Funeral Tips: How To Take Your Families’ Happiness To The Next Level

Most people ﹘ outside of funeral directors, of course ﹘ do not realize just how much arranging, set-up, care, sweat and passion goes into planning the perfect funeral service. You can’t help but put a little heart and soul into every service you plan for a family, and you truly put everything you have into creating the perfect service to honor their loved one’s memory. But there’s so much involved, from the beginning steps of planning, to making sure everything runs smoothly on the day of service. It’s enough to stress out even the most seasoned funeral pro.

Fortunately, for every bad day or stressful service, there are humbling, reassuring moments that remind us why we do what we do. We know that the gratifying feeling you get after a successful service is what gets you through the hard days. You do what you do because you truly love your work, and helping families heal and celebrate a life lived is your true passion. We know this because that’s why we do it too!

In fact, when we asked our Facebook and Twitter followers to share what their favorite element of a funeral service is to plan, we received a few answers about the service (“The food! The flowers!”) or the cost of the service (“Zero balance on the contract!”), but we were proud to see that most of the answers had to do with the family who was being cared for.

We asked, you answered: What’s your favorite part of planning a funeral service?

Jj Moore: Having a happy and satisfied family, that we have done a good job for them.

Brenda Parr: For the family to love the way their loved one looks and their total satisfaction with the service itself and staff.

Eddie Saylor: Having a family that is satisfied with the service they have received.

Carlton Ham: The thank you hug of appreciation.

Frank Clark: The condolences from friends and family.

Robert Christopherson: All of it.

How To Take Your Families’ Happiness To The Next Level

If you are constantly looking for new ways to satisfy your families and make them over-the-moon about the funeral service you plan, we’ve got a few tips that you will enjoy. These unexpected gestures and meaningful moments will not only leave your families thrilled with your service, but will go a long way towards turning your families into life-long customers.

1. Avoid the word no.

A common trait of many of the top service men and women across every industry is that they never say no to their customers. Whether it’s something that a guest is requesting, a question that needs answering, or simply going above and beyond to make their experience amazing, the top service professionals will do whatever they can to say yes to any request. Funeral professionals should do the same. And if there is something that is simply not possible for you to do, offer up an alternative that you think would make your families equally as pleased. This simple action can go a long way towards building customer satisfaction.

2. Offer up unique options that reflect the loved one’s life.

Many families do not realize how much they can personalize a funeral service for their loved ones. Therefore, they do not ask about their options or research what kind of special tributes they could incorporate into the service. However, you do know about their personalization options, so be sure to bring them up and educate your family on how special a personalized funeral can be. For instance, did your family request music during the service? Let them know they can choose a song that was special to their loved one! Did they mention that their loved one was a big sports fan? Offer them options of how they can incorporate that theme into their service!

3. Educate them about your value.

As funeral professionals, we all know how important and valuable a funeral service can be for a family’s healing process. But many families themselves do not actually know or understand the value of a funeral. In fact, many plan a service simply because they feel like they need to, or because it’s a tradition. However, your families will be much more pleased and happy with the funeral if they understand the value behind the cost, and the meaning behind the traditions. Be sure to take this chance to educate them on this information.

Also be sure to offer your families value that extends long after the funeral service has come to a close. For instance, grief support resources on your website that will help your families during their time of grief. You could even send them a memorial gift in honor of their loved one right after the service, just to show that you are thinking of them.

Also be sure to reach out a few months after the service to check in with your families and see how they’re doing, or even invite them to come in to any community events that you are holding at your funeral home. These small acts of kindness can go a long way towards continuing your relationship with the family beyond the funeral service.

4. Make funeral planning easier.

Families want to be able to research information about funerals online, find out their different options in the comfort of their home, and even find information on planning a service without having to call a funeral home. Unfortunately, one aspect of funeral planning that many funeral professionals dread is the technical and digital side of things, like creating an informative and easy-to-navigate website.

Our f1Connect website platform was made for funeral directors, but was built specifically with families in mind. It has all of the information your families are already looking for, in one simple, easy-to-navigate place. Not only does f1Connect educate families on the value of a funeral service, but we also make sure that the hard part of hosting a great website (educating families on your value, informing them of your personalization options, and offering them helpful grief support) is already done for you!

To find out more, click here or contact us at (800) 798-2575 ext. 5!

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  1. Veronica Marks

    I love that so many people said having a happy family was one of the best things about planning a funeral service. It really makes me feel like choosing a funeral home with a good director is going to be one of the most important aspects for my funeral. I think I’ll actually start looking into the local options sooner than later so that I know my family will be working with someone great!

  2. Aaron Stephens

    Rilee, I like the points you made about personalizing a funeral. I’m a huge Kansas City Chiefs fan, so I would love to have a theme around them. I’m not expecting to have a funeral any time soon, but I think I’ll start some preliminary planning. It would be nice to have the funeral home allow for a service that I want.

  3. Rilee Chastain

    Aaron, thanks for the comment! I love your idea to incorporate a hobby that you’re passionate about into your funeral! Thanks for sharing.

  4. Luke Smith

    This is a very good article about funeral homes and what they can do for others. I can imagine that is a stressful time of losing someone that making things easier is very nice. I’m wondering what would be the best thing to do if the funeral home does not have a website.

  5. Rilee Chastain

    Luke, thanks for the comment! The best thing that a funeral home without a website can do to better support their families is to get a website ASAP! These days, consumers are looking to the internet as their first means of educating themselves about funerals, and where they should go for their funeral needs. If your firm does not have a website, you are not even a consideration for most modern families, because they don’t know anything about you or your services. Some funeral homes have managed to use social media as a way to make up for a lack of website, but the long-term benefit is not as strong as creating an all-encompassing educational resource for families right under your own URL.

  6. Derek Mcdoogle

    You mentioned that many families do not realize how much they can personalize a funeral service for their loved ones. Do most funeral homes offer different packages that families can choose from? My best friend’s father recently passed away from a battle with cancer, and the family is trying to prepare the funeral. Hiring a funeral home that will personalize the funeral for them could be very valuable.

  7. Mariah Seagle

    My uncle was diagnosed with a terminal disease and he wants to settle everything in advance. It was mentioned here that it will be best to shape the funeral depending on his lifestyle. Moreover, it’s advisable to consult professionals from the funeral homes.

  8. Rilee Chastain

    Thanks Mariah, we agree. Funeral professionals are the experts in this area, and it’s important for them to adapt to the unique needs of the family!

  9. Sabrina Addams

    I loved reading that you can often request music for the service and the idea to choose a favorite song of your loved one. My grandpa passed away last night, so my dad and I are needing to find a funeral planning service. I’ll remember this idea once we find one and start planning out the funeral with them.

  10. Krystal Penrose

    Hi Sabrina, yes we’re so glad you read this in the right timing, and we wish you our sincere condolences at this time. Remember that the options are limitless, you can celebrate your grandfather in the way that’s most meaningful to you!