Do You Have These 5 Key Elements On Your Funeral Home Website?
June 23rd, 2022When it comes to your funeral home website, it can be seen in two different ways.
Some see their funeral home website as a “function” of the funeral home. Like flowers on the table, or decor in the home.
Others see their funeral home website as a “service” element of their funeral home.
We tend to see funeral home websites as the latter rather than the former.
Why let your funeral home website be a piece of decor when it can be boosting your revenue, level of service and taking tasks off of your hands?
If you don’t believe us, we’re going to go over these 5 elements that transform your funeral home website from a function to a service. To show you, we are spotlighting one of our client’s websites: Pray Funeral Home & Cremation Services. Their website is truly an inspiring example for the funeral profession (and it’s not just how it’s designed – it’s also the content they create on it).
Ready to dive into Pray’s website to understand these important elements? Let’s do it:
#1: All of your service options & packages
Why it’s important: Why list all of your service options on your website? For three reasons:
- To inspire your families on the opportunities there are to create something unique and beautiful.
- To let them know you’re relevant, and offer options more than just your traditional funeral.
- To save yourself time and energy listing off services on the phone or in person.
Why this website rocks it: We love Pray Funeral Home’s service page because it specifically calls out different niches they know they attract to their website. They create specific services for the eco friendly folks, the veterans, the more traditional folks, cremation only folks, personalized service folks and even pet services. This makes it easier for website visitors to choose Pray Funeral Home without having to look hard and long at their services page.
#2: A (regularly updated) blog
Why it’s important: Having a blog on your funeral home website is like having a living, breathing FAQ for families. First, regularly creating fresh, evergreen content keeps your funeral home website ranking higher in search engines like Google. Second, having a blog on your funeral home website offers a chance for your families to get their questions answered. You can even answer questions they might not have the courage or energy to ask you in person in an arrangement meeting.
Why this website rocks it: Pray Funeral Home uses their blog to answer really important questions they know their families have like:
- “Does a body need to be embalmed?”
- “What to request in lieu of flowers?”
- “How to get over grief?”
- “What paperwork is required for a funeral service?”
These are questions they know their families have, so they take an opportunity to dive into each topic deeply to offer themselves as thought leaders and reliable resources in their community.
#3: A Sympathy Store
Why it’s important: While Sympathy Stores have been around for a while now, it’s still rare to find a well functioning, regularly updated Sympathy Store on a funeral home’s website. We love Sympathy Stores firstly because they offer another level of service for you as the funeral home. I mean, why not offer flowers & gifts from your local florists on your website instead of sending people elsewhere?
Second, we love Sympathy Stores because they generate an additional stream of revenue for your funeral home. Some Sympathy Stores will offer up to 25% of commissions on every item purchased on your Sympathy Store.
Pro tip: To get the #1 performing Sympathy Store in the industry click here to learn more.
Why this website rocks it: Pray Funeral Home doesn’t overtly sell to their client families. Instead, they offer their Sympathy Store as an option to “Send flowers” on the loved one’s social memorial website (see photo below). Families and their communities do not like to feel pushed to purchase things during a time of grief. So a tasteful approach is important!
#4: Pre-Planning Tools & Resources
Why it’s important: Ever consider the idea that by offering pre-planning tools on your website, you could be saving your client families headaches and stress? It’s true. According to one statistic we’ve found, “most people would prefer to pre-plan a funeral, but only 33% do because they can’t find the information they need”. So, if that’s not reason enough to include pre-planning resources on your funeral home website, we’re not sure what else is.
Why this website rocks it: What we love most about Pray Funeral Home’s pre-planning resources is that they took the extra step of getting involved with organizations like The Talk of a Lifetime and BeRemembered. By bringing these important pre-planning tools and resources into their mix, they extend their ability to serve their families. We also love that they offer checklists and FAQ’s on this very complex topic.
#5: Grief support
Why it’s important: If every funeral home out there offered aftercare for their client families, the world would be a better place, we swear! Investing in an aftercare platform for your funeral home website is one of the most precious investments you could make. Grief wellness is a hot topic right now, and since COVID, there are many isolated grieving folks. Because of that, aftercare is no longer an option for funeral homes. It’s a necessity.
Why this website rocks it: Pray Funeral Home does one of the best jobs we’ve seen in the industry with aftercare. They have interactive grief aftercare, 365 days of healing affirmations, monthly grief support circles, bereavement rituals, and more. We love their mix of interactive online resources as well as in-person options too.
Pro tip: With our all-in-one website platform, f1Connect, an interactive eAftercare platform just like the one you see on Pray Funeral Home’s website is included at no additional cost. Learn more here.
Want a website platform that has all this and more?
Click here to talk to one of our funeral success specialists to learn more about how f1Connect can work for your funeral home and give the gift of support to your families.
What other elements of your funeral home website have been key for your funeral business? Tell us in the comments below!
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