FBA Calls Funeral eCommerce The Next Big Thing

Funeral Business Advisor featured our new funeral eCommerce solution, The Sympathy Store, on the front cover of the May/June 2012 issue—revealing that The Sympathy Store is the next BIG thing.

To say that we’re flattered by this recognition is an understatement! Funeral eCommerce is something we’ve been passionate about and have believed in for a long time now.

Read the article featured in Funeral Business Advisor below to see how eCommerce presents a new opportunity for funeral professionals looking to increase the level of service provided to their community while also increasing revenue!


The Next Big Thing…Funeral eCommerce

The future of your funeral firm comes down to one thing – adapting to today’s families. Thanks to the Baby Boomers and the explosion of the Internet, your families’ and community’s preferences have changed. In order to survive, you’ll need to tap into those changing needs.

And if you’re like most funeral professionals, you’re always searching for a way to better support the emotional needs of your families, and build a deeper connection with your community.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could achieve these goals without increasing expenses for your funeral home or your families?

The good news is you can, by helping your community support grieving families. And, as an added bonus, it can increase your revenue and your bottom line…But how?

Nearly 1,000 funeral homes have found a solution to help them do just that – The Sympathy Store. It’s funeralOne’s free, done-for you, eCommerce plug-in that allows funeral firms to sell gifts and flowers directly on their website.


The Opportunity for the Funeral Profession

eCommerce is a well-established online tool that has brought success to many companies (think Amazon and eBay). With $240 million already being spent on sympathy gifts and flowers online every year, eCommerce isn’t new to the funeral industry either.

As a funeral professional, you already know flowers and sympathy gifts play a major role in funeral service, regardless of how traditional or unique the ceremony is. Since 93% of people purchase gifts or flowers to express their support to grieving families, there couldn’t be a better opportunity for your firm. With more than 200,000 Google searches for sympathy gifts and flowers every month, you’re tapping into a service that your community is already looking for.

An eCommerce Sympathy Store allows your website visitors to conveniently send grieving families sympathy gifts and flowers at the same place they’re viewing obituaries and sharing memories – anytime, anywhere.

“When my uncle passed away I was extremely concerned about his wife and family,” said Theresa Berquist of Illinois. “So I took the time to go to a local gift store to search for the right gift. I then needed to have it wrapped. All of this took about an hour. I wish I could have purchased the gift directly on the funeral home website.”


Increase the Level of Service You Provide Your Community

Your community is eager to support a family that has experienced the loss of a loved one. And when a death occurs, your funeral firm’s website is often the first place your community goes. They’ll visit your site to read an obituary, find out service times, leave a condolence, or sign the online guestbook. Tune into your community’s needs by transforming your website into a valuable resource that helps them show grieving families how much they care.

When you offer families the opportunity to purchase sympathy gifts through your website, you’ve simplified what could be a difficult, time-consuming situation for them. Thanks to you, they won’t have to deal with the hassle of getting to the local florist or gift shop before closing.


Help Support Families

88% of grief therapists agree that sympathy gifts and flowers are an effective aid in the grieving process. By adding The Sympathy Store to your funeral home website, you’re supporting the emotional needs of your families without adding to their funeral service expenses. The Sympathy Store helps families feel the love from friends and family in any time zone, even if they can’t attend the service. In fact, more than 80% of sympathy gift purchases are from out-of-town families.

The Sympathy Store features the largest catalog of gifts and flowers that are designed to comfort families when it’s needed most. Not to mention, funeral firms can continue sending business to their local florist of choice.


Eliminate the Guesswork

With The Sympathy Store, if someone is unable to decide which gift is most suitable, Sympathy Advisors are available through online chat or by phone, 24/7, to assist them. And when they’re ready to purchase, there’s no need to rummage around looking for the funeral home’s address, The Sympathy Store populates all the shipping and funeral service information automatically – eliminating the guesswork and making it effortless to send gifts with the click of a mouse.


Tap into a New Source of Revenue

Remember the old adage “If I had a nickel for every time…I’d be rich”? Well, now you can get a nickel for every visitor to your website. That’s the average impact integrating The Sympathy Store on your funeral website has on your bottom line. Every month, you gain new website visitors who are reading obituaries, looking up service times and signing online guestbooks.

By incorporating The Sympathy Store on your website, you can turn your website visitors into customers, generating new revenue for your firm. The Sympathy Store pays you up to 25% commissions on every product sold on your website – the highest commissions in the industry.

“The Sympathy Store is a homerun for funeral professionals – it offers convenience for the community, supports families, and effortlessly generates up to 25% commissions on every order,” said Joe Joachim, CEO & Founder of funeralOne. “You can literally make money in your sleep.”


Are you ready to embrace funeral eCommerce? The Sympathy Store plug-in is an effortless way to start selling sympathy gifts and flowers directly from your funeral home website. Sign up now & get The Sympathy Store for FREE!

Joe Joachim

funeralOne

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  6. Kathy

    Nice. So you are just another wire service that takes money for doing nothing and takes business from REAL LOCAL florists!

  7. Rilee Chastain

    Hi Kathy! Like you, we love supporting local businesses, which is why all of the funeral homes that feature The Sympathy Store on their website work directly with their favorite local florists! When an order is placed on The Sympathy Store, it is forwarded to a local florist who fills the order with fresh flowers and delivers it to the funeral home. This creates a hassle free experience for people wanting to send memorial flowers, and a way for funeral directors to continue to work with the amazing florists in their local area!