeral home website would have that big of an impact on your families, but you’re wrong.
A recent study by Forrester Research reveals that website visitors are 4 times more likely to watch content when presented in the form of video rather than simply reading it; and that you’re 6 times as likely to convert a “browser” into a paying customer by adding a video to your website.
Leverage the power of video by showcasing your services with engaging videos that inspire potential families to celebrate the unique life lived.
In order attract the families of today, you need to understand who they are, what they are looking for and where they are looking. I hope these shocking truths help you answer those questions and to better meet the needs of your families and your community.
What else have you discovered about your families? Please share your comments below! 🙂
Sources:
ComScore.com
Google.com
fairwindsweb.com
eCommerce.com
PewInternet Research
Socialnomics
Forrester Research
Mashable.com
My funeral home has a facebook page that we update local events on. What is everyones opinion of putting obits on facebook??
That’s a great question because there is a tremendous amount of traffic on facebook and traffic and conversions are the ultimate goals for your internet efforts. Here’s the concern; How do you as a funeral service provider “convert” facebook traffic? The goal of conversion translates into several sub-goals; Education, future business and revenue. Control or your ability to influence the traffic towards conversion is critical to a positive conversion rate. The point is that control of traffic is much more difficult through facebook as opposed to your own website. The best of both worlds is to have your website fully integrated with facebook. A strong connection with facebook allows your website to enjoy the massive amount of facebook traffic plus gives you the best opportunity to influence and convert that traffic towards your goals of education, future business and revenue.
That’s a great question because there is a tremendous amount of traffic on facebook and traffic and conversions are the ultimate goals for your internet efforts. Here’s the concern; How do you as a funeral service provider “convert” facebook traffic? The goal of conversion translates into several sub-goals; Education, future business and revenue. Control or your ability to influence the traffic towards conversion is critical to a positive conversion rate. The point is that control of traffic is much more difficult through facebook as opposed to your own website. The best of both worlds is to have your website fully integrated with facebook. A strong connection with facebook allows your website to enjoy the massive amount of facebook traffic plus gives you the best opportunity to influence and convert that traffic towards your goals of education, future business and revenue.
Well said Lajos!
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