3 Do-It-Yourself Personalized Services Changing the Game for Funeral Homes
February 28th, 2012Families are shying away from traditional funeral services and searching for more unique and personal ways to memorialize their loved one.
But what are you doing about it?
There’s a lot of talk around “personalization” and whether or not it’s the answer for funeral homes looking to attract those less traditional families. Although I don’t think personalization has magical powers, if utilized correctly, it will improve the level of care you provide your families and make a lasting impression.
The best part about it is, providing personalized services isn’t as difficult or time-consuming as you may think. With the high-quality personalization software available today, it’s actually an affordable solution that can be done in house.
Here are 3 DIY personalization services that will differentiate your firm:
1. Incorporate unique and personalized materials that represent the life lived.
Go above and beyond the typical traditional funeral service by providing service guests with personalized materials that represent their loved one and tell the story of the life lived.
For example, Great Aunt Sally was an avid orchid grower and won several competitions with her prized hybrid. Transform your funeral service into a heartwarming reflection of Great Aunt Sally by offering gardening themed prayer cards that feature a custom final prayer and a picture of Great Aunt Sally with her orchids.
That added touch of incorporating personalized prayer cards to your services differentiates your funeral firm from the competition and adds value and meaning to the service for your families. And over time, that prayer card becomes a treasured keepsake for family and friends to hold onto and remember Great Aunt Sally—and in turn, your firm.
Personalized printing can be accomplished using only your computer, color printer, and personalization software.
2. Create a memorial book that will be treasured long after the service.
Following the funeral service, families have no use for typical funeral register books. By offering your families a personalized memorial book like The Tribute Book, you’re helping them continue to celebrate the life lived, long after the service, while keeping record of those service guests.
Take your families on a journey through their loved one’s life with heartwarming pictures, personal prayers, a family tree and stories shared by those who came to support them with a personalized memorial book.
Although the thought of creating a Tribute Book for each of your families might seem like a huge undertaking, personalization software makes it a breeze. With a computer, scanner, printer and 15 minutes of your time, you’ll produce a finished product that families will pull off the shelf and re-read, sharing the legacy of their loved one for generations to come.
3. Use memorial videos to showcase the life lived and promote healing.
When tribute videos are played during a funeral service or visitation, attendees tend to focus on the positive memories of their loved one rather than the pain and grief of their loss. By creating a video tribute for your families, you’re going above and beyond the typical level of care—helping them celebrate, honor and remember the life lived. Not to mention, you’re giving them a keepsake that they will enjoy for years to come.
Without any film production knowledge and very little computer skills, you can create these Hollywood-quality tribute videos that bring pictures to life with gorgeous cinematic themes and music. Once you have the tribute video software, the only equipment your firm needs to create beautiful tribute videos in-house is a computer with a DVD burner and a scanner.
By offering your families personalized services that you can create in-house, you add significant value to the funeral services you provide, distinguishing your firm from competitors.
Looking to provide families with personalized services but don’t know where to start? Life Tributes software suite makes personalization simple. Create tribute videos, customized prayer cards, and personalized memorial books and more for your families in-house, in-minutes. Click here for a free 30-day trial of Life Tributes Personalization Software!
What are some other personalized services you offer your families? We’d love to hear any tips or tricks you have to offer! Share your comments below 🙂
Yes, it’s true that tribute videos, and uniquely personalized memorial bookmarks and books are wonderful additions to any service. Lately though, at least here on the West coast, successful personalization is found in the details…the cookies baked from grandma’s recipe, and given out (with the recipe card) to attendees; the potted geraniums (how Aunt Sally loved the humble geranium); or the display of hand-tied fishing lures made over the years by Grandpa Paul (which were then distributed to guests, with a list of Grandpa’s favorite fishing spots. Love, for all of us I think, is in the details…
These are great ways to personalize, easy to do and powerful. Personalizing a service will bring family and friends together to commiserate and share stories. I Iike the idea of personalized sympathy gifts; t-shirts, candles, jewelry anything with a pic or a name! it’s great for the family to hold onto for years to come
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