Service Mistakes To Avoid With Your Client Families

It’s time to make a bold statement: Customer service is the #1 most important aspect of any business

And the funeral profession is no exception.

We see customer service as an art. 

Something that takes years to perfect and incorporate into your entire funeral business. 

And whether you’ve been in business for generations or for just a couple of years, there are many opportunities to grow in the realm of customer service. In fact, as technology advances and client family needs shift, customer service will always be an evolving aspect of your business. What worked 10 years ago, may not work today. 

In the name of evolution and adaptation, we welcome in these customer service mistakes to avoid, and how to fix them:

 

Why top customer service matters for your client families and funeral biz

We’re not here to convince you to care about service, because we know that most likely, it’s your #1 wish to offer a WOW experience to your client families. However, sometimes those intentions and wishes don’t always get translated into reality. It may be because of a lack of funds, lack of technology or tools, uninspired and underpaid staff, or simply a shortage of time. 

Excuses aside, let’s light that fire under you to translate your hopes and wishes into reality with these stats:

  • Brands that offer a superior customer experience accumulate some 6 times more revenue than others (source).
  • 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to make a purchase from a business.
  • Customers are willing to spend 17% more for a product or service that has epic customer service.

 

Need we explain anything else? Let’s go ahead and dive into these 5 customer service mistakes to avoid:

 

#1: Not listening to your client families

This might sound silly to you. “Of course I listen to my client families!” you must be thinking. But hear us out: what if there are things your client families want to share with you, but aren’t sure how to? What about the things they might not say, but show, through their actions? What about your less-than-stellar reviews and testimonials? These subtle ways of your client families speaking to you are the most important to check in with.

This means not just focusing on listening to what they’re saying loud and clear. Instead, try focusing more on the subtle ways your client families communicate. And you can even follow up on what you hear from them. You can ask your social media following these same questions to see what the majority vote is. You can survey your customers. There are many ways to have a client family centric approach to your funeral business. And you’ll be rewarded for it with plenty of loyal families.

Take it further: 8 Ideas For Social Listening To Grow Your Funeral Business

 

#2: Not offering personalized experiences

If Forbes, one of the top business publications, can write out an entire article with 50 statistics on the importance of personalization, we can’t help but pay attention. Our favorite stat is: “80% of consumers will make a purchase from a business if the business is offering personalization”. 

Personalization can take shape in many forms. Personalization can mean you don’t use the same script or system in arrangement meetings. It can look like offering more personalized options for your families in the service. It can mean not letting the service stop after the funeral, and keeping in touch with your client families. Ask yourself and your team what would it mean to deepen into personalization in your business? The answers will be unique to you and will also create gold.

Take it further: 3 Unexpected Opportunities For Creating Personalization In Funeral Service

 

#3: Making things complicated

No one likes a complicated process to purchase a service or product. And we find that the more epic your funeral home website is, the less complicated your customer service journey is. Your funeral home website should offer client families everything they need to know to make a purchasing decision with you. 

Rely as little as possible on listing off services and prices over the phone, and more on empowering your client families to choose you with a well designed website. We highly recommend “beefing up” (or creating) the following pages on your website:

  • About Us
  • Service Options
  • Pricing
  • FAQs
  • Personalization Options
  • Location photos and tour
  • Reviews & testimonials

 

Start with the pages that feel the most important to you and your funeral business, and work your way through them at your own pace. There’s no rush to perfect your funeral home website in a week. You can go slow and do it well!

Pro tip: If you want a funeral home website with all of these pages built-in and designed to set you up for success, try f1Connect, the all-in-one website platform

 

#4: Not collecting client family feedback

Not only can client family feedback help you perfect your offerings and customer experience, but it can also help to draw in new client families. That’s where reviews come in. Reviews are like turning on the light of your funeral business. They’re what make your funeral home standout amongst the rest. In fact, 80% of consumers report that they rely on online reviews to find a service or product.

Take it further: How to Grow Your Funeral Business With Online Reviews.

 

#5: Not taking care of yourself or your funeral home’s employees

Self care isn’t just a wellness trend. It’s a survival skill. If you’re not well rested, overly anxious, depressed because you have no work/life balance and stressed because you’re wearing 100+ hats in one role, it’s hard to show up for your client families in the way they deserve. The same goes for your team. Even if you can’t afford to hire more folks on your team, make self care a priority in your business and personal life. 

Here are some easy self care ideas you can get started with:

  • Stop using your phone for personal or work reasons after 8pm (except of course important calls) so your melatonin can work its magic and give you a good night’s sleep (blue light from tech disrupts our natural melatonin production and sleep cycles)
  • Avoid junk food and fast food at all costs. There are plenty of meal prep guides and businesses that are affordable and easy to help you eat healthy even if you have zero time to do so.
  • Incorporate mindfulness into your day. Whether it’s going for a walk, doing some movement practice, meditating or journaling it’s important to come into a space of mindfulness everyday for your own sanity.

 

Take it further: 5 Science-Backed & Sanity Saving Tips for a Stressed Funeral Director.

 

What else has been helpful for you in improving client family experiences at your funeral home? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

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