How are your preneed resolutions coming along? In last month's column, I outlined five things funeral homes could do to reach new customers and grow their markets through preneed. But as we all know, keeping resolutions isn't easy.
Nearly 80% of people have trouble sticking with even the most simple New Year's resolutions, and the goals that do stick are the ones that are both realistic and manageable.1
So, while there are many ways to improve your preneed program this year, let's focus on the single most important thing you can do—analyze your market. Checking this simple task off your list is the first step to fully understanding your preneed potential and how to start reaching it.
You have probably already experienced how the pace of consumer change is accelerating. Nearly 90 percent of business leaders believe this change is happening faster than they can keep up, according to consulting firm Accenture, and when you look at the funeral profession, there are a few key factors at play.2
From the rise of the religious unaffiliated to the increase in people moving away from their hometowns to simple generational change, legacy-based consumer loyalty is becoming harder and harder to count on.
In fact, Pew Research reports that Gen X will outnumber Boomers in the next three years.3 This means funeral homes will soon serve people whose preferences more closely resemble Kevin Hart's instead of Kevin Costner's.
In previous columns, I've outlined why a proactive preneed program is the best way to address these changes. It's an opportunity to educate consumers about their funeral options, including the importance of ceremony, ritual, and gathering as an important part of healing after a loss.
But if you're strictly looking at census data to generate preneed leads, reaching your target market is expensive. Think about the variety of people in your community aged 55 and above—they're not all going to be interested in the same messaging or marketing channels, which is why understanding the nuances of your market is so helpful.
When most people think of marketing demographics, they think of a few factors. Age, income level, ethnicity are important, but when it comes to growing your preneed and at-need call volume, they're just the tip of the iceberg.
One owner we recently spoke with operates out of a relatively small town, where he assumed he knew basically everyone. Not everyone he knew had preplanned, but he was pretty sure he was reaching all the families in his market who would be interested.
When our team put together a market share analysis, we uncovered over 135,000 additional preneed prospects who lived in the funeral home's serviceable area. The owner was surprised and thrilled to find there was far more potential than he realized.
"Depending on your market, adding even 10 more funerals each year can change the dynamic of your business," said David Holm, senior director of Business Development at Precoa. "You may be serving a nearby zip code once a month, but a market share analysis will show you that you could be serving that area once a week."
Analyzing a market involves looking at a variety of demographics correlated with the people most likely to preplan a funeral. The exact formula for success is as unique as your community, but having this level of insight allows you to craft a marketing plan that will be sustainable and effective.
This is why a market share analysis is always the first step we take before partnering with new funeral homes. With over twenty years of preneed data and partnerships with hundreds of leading funeral homes across the nation, we've identified which key factors allow you to understand your market completely.
As you analyze your market and learn more about your business, you'll likely encounter a few surprises. You'll probably be surprised by just how many people in your community are interested in preplanning – the untapped potential David mentioned above. You'll also be amazed at just how much more efficient and effective your marketing and sales can be.
Nearly a quarter of Americans are 65 years or older, and nearly 40 percent are older than 45. If you're trying to market based on census data alone, you'll be deploying a lot of your advertising spend on what one funeral home owner calls "a hope and a prayer."
Analyzing your market allows you to manage your advertising spend more efficiently. You can segment your audience, improve targeting, and reach people through multiple channels, including live events or digital media. This leads to consistently better results.
At the same time, seeing your market with so much granular detail can raise questions, especially if someone else analyzes it for you. We always recommend asking questions and not just taking what you see at face value. We've had funeral home owners come to our market share analysis meetings with dozens of questions, and we pride ourselves on answering and fully addressing every single one of them.
In short: An analysis should lead to greater knowledge and confidence in your business, not unanswered questions or confusion.
Another important thing to remember is that understanding your market is an ongoing process. Consumers change, as I've already mentioned, but so do your business goals and strategies.
"Recently, one of our longtime funeral home partners wanted to analyze a new market area," David said. "They were interested in expanding and hoped to build a new location in a nearby county, so we provided an updated analysis. Seeing the data gave them the certainty that they were making the right decision for their future."
So, whether it's a baby step or a big step forward in expanding your business, analyzing your market gives you the insights you need to be more informed and effective.
Some people, myself included, love data for the many ways it allows you to make better decisions about your business. For others, the idea of data makes their eyes glaze over. Regardless of how you feel, the process of gathering data should not be overly complicated.
In fact, it's typically pretty simple. Depending on which case management software you use at your funeral home, you can gather all the data needed for a robust market share analysis in as little as five clicks. Most of us make at least twice that many clicks every time we open our email.
The point is, gathering the right data is a fairly easy process and shouldn't come with any expectations or strings attached. This is something David and our team always stress to funeral homes interested in learning more about their markets.
"Some funeral homes will wait to sign up for a market share analysis, thinking it signals a firm commitment to partner with Precoa," David says. "But it's really just a way to see where you stand, and we're happy to provide that free to anyone who asks. Partnership only comes after you decide to do something with the data. That's when we use it as the foundation of an effective and sustainable marketing plan that significantly grows preneed sales for years to come."
Have a preneed question? Please reach out and I'd be happy to answer it. tanderson@precoa.com
Tyler Anderson is senior vice president of business development at Precoa, a preneed company that helps hundreds of funeral homes prearrange more families and grow their markets. Born and raised in the funeral profession, Tyler appreciated the importance of ceremony, ritual, and gathering from an early age. He is passionate about sharing a new vision for preneed that helps more families across the country experience a meaningful funeral service.