Common Questions Your Families Ask Us (And How You Should Answer Them)

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We have a pretty awesome and unique position in the funeral profession here at funeralOne… every day we get to work closely with you, the funeral professional, to help you deliver extraordinary experiences to families. But, did you know that we also get to speak to the family and friends that are attending your services, comforting your families and looking to you for support?

That’s right! Behind our Sympathy Store platform that you know and love, we have a rockstar 24/7 support team that spends day-in and day-out speaking with the people shopping on your Sympathy Store and listening to all of the questions they have about your services.

Now, don’t worry… we’re not going to be one of those companies that holds all of this valuable information to ourselves. After all, our mission in the funeral profession is the same as yours – to help deliver an amazing experience to everyone you meet. That’s why we have collected some of our most-asked questions from the people visiting your website.

Hopefully this article will give you some insight into how you can improve the experience at your funeral home.

The Types Of Flowers To Send

Not everyone is as familiar with the tradition and etiquette of funeral flowers as you may be. We hear it all of the time when people call The Sympathy Store to purchase arrangements for an upcoming funeral they are attending. Some of the most common questions that we get are:

  • How do I know what religion the family is?
  • What is appropriate for this service?
  • Did the family pick out certain colors for their flower arrangements?
  • Should I send flowers or a more personal gift?

These kinds of questions come as no surprise to us… After all, a funeral is a difficult and confusing time for everyone, so many people are concerned that they are choosing an appropriate floral arrangement or that they are making the right choices with their sympathy gifts. Luckily, as a funeral director, you have the opportunity to put these concerns at bay.

During the arrangement process with the family, when you are already learning the important details of their loved one’s life, ask the family whether or not there are any particular types of flowers or colors that were especially meaningful to their loved one. If so, this is great information to include in their obituary or social memorial page. Not only will this answer people’s common question of what types of flowers to buy, but it will also fill the service with sympathy gifts that help tell the story of the life lived – giving your families a more meaningful service.

Including personal stories and memories throughout a loved one’s obituary page also helps guide family and friends if they want to choose a gift that is a little more personal. For instance, if during the arrangement process, the family decides that they want to hold a personalized, fishing-themed funeral to honor the amazing fisherman in their life, you can include this detail in the obituary. Then, when family and friends share the funeral information on Facebook or look up service details on the memorial page, they can be inspired to purchase a sympathy gift that follows the theme of the life celebration!

The Timeline of Events

Another common line of questions that our Sympathy Store often receives from shoppers are related to when and where they should be sending their sympathy arrangements. For example:

  • I missed the service but I want to send something to the family, how can I do this?
  • When should I have arrangements delivered?
  • What will happen with the arrangements after services are over?
  • Will the funeral home transport my flowers from the wake to the church service?

These questions offer up a great opportunity for your funeral home to showcase its value (if you educate family and friends about the answers early in the planning process). For example, if your funeral home transports the flowers sent to the funeral home to the church or to a family’s home after the service, be sure to let them know early on. Not all funeral homes do, and it may be the difference between them choosing you or your competitor for the service.

The same goes with any type of flower donation that your funeral home may offer. If you donate any leftover floral arrangements to local hospitals or organizations, let your families know in the arrangement process. It will put them at ease to know that the beautiful, thoughtful arrangements that their family and friends have sent them will be appreciated long after the funeral has ended.

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Family and friends can easily ensure that their arrangement arrives in time for the funeral service with The Sympathy Store. Your funeral home address is already pulled into the system, along with the details of the funeral service, so families will know exactly when their arrangements will arrive.

For family and friends looking for information on where to send arrangements, both during and after the funeral service, it’s important that your funeral home is offering them a simple way to find this information… without having to call you. After all, many friends and family are often rushing to send their condolences before the service, and may not have time to wait until your funeral home is open to ask their questions.

Luckily, if your funeral home uses The Sympathy Store as your e-commerce platform, friends and family can easily locate service information, your funeral home address and the family’s home address (which is stored privately)  – all right on your website. They can also see whether or not their sympathy gift will arrive in time for the service, or whether they should send it directly to the family’s home. With this simple feature, there is never any question about when their arrangement will arrive! This makes the process less stressful for families (and for your funeral home).

If you would like to learn more about helping families through a seamless website experience, click here to learn about the many ways that f1Connect and The Sympathy Store can change the way that you do funerals.

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