For the last couple of years, the way that people look at and host events has completely turned on its head. Not too long ago, when it came to throwing a birthday party or planning a wedding, people were all about doing it bigger and better than anyone else. Who can I contact to help […] Continue reading What The World Would Be Life If Funeral Pros Didn’t Exist on funeralOne Blog. What The World Would Be Life If Funeral Pros Didn’t Exist published first on YouTube via Tumblr What The World Would Be Life If Funeral Pros Didn’t Exist
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Originally Published on the funeralOne Blog No one gets cold-shouldered more than funeral professionals. In fact, it’s almost impressive just how good families are at ignoring the funeral profession all together… They drive past the funeral home on their way through town and look right past it. They spot one of the local funeral directors running errands and turn their head the other way. It’s not until the unfortunate moment that they need the help of a funeral director that they actually acknowledge that they exist and that they can be of some assistance to them. And that’s a huge problem for funeral professionals. Why? Because unlike with any other major life purchase or event, families don’t have a lot of time to comparison shop an immediate-need funeral service or weigh one funeral home’s value against their competitors. Either they contact a funeral home in town that they already have a positive association with, or they search Google to find the closest / cheapest / highest-rated funeral home in town. So unless you’re sure that your funeral home can check all of those boxes, it’s essential that you get in front of the eyes of your families before they even need to plan a funeral. That way, when the time comes that they need your services, you’ll already be top of mind and your value will undeniable. Here’s how you can do just that… 1. Sponsor Relevant Events In Your TownIn every community, there are endless opportunities for celebration and remembrance each year. Whether it’s a holiday, such as Memorial Day or Mother’s Day, or even a local community event, like the retirement of a city official or the senior class graduation at the local high school, there are a number of ways that funeral home’s can sponsor celebration and memory sharing in their community. One of our favorite ways to show off your value in a subtle, celebratory way is to volunteer to create beautiful, cinematic memorial videos for different events that happen in your town. For example, if a notable figure in your community is retiring, ask family and friends to submit their favorite photos and videos from the community member’s years of service. You can then compile all the meaningful imagery that you get into a moving memorial video that can be played at their retirement party, or that can be given as a surprise gift to commemorate their impact on the community. Not only is this a great way to show off your unique services to the members of your community, but it also puts your funeral home front and center in people’s minds as someone who can help them celebrate and personalize their loved one’s life when the time comes. 2. Share Educational Content With Your CommunityOne of the single best ways to get families to think of you first when it comes time to plan a funeral service is to be the go-to resource in your community for end-of-life education. Think about it… let’s say that the local heart doctor in your community was constantly posting articles and sharing links about maintaining a healthy heart, or posting photos and recaps of everything they learned at the recent cardiatric conferences they were attending. If the time came that you needed to see a heart doctor, you would likely think of this doctor first, because their posts and shares keep them top of mind. And even if you didn’t read every article they posted, you would still think of them as the best person in your community to help you, because you associate them with the educational, informative articles that they posted. The same goes for becoming the go-to expert for everything funerals in your community. If you regularly share content with your community about funeral trends, end-of-life resources, and grief support advice, they will begin to think of you first when it comes to funeral-related topics… including who they should turn to when they need to plan a funeral. 3. Host Events At Your Funeral HomeEarlier we wrote about how funeral professionals can sponsor local community events in order to get in front of the eyes of their families. But your funeral home doesn’t have to sit around waiting for a holiday or someone else’s special event to come around before you can connect with your local community. You can host an event yourself! After all, funeral homes are one of the best places in town for encouraging celebration and storytelling, bringing communities together, and comfortably hosting large groups of people. So why wouldn’t it make sense to host non-funeral celebratory events in your space as well? Your options are limitless when it comes to what types of events would make sense for your funeral home to host. For instance, you could host holiday celebrations, bring in guest speakers on topics like pre-planning or grief support, sponsor memory celebration workshops, invite local businesses in for meetings or company parties, or any other related occasion. Any event that helps your community feel comfortable and familiar with your staff, and opens up their minds to the celebratory possibilities of your funeral home, is an event worth pursuing. 