The Opportunity You Have in 2020, 2021, and Beyond
This article is to make its readers aware of one of the biggest trends that have already happened in our society. As providers in the death-care industry we need to be hyper-aware of this trend and truly understand where we are now, and where we are going next.
Spoiler Alert: this is about marketing a funeral home during the digital revolution. Why it’s very relevant to funeral homes, crematories, and other businesses in the death-care industry.
The Opportunity
Right now the target market for funeral homes and the death-care industry, in general, is becoming more active in the digital world. The typical families we serve are at an age of 65 or greater. We all know that at some point every family will be in need of our services but the way that we communicate with these families has drastically changed. The opportunity lies in the fact the people who are 65+ are the fastest growing demographic of social media users in the US. Some of this is due to the fact that younger generations have already adopted social media and it’s somewhat saturated, but that doesn’t dissuade the above stats.
Why is this so important you might ask?
Adverts on social media, search engines, video, and throughout the internet (display ads) are often more affordable, far more targeted, and can be more engaging than traditional media. This is pivotal to marketing a funeral home. Never before in the history of our industry have we been able to inform, educate, build brand awareness, and help our clients as we can right now.
The Reason:
In the past (pre-personal computer in every home and every pocket) a funeral home didn’t have a great way to reach it’s buyer persona (ie.target market). There is not a way to target a billboard, TV or radio ad, direct mailer, or magazine ad with as much accuracy that’s needed to effectively communicate the value of working with your funeral home. Additionally (at least in the US) we are a death-avoidant society, we don’t want to hear about pre-planning on the TV or radio. We are, however, problem aware. That is a very important fact.
Hey let’s cut to the chase, we all know that we are eventually going to pass on. For those of us past the age of 65+ we are acutely aware of that. The fact that our future clients are problem aware is a huge advantage to a funeral home looking to invest in digital marketing. It’s usually far faster, easier, and more affordable to reach a buyer persona that is problem aware. Problem aware is simple to explain.
Here’s a good example: My car just broke down on the side of the road and I’m stuck. I’m late for work already and need to get my car to the shop any myself to the office for a board meeting at 10am. I know I have a big issue, so I pull out my phone and Google “tow truck near me”. A local towing company at the top of Google with great reviews in a natural first choice for nearly every person in this situation.
An At-Need Family is in a very similar situation when a loved one passes away. They immediately need the help of a trusted local funeral home. Your opportunity lies in being able to be near the top of a search result. Ask yourself, where does your funeral home rank now compared to your competitors? How does someone learn to trust you quickly and get to know your brand before they even pick up the phone and get to talk to you.
The Future:
As we move forward around a decade or so the integration of smart home devices in our daily lives will be a reality for a growing percentage of Americans. Google Home and Alexa devices already let us order items and call people without lifting a finger. As these devices become more ingrained people will start asking a lot more questions and there will be more answers. The day where we ask Google to “tell us more about pre-planning a funeral” is not very far off.
The thing is the voice devices will only pull information from the most reputable sources. If you can be one of those sources your business is sure to grow with changing times while being able to provide excellent service and care to our clients and their families.
Marketing a funeral home using digital marketing is the perfect combination of a targeted approach that’s also cost-effective. Right now is the time to take advantage of the low costs per customer acquisition and the ability to easily showcase your brand like never before in history.
If you would like to learn more about marketing your funeral home feel free to learn more here.
Additionally, if you would like to chat about your options and what to do next, book a call here!