Every funeral director knows the importance of having a website for their business; however, few leverage their websites to their full potential. As well as displaying contact information and showcasing the expertise of your staff, a funeral home website can be a valuable tool for generating revenue and selling and growing your sales.
By taking the time to create a smooth user experience and provide options for online selections, a website can become an integral source of outreach and ecommerce revenue. Here are some tips for success.
Enticing, User-Friendly Website
Just as your grounds and facilities create a first impression for in-person clients, your website does the same for online visitors, effectively serving as your digital storefront. With this in mind, you’ll want to make sure it’s presentable. For starters, you’ll want to include some helpful images and videos that showcase the strengths of your funeral home. Consider including photos of your leadership and staff. You might even throw in a video walkthrough of your facilities, helping users understand how a service might look with your business.
Finally, your website should also be easy to use. This part might take some trial and error, but optimization is worth the effort. Ideally, when a user visits your website, there will be clearly displayed links to contacting your business, learning more about its history, and even selecting atneed and preneed arrangements.
Online Shopping (E-Commerce)
Funeral services usually require in-person consultations, during at which time clients select their type of service and gain more information about pricing. However, a growing number of people prefer to shop online, particularly younger generations.
To meet the needs of this type of client, your website should allow people to select services online. For example, a website built by Funeral Results Marketing is a modern, user-friendly experience that helps visitors discover your funeral home, access the information they need, and begin browsing your services.
For example, if a person is looking for a cremation package, they should be able to schedule and pay for it online through your cremation arrangement website. Alternatively, people should be able to book standardized funeral packages online when appropriate.
Particularly when it comes to selling preneed funeral arrangements, offering them online greatly increases the chances of people completing a purchase. People may not know you can pre-arrange funeral services, and displaying this option on your website can help increase the visibility of this offering.
Naturally, death care rituals require a level of individualization that’s difficult to accomplish without consultation. There’s hardly a one-size-fits-all approach to funerals; however, your online offerings can serve as base packages. Once your team makes contact with an interested family, you can then discuss additional customization options.
Transparent Pricing
Before making a purchase, the vast majority of shoppers conduct research, including comparing prices between vendors. Because of this, it’s important to display prices on your website.
When a person has no idea what they can expect to pay for a funeral service, they’re less likely to follow through and select your business. Alternatively, having a price displayed, even if it only represents a base rate, can make them feel more confident about making a purchase. Even if your website price isn’t the lowest, the act of displaying a price allows you to demonstrate your value and transparency, noting exactly what’s included with each service.
Marketing
Your website will also play a key role in any type of digital marketing. If you plan to run ads on Google, Bing, Facebook, Instagram, or other social media, they’ll inevitably link back to your website. Ideally, your ads and website will work hand-in-hand, the former directing them to your site and the latter compelling them to select a service.
Additionally, your website can organically gain traffic by targeting relevant keywords. Use your site’s blog section to create informative and useful content about death care. Your site will begin to rank more highly in online searches, ultimately increasing your business’ visibility and customer base.
Consultation Services with JCG
Managing a website can easily become a full-time job. After all, many larger businesses devote entire teams to building and overseeing their web presence. For smaller businesses, particularly those new to the world of digital marketing, it’s often helpful to rely on the expertise of consultants.
At Johnson Consulting Group (JCG), our team of death care consultants can partner with your business to create a holistic marketing strategy, one that helps you build a website that drives e-commerce. With years of experience helping funeral businesses of all sizes, our team is familiar with industry-wide best practices and can help you implement them in your own marketing practice.
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