5 Successful Funeral Marketing Tactics We Tested So You Don’t Have To

funeral marketing

Every funeral professional knows the basics of small-business marketing. You need to have a social media presence, you should have a solid advertising game plan, and you need to develop good relationships so that you can gather as many referrals as possible.

But if you think that’s all it takes to stand out it today’s market and reach your families better and faster than your competitors, we’ve got some news for you…What used to be considered “above and beyond” marketing tactics 5 or 10 years ago have now become the bare bones of what you should be doing to market your funeral home.

It’s no longer enough to simply have a Facebook page for your funeral home or advertise in your local paper. You need to get “upstream” and reach your families before they have even realized that they need your services.

So how do you do this? Well, there are a lot of marketing tips out there that claim to revolutionize small business marketing and bring a flood of people through your doors… but not all of them translate successfully to the funeral profession.

Lucky for you, we’ve tested just about every funeral marketing tactic you can think of so you don’t have to! Here are some of the best (and most effective) marketing tactics out there that will help showcase your value to the people in your community… before they even walk through your funeral home doors:

1. Share Your Expertise Freely

When it comes to any kind of knowledge on death, funeral planning or grief, there’s a good chance that there is no better person in your town to look to for expertise and education than you! Use your knowledge of the profession to boost your credibility and value within your community. For instance, if there is a significant death in your community, reach out to those who may need help approaching touchy topics, like teachers who may be looking for advice on how to talk about grief with children.

You could also make it known that your funeral home doors are always open to community members who are experiencing loss, even when the funeral service is not hosted at your funeral home. No matter what the situation (maybe their family member’s funeral is out of town and they can’t make it, or they’re not comfortable attending their loved one’s funeral but still want to talk to someone about their grief), it will go a long way that there was someone in their community who was able to offer them support during this trying time.

2. Own Your “Wow”

There is a term that is often used in marketing to describe the way a business differentiates themselves from their competitors – it’s called a “wow factor.” What this term is really getting after is the unique selling proposition of your funeral home that sets you clearly apart from the other firm down the street… the “wow” elements that go far beyond what your competition is selling.

Sure, average marketing tactics can get you in front of the eyes of your families just as good as anything – but marketing your “wow factor” is what will set you apart from other funeral homes in their eyes, and will keep you top-of-mind when it comes time that they need your funeral services later down the road.

To determine what exactly your “wow” is when it comes to funeral service, take a look at the products and services that you offer, and compare them to your competition. Are there any products that you offer that provide much more value or benefit to your families? Do your services deliver an overall better customer experience? If so, focus on these differentiators in your online marketing efforts… especially on your funeral home website, as it’s often the first place families look when seeking out unique products and services.

To learn more about how you can leverage your funeral home website as an invaluable marketing tool that will attract today’s families, click here to talk to one of our funeral success specialists.

3. Maintain Your Relationships With Families

One of the biggest differences between a successful funeral home and a mediocre one is often the funeral home’s commitment towards building and sustaining a relationship with the families walking through their doors. And no, we’re not talking about following up with your families in the weeks after the funeral to get a recommendation or review for your funeral home website.

A true relationship extends far beyond the funeral service, the grieving period, and even the anniversary of their loved one’s passing. Make it a point to develop your relationships with your families at various points. For example, invite them to relevant events held at your funeral home, or even send them a simple Thinking Of You card to help extend your support in the weeks and months following the service.

4. Give Away Free Content

For those of us who are deeply immersed in the funeral profession, it’s easy to forget just how strange and unfamiliar our jobs can be to the average person. While terms like pre-planning and ash scattering may be regular words in our vocabulary that we don’t think twice about, they are still very unknown terms to most of the families that live in our communities.

One way to help better educate the families you serve on everything they could ever want to know about funerals (while also positioning yourself as the go-to expert in your community when it comes to funeral service) is to share free resources and educational content with your families. For example, create a free glossary of funeral terms right on your funeral home website, so families can better understand the services and products they are getting.

Don’t have time to create your own content? Don’t fret! There are tons of great pre-made educational infographics out on the web, as well as inspiring grief and healing quotes, that you can easily share with your audience through your social media channels or blog.

funeral marketing

For example, the funeralOne infographic linked above walks families through the immediate steps they should take after a loved one has passed away. (And the embed link featured in the original post allows funeral directors to easily repost this valuable content on their own website for free!)

5. Share Your Obits Online

Last but not least, the best way to market to your families is to go where they are already reading and sharing information. And in this day and age, that means Facebook for a large number of the population.

Your Facebook page is the perfect source for getting the helpful resources on your website in front of the eyes of the people who will truly benefit from them. For example, when our f1Connect clients share a loved one’s obituary on their Facebook page, they are helping friends and family members locate their loved one’s service information quickly, they are leading them to the proper online outlet for offering support and condolences by linking them right to their loved one’s Memorial Page, and they are also providing them with a lifelong place to share memories, upload photos and build a lasting legacy of their loved one’s life… all in one simple “Share” button that family members can easily like and share themselves.

If you want to learn how you too can use f1Connect’s Memorial Pages to better connect and market to your funeral home’s online audience, click here for a free demo of our award-winning solutions.

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