We’ve got reason to believe your funeral marketing plan for 2012 could fail. But the good news is it’s not too late to make the necessary changes for your funeral firm to experience the success that’s possible. Based on the following funeral marketing predictions for 2012, it seems your families are continuing to change and evolve, and if you want to attract more families and grow your business this year, you need to adapt to meet their needs.

Marketing to Your Families in 2012:

1. The online expectations of your families will continue to increase. It’s no longer enough to simply have a website; your website has to meet the needs of your families. If they are the ones planning a funeral service, your website needs to be educational and easy to navigate so they can quickly find answers to their questions. If they are looking for obituaries and service times on your website, they expect to be able to pay tribute to the life lived and send flowers or sympathy gifts to the family.

2. Attention spans of your families will continue to shrink. Research shows that you have 3 seconds to grab the attention of your website visitors. This means your website has to make the best first impression possible. Use visually engaging videos and images to draw your families in. Multitasking is the new normal, which means your website must clarify where they are, provide information they need and tell them what to do next—in the blink of an eye. Your homepage content must create this connection. Attention is fleeting. Use short sentences and paragraphs to help hold their attention. Videos add an interactive element that works well. Make sure you present links to further related information they can access right away—while their interest is high.

3. Relationships with your families will extend beyond the service. By using your website to provide grief and healing resources for your families, you’ll establish long-term relationships with them. Services you can provide include grief support groups, access to grief counseling, daily affirmation emails and interactive videos. Your website will also serve as an online gathering place for your families by allowing them to celebrate, share and remember the life of their loved one through a social memorial website.

4. Families will continue to seek out unique and memorable ways to honor the life lived. Pushing tradition aside, families are looking to create unique and personalized memorials specific to the life lived. Use your website to showcase your offerings and educate them about the meaningful services you provide. Unique ceremonies, personalization and the use of webcasting and social memorial websites to include those who cannot be physically present, are gaining popularity with families.

5. Competing on price is not the best plan. Only by increasing your families’ perceptions of the value of the services you provide can your firm take price out of the equation. It’s a proven fact that consumers are choosing value over price these days, and you’d better believe the same holds true for families planning a funeral service. Use your website to provide information that educates them about their options and use video or display pictures of a few themes so your families can visualize how the value of a service your firm provides will allow them to celebrate the life of their loved one in a unique and memorable way. Through differentiation, your firm’s value will hold more sway than price when it comes time to choose.

I highly recommend you consider these 5 predictions when outlining your funeral marketing plan for 2012. You can no longer turn a blind eye to the changing needs of your families—embrace these changes and your funeral firm will be successful in 2012.

What are some other changes you have noticed in your community that are altering the way you market to your families? Leave your comments and questions below!

Kelly Murad

funeralOne

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