4. Form Relationships With Other Grief and End of Life ProfessionalsWhen it comes to expanding your reach in the community, networking is key. Think about all of the people that your families are interacting with before and after they come to you for help with their loved one’s funeral service… hospice workers, doctors and nurses, first responders, grief counselors, insurance agents, cemetery workers, religious community members, and on and on. Each of these professionals have their own network of families that they work with, and may already be making recommendations to them on which funeral home in town they should visit for their end-of-life needs. Do the grief and end of life professionals in your community have a reason to recommend your funeral home to the families they serve? If not, reach out and give them one. Even something as simple as dropping off coffee and introducing yourself, or sharing educational materials to answer any common questions they have about funeral service can help make you stand out from the funeral director down the street. However, networking is not a one-way street. Make sure that if you are actively reaching out to end-of-life professionals in your community that you are listening to their needs, as well as informing them of your own. A great partnership is one that benefits both the families you serve and the other death-care professionals in your community. How To Connect With Families Before They Even Need A Funeral published first on YouTube via Tumblr How To Connect With Families Before They Even Need A Funeral Mark your calendars to attend the next Albuquerque Death Cafe, scheduled for Saturday, July 15, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” It’s an interesting, unstructured conversation – […] via Tumblr July 15: Albuquerque Death Cafe Originally Published on VentureBeat LifeFolder today launched a public beta of its Facebook Messenger bot, Emily, which talks to people about death and end-of-life decisions. A conversation with Emily can last more than 30 minutes, and afterward Emily emails you documents that spell out your wishes for family or health care officials. The Health Proxy nomination declares who you want to speak for you if you are unconscious or otherwise debilitated, an Advance Directive details what kind of medical treatment you want (and don’t want), and an organ donation statement says whether you choose to donate your organs if you die. “You can test out the bot in every state and every country, but the documents produced are currently only legally binding in California, Texas, New York, Florida, and Illinois,” reads a LifeFolder statement. “In states or countries that are not yet supported, Emily will take you through the conversation and supply a discussion guide that can be used to help start the conversation with friends and family and make your wishes clear. LifeFolder is in the middle of a rapid roll-out, aiming to be supported in all 50 states in the next few months.” Emily is the first product from LifeFolder. The company also plans to launch bots for filling out wills and making funeral arrangements as paid services in the future. LifeFolder CEO and cofounder Haje Jan Kamps said he decided to create the company after his mother-in-law had a stroke and was rushed to the intensive care unit, and shortly after hearing a Planet Money story about a Wisconsin town where virtually the entire population has declared what they want to happen to them when they die. However challenging end-of-life conversations may be, declaring your intentions can spare your family a lot of pain or empower them to carry out your wishes, Jan Kamps told VentureBeat in an email. LifeFolder was created in January. It has two employees and is based in Oakland, Calif. Emily Bot Walks You Through End-of-Life Decisions published first on YouTube via Tumblr Emily Bot Walks You Through End-of-Life Decisions Curious about Jewish funeral traditions? In an interfaith relationship and want to know more about your partner’s Jewish roots? Sign up for this Osher Lifelong Learning Institute class on Tuesday, July 12 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the University of New Mexico Continuing Education Center, 1634 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (located on the NE side […] via Tumblr July 12: Jewish Funeral Traditions Osher Class Funeral planning is a serious consumer issue, yet Americans persist in NOT planning ahead for their eventual mortality. It’s even worse than I thought. For the fifth consecutive year, the National Funeral Directors Association’s (NFDA) annual Consumer Awareness and Preferences Study indicates that consumers acknowledge the importance of preplanning their own funeral, but fail to […] via Tumblr Newsflash: Funeral Planning Not A Priority For Americans The 56th annual New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair ranks among the largest events in the state and one of the top arts shows in the nation. With a book signing event with Gail Rubin, author of KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die and other books, it’s […] via Tumblr June 25: Meet the Author Book Signing at NM Arts & Crafts Fair Mark your calendars to attend the next Albuquerque Death Cafe, scheduled for Saturday, July 15, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Gail Rubin’s home. The objective of the Death Cafe is “To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” It’s an interesting, unstructured conversation – […] via Tumblr July 15: Albuquerque Death Cafe The 56th annual New Mexico Arts and Crafts Fair ranks among the largest events in the state and one of the top arts shows in the nation. With a book signing event with Gail Rubin, author of KICKING THE BUCKET LIST: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die and other books, it’s […] via Tumblr June 25: Meet the Author Book Signing at NM Arts & Crafts Fair Curious about Jewish funeral traditions? In an interfaith relationship and want to know more about your partner’s Jewish roots? Sign up for this Osher Lifelong Learning Institute class on Tuesday, July 12 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the University of New Mexico Continuing Education Center, 1634 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (located on the NE side […] via Tumblr July 12: Jewish Funeral Traditions Osher Class |
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