Using All the Tools Available for Aftercare Marketing
How often do you follow up with your families? If it’s something you do “when you have time,” you know that’s not going to happen. It’s time to set up an aftercare program to stay connected with the families you’ve served so you can focus on the daily needs of your funeral home business.
The great news is that keeping in touch has become easier than ever. With social media and digital marketing opportunities, you can touch base with clients several times a week. You can also establish formal, traditional programs that will keep families thinking about the experience they had with your funeral home as well as the plans they haven’t yet formalized.
Take a moment to review some options available to help you succeed in your aftercare marketing, so you can keep your families engaged with your funeral home.
· Newsletters
· Social Media
· Digital Marketing
· Surveys
Remember the 80/20 rule? Eighty percent of your customers are people you’ve previously served. Only 20% are people who don’t know you. Your preplanning marketing should focus on that 80%. That is why aftercare marketing remains one of the most important ways to follow up. Regardless of your marketing plans, preneed programs, insurance partner, or service capabilities, keeping your families close to you and aware of you is key.
Aftercare Newsletters
Follow-up notes and letters are a wonderful idea — if you have the time. Most funeral directors are busy enough doing the day-to-day duties of their job. Meeting with families at the time of need and when preplanning can take a lot of time and energy. It makes sense that many funeral homes don’t bother with newsletters, because they, too, can take time and energy. But they don’t have to!
FAC Marketing has simplified the process of communicating regularly with families after the funeral. We offer the Bridges of Transition© Newsletter Program, which provides 8 printed newsletters to families over the 16 months following a funeral service. We take care of the details of mailing the Bridges of Transition newsletters to families you’ve served at the appropriate intervals. The messaging includes grief recovery, holiday support, and preplanning articles. All you have to do is provide the names and addresses of the families you’ve served each month, and our team takes care of the rest. This turnkey program frees you up to focus on more personal follow-up activities, yet it keeps your funeral home on their minds and shows how much you care about their wellbeing.
Social Media
Another part of aftercare involves providing support via social media. When you have a good program for posting regularly to your Facebook page, you can direct families to follow you there for tips about dealing with grief, caregiving, and other topics of interest to the senior demographic. Our Facebook programs include posts that can reach followers several times per week. These posts help nurture a feeling of caring for the community. We frequently see comments from family members thanking the funeral home for posting helpful tips and ideas for coping with loss, holidays without treasured loved ones, and preserving memories.
Learn more about our Facebook packages
Digital Marketing
Emails and blogs can also be used for aftercare support. Blog posts and emails can address issues of grief, how to hold family discussions about end-of-life issues, and more. They can deliver support directly into a person’s hands through their mobile email. In addition, blog posts will improve your SEO, allowing search engines to bring up your funeral home when people search for a local provider.
Note that while current seniors are not digital natives, succeeding generations will be. We can help you reach those individuals now and going forward with thoughtful digital aftercare programs.
Customer Satisfaction Surveys
It may sound humble, but the direct mail survey still serves an important role. Surveys reach customers—it’s a fact. Direct mail continues to show strength in reaching customers, particularly through FAC Marketing’s Customer Satisfaction Surveys. The response rate continues to be an incredible 50%, especially when the timing of the survey falls within 6 weeks of a funeral service or cremation. Let FAC get your aftercare surveys in the mail and returned, so you can learn how your families feel about the services you provided. Everyone has an address—don’t be afraid to use it to keep in touch and learn how you can improve.
In our experience, aftercare programs can lead the way to preplanning. Keep your families thinking warm thoughts about your staff and services. Aftercare programs like surveys and aftercare newsletters make it easy to stay connected and maintain a thread of communication with your best audience. Our Smart Marketing Package can be applied to aftercare, as it is directly related to preplanning.
