Do you want to serve more families? You're not alone. Most funeral home owners I talk to would love to increase market share and secure future business. In past columns, I've shared that the most effective way to do this is through a proactive preneed program, and that is the essence of what we do at Precoa.
Yet the many other benefits of preneed sometimes go overlooked, the most important of which is that quality preneed improves the quality of at-need services. Funeral directors often say there's a night-and-day difference between serving a prearranged family and one without a plan in place. Not only is a quality prearrangement one of the best ways to grow your brand, but it also results in better customer experiences, higher employee satisfaction, and more meaningful services for families.
There are an untold number of ways to run a funeral home, but every owner I've ever talked to can agree that one thing is at the core of what they do: service. Providing exceptional service to families at what may be the worst time of their lives is what we all strive to do.
And if service is our goal, what better way to serve families than to educate them on the value of helping their loved ones experience meaningful connection after they're gone? A proactive preneed program will do just that.
By connecting with families before they're grieving, before their minds are clouded with the dozens of tasks that surround a loss, before their worlds are turned upside down, you can help them appreciate what your funeral home can do in their time of need.
I've spoken in previous columns about the importance of convenience for grieving families. When you lose someone important, it is easy to make whatever decision seems most convenient – even at the cost of true healing. Usually this is because the real importance of a funeral isn't all that clear. For many, rituals surrounding the passing of a loved one are no longer being dictated by religious or cultural institutions, leaving families to determine the value of a funeral on their own.
Preneed is your best opportunity to shift this perspective. By proactively reaching out to families years and even decades before a loss, you're providing both convenience and healing. You're able to educate families that the funeral is about the needs of loved ones, often resulting in more meaningful service choices.
Some detractors of preneed see it as "a necessary evil" or simply as a sales tactic. And while it is an opportunity to secure future business, it is more importantly an opportunity to create meaningful connections with families in your community and make a lasting impact on their lives. Preneed is an opportunity to provide a stellar customer experience by helping people discover the value of a funeral at the earliest stage of their journey when they're receptive and engaged.
You already well know that family members don't always agree. Rifts can happen over the most trivial things, and that's especially true when emotions are running high and people are dealing with grief. It's long been said that there are 175 or more decisions that need to be made immediately after a loss, but making decisions in this headspace is hard.
Enter uncertainty and discomfort. Without a quality prearranged funeral—one with all the service details and vital information in place—people fret over making the right choices. Was it burial or cremation? Should we hold a visitation? Did they want a wood or metal casket? Which songs should be played?
The point here is that people want to make sure they're honoring their loved ones correctly. Doubts and uncertainty are painful, and they can interfere with the resolution and healing that result from meaningful services.
Grief also adds an incredible amount of pressure. Making a decision under pressure in normal circumstances is hard. Add the pressure of grief and it's exponentially harder. It's like the difference between the 30 PSI of air in your car tires and 3,000 PSI in a scuba tank.
Quality preneed alleviates this. One of our partners likes to say that there's no real comparison to having a quality plan in place—that it's truly a gift, and I couldn't agree more.
As a funeral home owner or funeral director, you can immediately tell the difference between a family who prearranges and a family who doesn't.
Obviously, you're going to provide an excellent experience no matter the circumstance, but when a family has preplanned, you – and they – can shift focus from the tedious details to really comforting and connecting with the family.
Details are important, but they're just details. To truly serve someone is much deeper. You're guiding them through the beginning stages of their journey through grief, and a meaningful service can set them on the path to healing. Creating an amazing experience can make an amazing impact.
It's much easier to consistently create these experiences with a quality prearrangement. Research shows that 70 percent of adults believe it is a good idea to preplan their funeral. But only a third of Americans say they're likely to prefund. This is where your commitment to exceptional service comes in.
By engaging with families before a loss, and educating them on the value of ritual, gathering, and celebration, you're not only ensuring a solid future for your business, you're taking concrete steps to instill a sense of trust in your funeral home. An exceptional preplanning experience will show families how much you value them and you'll win their commitment and keep your funeral home top of mind.
That's why I love what we do. Proactive preneed gives you the opportunity to meet with families at a time when they're ready to learn about the value of an experience we all truly believe in.
Have a preneed question? Please reach out and I'd be happy to answer it. preneedprotips@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.