Articles by Larry Parker on ArticleSnatch.com

The Need For Funeral Home

Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

It is easy to find a funeral home advertising customer value with a red carpet treatment leading to total customer satisfaction. But to find a manager who spends time and money in studying customer behavior with actionable decisions based squarely on the results of those studies becomes more difficult. Look further for the funeral home which fully engages with customers to the extent that there is minimal loss, especially with cremation customers. See if that loss is replaced with a surplus of referrals from the existing customer base. At this point, the hunt produces far fewer finds. Why? Why do funeral home managers spend lots of money on attracting new customers and much less on expansion of their existing base? Most studies show the costs are several times greater than the amount spent to focus on and keep existing customers and their referred friends and relatives. It is hard, thatâ€™s why. It involves changing the culture of the organization. Managers must devote a great deal of mindshare to gaining customer knowledge. The method of training must be changed. Or the starting of training which does not now exist must be initiated. **End Summary** Topics: Funeral homes]]> customer retention]]> referral ambassadors]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Larry Parker is President of Cremation Marketing Systems, Inc.-Cremation.com. He has owned and operated recently sold funeral establishments for thirty years, managed the sale of $millions in cremation preneed and a greater amount in unfunded plans. For more information visit need for funeral home

Marketing Preneed Cremation

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Finding what works for the cremation customer is rapidly becoming a necessity for success in the funeral business. Picture your business as a coin. Your firm is the side and your customers are the other side. The two are bound inextricably to one another. Now, take this picture to the next level. Is your business the heads side or the tails side of the coin? And, consider the more important question. What is it that bonds customers to a business so tightly like the inextricable two sides of a coin? Answer those two questions and both you and your business will grow. Look at a simple occurrence in funeral homes while keeping those questions in mind. A phone call is received. It is a Mrs. Jones who says, My husband is in hospice and I would like to know how much you charge for cremation?' Many times the hospice part is left out and the usual question is How much do you charge for cremation?' Most funeral business managers coach and train staff to handle these calls. Many are quite skillful at engaging Mrs. Jones with a few questions and weaving in rapport building as the conversation progresses. **End Summary** Topics: Preneed]]> cremation]]> funeral business]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Larry Parker is President of Cremation Marketing Systems, Inc.-Cremation.com. He has owned and operated recently sold funeral establishments for thirty years, managed the sale of $millions in cremation preneed and a greater amount in unfunded plans. Link to find local funeral homes

The Evolving Cremation Website

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Just ten years ago who would have thought we would be asking the following questions: 1. What is the purpose of a funeral home website? 2. Does it add revenue? 3. Does it save me time and money? 4. How can a funeral home website help in the management of my business? It's safe to say the two questions regarding adding money and saving money are on the minds of owners and managers every day. The other two questions about purpose and management are coming into focus. They are coming fast and will change the way we do business. Decision makers who grasp these new tools and use them will stay in the mainstream of funeral business. Those who do not will be their employees or will seek another line of work. Now! Let's go straight to the heart of this cremation business. A very effective and direct mission statement is, Find what works for cremation customers and deliver it.' The result in a successful business is customer satisfaction, repeat business and referrals. Today's funeral home website should measure each preneed and at need customer family purchase experience. **End Summary** Topics: Funeral home website]]> funeral firms]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Larry Parker is President of Cremation Marketing Systems, Inc.-Cremation. com. He has owned and operated recently sold funeral establishments for thirty years, managed the sale of $millions in cremation preneed and a greater amount in unfunded plans For more information on cremation services visit cremation

Provide Cremation services - Who Visits Your Website and What Do They Want?

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Why are people coming to your funeral home website? Your web designer will say, to get information, of course'. Let's dig a little deeper and define this information' that cremation site visitors are seeking. It might provide insight on how to better position your business to meet the needs of potential customers. Conversion of those satisfied visitors into customers may occur in one visit, although the rate of this happening is very low. The more likely path is conversion after multiple visits, which occur for different reasons. For purposes of discussion, we will identify various groupings as visitor segments. What if the question why are you here today?' was posed to visitors and the universe of answers was large enough to get valid results from those who responded? Web analytics are also important in determining visitor's success in their search for information on your website. Imagine being able to accommodate increasing numbers of potential customers with a growing certainty of what they are doing on your funeral home website. At cremation, we watched the emergence of visitor segments as the website became more than a digitized brochure. **End Summary** Topics: cremation services]]> online funeral home]]> funeral home webs]]>]]> About the Author: ]]> Larry Parker is President of Cremation Marketing Systems, Inc.-Cremation. com. He has owned and operated recently sold funeral establishments for thirty years, managed the sale of $millions in cremation preneed and a greater amount in unfunded plans. For more information on cremation services visit cremation